As a building ages, it is inevitable that it's wrinkles will show. And by wrinkles, I mean deterioration. One of the most commons signs of old age is cracking. In this example, we see extensive cracking caused by a foundation shift. This shift can be triggered by many things such as inconsistent moisture levels in soil, tree roots or poor drainage. Check out the aftermath of a dysfunctional foundation...

There are 13 units within this property. They all showed signs of aging, each with building defects. Some more than others. Issues present include;

• Brick façade cracking
• Poor drainage
• Foundational soils shifting causing cracks and water ingress, compromising structural integrity
• Extensive render delamination within some units

We concluded that the most likely cause of internal and external cracking throughout the complex is due to swelling and collapsing soils resulting in some washout of foundation soils, possibly arising from failed or cracked storm water pipes and/or natural flows of surface water.

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Recommendation:

• Underpinning works will be required to prevent further movement/separation.
• Delaminating render MUST be repaired.
• Investigate the delaminating wall cladding of the living room wall of units and repair brick or render if cracks are evident.
• We would recommend the cleaning and painting of eaves in order to cost efficiently upgrade the appearance of the building.

 
Status: Currently in tender stage of project.

Does your property have similar building defects? Do you have cracks in the ceiling or on the walls? Call us out for an inspection today. 

A blog by RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC says:

"A problem we encounter all too often is a board operating in a reactive as opposed to proactive mode. If you don’t know the condition and the life expectancy of your building’s systems, you’re just going to be chasing crises as they occur. More crises means higher costs, higher stress, and lower quality on every project you undertake."
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And we could not agree more. In this article, the building being expected isn't in too much strife but the property managers are wise enough to think ahead of the game and save them lots of heartache down the tracks.

​Suburb: ASHFIELD
Date: 29/01/20
Project: Bellmont Facade Engineering inspected the facade condition of a unit building in Ashfield.
The façade is generally in structurally adequate condition with a relatively small number of large concrete spalls evident in the slab edges of the balconies. Some minor “reinforcing bar ends” have corroded, and these will require repair also, but these are not considered to be a structural concern as yet.
The extent of corrosion is generally considered to be quite small and it is therefore our recommendation that early intervention and repair would provide maximum benefit to the owners.

Recommendation:
-       Concrete repairs to corroding steel reinforcement
-       Render repairs
-       Painting of slabs edges, balustrades and balcony soffits
-      Replacement of spitter pipes with larger ones to allow easier drainage with less blockage
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Status: COMPLETE.
This issues of concrete spalling, corrosion, render/paint delamination and drainage/guttering works have been rectified.

As a result of being proactive, they have avoided even bigger issues and costs for the future. Be smart like them, call BellMont today to book an inspection (02) 9518 0775.

Magnesite was all the rage from the 60's through to the 80's. Covering tens of thousands of residential building floors was this durable, oil resistant, lightweight and non-combustible material. It was too good to be true. Unfortunately, time was soon to tell the negative affects of magnesite. 

"Magnesite, which was commonly used as a floor topping or levelling product, contains glue. When magnesite absorbs water, the glue can leach into concrete floors and corrode steel reinforcement bars, causing the concrete to expand." - Australian Financial Review, 2019.

The property below suffered the ramifications of magnesite flooring. Read for more.

Suburb: DRUMMOYNE
Date: 20/1/2020
Project: Bellmont Façade Engineering undertook a visual inspection of the condition of the floor slab after the recent removal of magnesite flooring at a property in Drummoyne. 

​​Recommendation: We saw that the magnesite affected concrete was identified in several locations and excessive within two locations including the living room, kitchen, dining areas and bedroom.
It is our recommendation that the further exposure of several sections within the floor slab shall be conducted revealing the condition of reinforcement placed within the bottom layer of the concrete slab, this is due to severe corrosion of the existing top reinforcement within those allocated sections.
It will be also necessary that the other spalled concrete sections identified are also exposed to allow for structural assessment – destructive investigation to uncover the underlying reinforcing steel so that its condition can be assessed.

Measures to be taken include:
 
-      Magnesite Repairs including & floor levelling
 
-      Balcony Waterproofing Membrane, Tiling & New Doors
 
-       Balcony Cavity Flashing

​Suburb: MANLY
Date: 17/01/20
Project:  Bellmont Façade Engineering assessed the condition of the balcony slabs of 3 levels of residential units. There separation between the masonry balustrades at the ends of the balconies and the building which we believed to be caused by excessive deflection and rotation of the cantilevering concrete slab balcony. The rotation is more pronounced due to the cracking in the slab. 

​Additionally the cracking within the slab indicates a localised rotation that has contributed to the separation. This cracking provides a water ingress point to access the steel reinforcement in the slab. The top reinforcement is the critical strength reinforcement for cantilevering slabs and the condition of the reinforcement needs to be verified, however the cracking evident is an obvious precursor to reinforcement corrosion.
 
The movement of the metal balustrade indicates a loss of connection strength of the middle post. It is our opinion that the metal balustrade requires being replaced due to non-compliant strength and also height.

​Recommendation: Replace brick balustrades with lighter aluminium balustrades to significantly reduce the loading on the concrete slab.
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​Status: WORK IN PROGRESS. The front of the building’s three balconies have been complete. Left to do are the three balconies to the rear of the building.