A Study of the Dampness in Buildings

Leow, Teen Yang (2012) A Study of the Dampness in Buildings. Final Year Project (Other), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Text LeowTeenYang.zip Restricted to Registered users only Download (940kB)

Abstract

Damp in another way of calling is moisture. The moisture on object is used as a reference in buildings like walls and floors. The most special effect of damp that we can see easily is the wetness on the surfaces such like it seem to 'sweat'. Dampness in building can also be described as excess water in building and it will lead a numerous of deterioration to building if it left unwanted. Dampness is one of the contributions to the building defect, it can be divided into the 3 main categories of condensation dampness, rain penetration dampness and rising dampness. Generally, moisture or damp can transmits through building structures by capillarity action, gravity and window pressure. Dampness can cause failure to timber or concrete structure by decay, crumble and deterioration. Dampness in timber will also result the termite attack whereas dampness in reinforced concrete can cause the corrosion of reinforcement bars, thus cause the structure failure. Besides that, dampness can be said is an abhorrent problem for each building owner. It can form an unhealthy indoor environment to occupants and attract the murine and insects come into houses. The consequent effects are often serious especially ifthe repairs are delayed for a long period of time, and it cannot be emphasized too strongly that the remedial work to eliminate moisture should be realized in the first opportunity. Other than that, it is very difficult to figure out or diagnose the causes of the dampness because it cannot be easily detected by our human senses. Different types of dampness it needed different type of remedial measures. It is depends on the type of dampness and also the seriousness of the dampness. Furthermore, some of the remedial works needs a huge amount of cost and also time consuming. Therefore, it is better to prevent the dampness problem occur or control it to the lowest level of occurring and also maintain our building.