What is Building Maintenance | Pre and Post Monsoon Maintenance

Importance of building maintenance

The purpose of repairing the building is as follows.

• The maintenance work is essential to ensure that the building is built to last longer and better.
• The life of buildings is decreased due to climate conditions like rain, wind, moisture, and temperature. Therefore building serves all services during its life span, maintenance is required.
• The building is constructed for a different purpose. Therefore maintenance of a building is required for the building to serve all-purpose during its life span.
• Due to occupancy of a building, wear and tear of a building are occur. Therefore maintenance is essentially required.
• Repair is needed to strengthen the weakened parts of the building.
• Maintenance is essential to maintain the beautiful appearance of the building.
• Maintenance work is required to prevent accidents caused by a building breakdown.
• An improvement to an old building, repairs are needed when an addition is made.

Types of Building Maintenance

The main types of building maintenance are listed below.

• Preventive maintenance
• Remedial maintenance

Preventive maintenance of building

The steps taken to prevent house degradation are called Preventive Maintenance.

• Painting of door and window due to that protect from the decay of wood.
• Painting to prevent corrosion of iron grill, doors, etc.

Preventive maintenance can be divided into four parts.

• Routine maintenance
• Periodical maintenance
• Pre-Monsoon Maintenance
• Post-Monsoon Maintenance

Routine Maintenance

The everyday work of maintenance in a house is called routine maintenance. Such as

• Cleaning the house daily.
• Washing house
• Painting windows

Periodical maintenance

Maintenance doing after some interval of time in house is known as periodical maintenance. Such as,

• Cleaning of house (festival time cleaning of the house)
• Painting of window, door, iron grill and etc.

Pre Monsoon Maintenance

Maintenance of house before monsoon is known as pre-monsoon maintenance. Pre-monsoon maintenance is required to protect our building from the effect of rainfall on the building. For Example,

• Repairing plaster of the outer wall
• Clean water and sanitation sewers
• Replace broken roofs or sheets
• Install a damp layer on the roof, etc.

Post Monsoon Maintenance

Some parts of the Building damaged by rain and other atmospheric effects, Repairing such kind of damages after the monsoon, is called post-monsoon maintenance. For Example,

• Painting of outer wall of building.
• Cleaning of roofs
• Repairing of wooden works, etc.

Remedial Maintenance

Repairing a part of a building after damage is called remedial maintenance.

• Repair of crumbled plaster.
• If the furs have been seated, re-install the new furs.
• Protect building from decayed of termite. Doing anti-termite treatment in the building.
• Waterproofing of slab is remedial maintenance. Filling all leakage of the slab.
• Replacing decayed wood. Installing a new door and window if it is decayed.

Types of Defects in Building

1. Defects in Plaster
2. Dampness in building
3. Termite Attack in Building

Defects in Plaster

The various plaster defects are listed below.

• Blistering
• Cracks
• Flacking
• Peeling
• Popping
• Efflorescence

Blistering

The plastered surface is inflorescence in some places is defined as blistering of plaster. This is the main defect of plaster and develops by moisture come in the plaster wall, the air between the plaster and brick wall which apply force on a plaster wall and push forward direction of plaster. Due to that, a small bubble develops in plaster. And it is blistering defects.

Cracks

Cracks appear on the plaster surface due to movement of plaster and brick masonry, shrinkage of plaster, expansion on plaster, etc.

Efflorescence

If the amount of salts in sand, cement, bricks is high then these salts come on plaster surface like white powder on the surface is known as efflorescence.

Flaking

Two layers of plaster are broken or separate each other is known as flaking of plaster.

Peeling

Everything goes right from the plaster wall or whole plaster wall fall from the brick masonry wall is known as peeling.

Popping

The surface of the plaster consists of a cone-shaped hole is known as popping defects of plaster.

Remedies of plaster defects

• Maintaining quality of work.
• Using good quality bricks.
• To make bricks, use saline water in plaster.
• Before plastering, brush the Efflorescence or surface of salted bricks with a brush.
• Immerse brick in water before using them in masonry.
• Correctly curing the plaster surface.

Dampness in Building

The moisture in the building climbs from the base of the wall or enters the outside through a damp surface. Often, the leak on the tank also causes moisture.

Bad effect of moisture on building:

• Stains on the walls and ceilings of the building.
• The metal used in construction feels corrosive.
• The wood of windows, doors, closets, furs, etc. can look decayed.
• Plaster gets worse.
• Furs tile, marble is damaged.

Remedies of Dampness:

• The 1:2:4 mix concrete layer place on plinth level wall.
• Laying hot asphalt or mystic asphalt on a plinth level wall.
• Construct a poly wall.

Termite in Building 

Treatment for termite is done in two stages.

• Soil Treatment
• After-construction treatment

Soil Treatment

• Treatment of plinth clay
• Treatment of basic trench soils
• Treatment with wall and floor-junction

Chemicals used for the termite treatment of external wall-crossing

• Aydin,
• Heptacolor,
• Clorodene,
• Calderon,
• Caldrean.

After-construction treatment:

• Floor inside soil treatment
• Wooden treatment
• Floor treatment near the door frame