a few weeks ago,i noted a certain crackhas developed at my work place.i confronted the caretaker and out of kijifanya najua,he told me to consult my structural teacher…after a few days,a notice was hanged at the crack point indicating that the crack was an “engineering expansion joint.”
my question is,is it a real term ama ni hadithi za paukwa pakawa that might lead into collapsing of the whole building?is it something that i need to inform the authority ???
further more the crack is on both sides of the house…left wing and right wing…across the floor and the roof across the main beams…please help
Yes, it’s an expansion joint. There several joints put on building depending on the reason. In this case, the expansion joint gives room for concrete expansion in extreme hot weather conditions. This is usually placed on buildings whose longer horizontal dimension exceeds 20m. this joints kinda separates the building into two. its usually concealed but at times it gets exposed and there is nothing to worry about it.
That is an expansion joint. A crack can’t be so symmetrical and judging by your description it is across not longitudinal. Chill you ain’t dying by concrete.
its necessary for long building especially in hot climates like the middle east. the expansion joint is usually 20mm wide and the crack visible on the expansion joint filler should not spread more than 20mm horizontally. it actually looks like a rugged vertical line. The Joint is usually a gap between two columns back-back and its to be seen at the same location on the vertical plane and horizontal plane of the building. Its clear from the photo. It’s an expansion joint!