A few commonly faced Problems in Tall Residential Buildings in Mumbai

by Er. Vivek Abhyankar

Mumbai city has seen a lot of ‘vertical’ growth in past ten years or so. Many new skyscrapers are built in the city and suburban area. Many slumps were rehabilitated into groups of towers. To expedite as well as to streamline this vertical growth so many new government bodies were formed, and new rules were imposed. While shifting from a small building /house / or a chawl to big multistorey tower, common citizens feel amazed and excited; they carry so many dreams about new house and the future aspirations; but there could be a few gray / grave issues which one should be aware so that he can prepare mentally / physically / financially for these challenges in advance.

1)????? FIRE SAFETY – In many of the new towers fire safety becomes a critical issue. Although the CFO (chief fire officer) clearance in mandatory, builders try to take full advantage of FSI and give only bare minimum provisions towards fire safety. In many recent fire episodes the loop holes were exposed. A few observations were :-

a.????? In closely spaced SRA towers people burn crackers which often lead to fire in tall balconies.

b.????? Short-circuit due to use of substandard construction materials.

c.????? Fire water tank was found to be empty during actual fire burst.

d.????? Fire alarm / buzzer did not rank or even the sprinklers did not function.

e.????? Obstructions (like furniture, bicycles etc.) stored in the fire escape stair and corridors.

f.??????? No space available for fire tanker to move around the tower in case fire.

g.?????? Dangling handrails on refuge area slab.

h.????? Electrical leakages through steel grills / handrails etc.

2)????? FALLING OF OBJECTS FROM HEIGHTS – Persons / Workers or objects sometimes fall down while working at large heights. Sometimes small kids unknowingly throw some toys / plates etc. from window shutters at upper floors. Even a small object if falls down from a larger height, carries a big energy with it, and leads to greater impact. People working at larger heights should wear a safety PPE kit (like safety belt, helmet, safety shoes). Window shutters at larger heights may be covered with sliding grills / invisible grills / woven nylon mesh etc.

3)????? WATER & PLUMBING ISSUES, LEAKAGES – water pressure at higher floors is less whereas due to enormous pressure at lower floors there could be incessant leakages through taps or pipe joints (proper diameter and material for pipe can be recommended by experienced plumbing engineer). In some cases the vertical down lake pipes, outside walls, were found to have leakages and which damage the entire wall if not treated in time. Sometimes external tiles / pipe pieces failed down from larger heights.

?Builders commonly use concrete or light weight material bocks for internal and external walls (to reduce dead load and to optimize the design); these blocks show more permeability than RCC or brick walls. Ater tow three monsoons the leakages are prominently seen – but by that time construction agency raise the hands.

?4)????? SOUND DISTURBANCES – at larger heights the sound generated by drill machine / stone cutting and grinding machine, wood cutting saw, or even concrete vibrators in adjoining construction works, driving nails in timber formwork with hammers etc. do radiate to larger distance. In winter season and areas with lesser trees the sound radiation is rapid and annoying. Usually, people get habituated of such Persistent sounds but in long run find effect on hearing capacity, concentration, hypertension etc. This may cause problems during exam seasons (March – April – May month). Often it is noticed that during festivals seasons, near SRA buildings, people play songs with large speakers from early morning till late nights – this cause significant impact to hearing capacity of people staying in that area (especially children).

?5)????? PIGEONS & RATS – Now a days in Mumbai city the numbers of trees are getting reduced; pigeons and many other birds prefer tall towers than trees or shallow G+5 bldg; they find space in balconies of inoperative flats / narrow space below outside AC unit / congested toilet ducts, terrace below water tanks etc. Under title of ?‘humanity’, many people throw waste from their house to birds which helps to increase the nuisance caused. Rats, rodents can easily climb vertically at higher floors using small dia pipelines. People use a conical shape metal disc on such potential gas / water pipelines – to stop entry of rats. People often use tightly woven nylon mesh on open balconies to arrest the entry of pigeons and other birds (parrots, kites, owls etc.)

?6)????? GUSTY WINDS – during monsoon (June – July – August in case of Mumbai city) strong short period winds are experienced. At upper floors of some of the towers the window panes were found to have damages due to winds / or not installed properly and caused damage during winds. In one cases in Andheri-East the temporary scaffolding erected for plastering purpose fell down entire on the small houses below. ?

7)????? GLARES (ESPECIALLY GLASS CLADDED BUILDINGS) – glass facade is generally used for commercial towers; but it cause lot of glare and hit radiation in adjacent buildings. Use of thick curtains on window panes and use of A/C unit are the only popular solutions available as on date.

8) PARKING ISSUES – The parking spaces are also sold by the builders. Now a days the practices of mechanical elevators is becoming common. The construction agency dig deep trenches for parking pits, later they fill up with curing water and lead to mosquito breading. If the parking area is in basement then drowning / flooding of basements during heavy monsoon is also seen.

9) ELEVATOR (LIFT) ROPE GOT SNAPPED :- In some of the rare cases the builder had employed substandard lift supplier (for cost saving), but the rope got snapped off and lead to a mishap !

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Conclusion :- There are several major / minor technical issues associated with the tall buildings. Only a few of them observed within Mumbai were discussed above. An experienced architect and a structural engineer must seat together with the builder / developer and convince him for the proper space planning (rather than just utilizing the FSI for personal benefits which causes problems to thousands of innocent buyers in future!