What are the Reasons behind Cracks in Plaster?
The structural elements of houses/building are designed to withstand the different loads like dead loads, live load, etc. that are likely to come during its service life. But sometimes the internal or external loads increases the stresses of the structural elements of the house, which results into the development of cracks in house. Generally, stresses are increased due many reasons like change in temperature, expansion, contraction of the house due to heat, change in moisture content, foundation movement, etc. Stresses also develop due to corrosion, wear and tear, lack of maintenance etc. An Ideal design is one, which takes care of all the above factors.
However, some unknown unexpected loads always occur due to bad workmanship or poor quality materials. The load carrying capacity of material thus gets reduced resulting in cracks. Cracks may be structural, non-structural. Cracks are classified as thin, medium, wide, straight, toothed, stepped, map pattern, vertical, horizontal & diagonal cracks, etc.
Reasons for cracks in plaster:
- The effect of the seasonal change.
- The shrinkage cracks due to its initial shrinkage i.e. reduction in volume.
- Poor construction practice.
- Corrosion of reinforcements.
- Foundation movements.
- Chemical reaction.
- Growth of vegetation (large tree) near the house.
The detailed reasons behind cracks in plaster are discussed at gharpedia. Also find how to identify and repair the cracks in brickwork or concrete.