Spooky Moments in Construction

With the coming of Halloween, we are all thinking of scary ghouls, creepy costumes, and trick-or-treat in the dark. As architects, we are also thinking about spooky moments in construction.

How is it that portions of paving and walkways are magically lifted up in the winter? What force caused the famous Tower of Pisa to lean? Why is it that brick walls often have a ghostly white coating after they are built? Where is that mysterious odor coming from? These spooky effects are easily explained.

In the winter, water in the soil turns to frost and expands. This is why concrete slabs such as sidewalks are lifted up during the winter.

Soil movement also occurs if the soil type is not uniform under a building. Differential settlement occurs and causes structures to move in different planes. The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is an extreme example of this.

The ghostly white coating you sometimes see on brick walls is called efflorescence. It is water borne salt and is a sign of problems. Efflorescence is evidence of water in the wall that is not allowed to escape at the base through weep holes. Usually, this can be remediated by unclogging the holes.

What about those mysterious odors in buildings? If you are an owner of a building with floor drains, be sure to fill the drains with water on a regular basis to prevent the traps from drying out and allowing sewer gas to enter the building. Yuck!

These are some of the spooky construction moments that we were discussing here at the office. Do you have some to add to our list?