Maintenance of building with its objectives

Maintenance of building with its objectives

For increasing the life of any object it needs maintenance. Everything needs maintenance in fact our body also needs maintenance for good functioning. Just like that buildings also require maintenance for increasing their durability.
After a certain period all the components of structure starts deteriorating, this is because of adverse affects of weathering and atmospheric agencies. Well the reasons for deteriorating of buildings are many like use of poor construction materials, inadequate design, poor workmanship, use of materials in improper proportioning and many more. Due to all this building is not able to perform the objectives of its construction, to stop this repair and maintenance of building becomes necessary. If repairing and maintaining of building is not done a stage will arrive where there is no return i.e. building becomes only a waste consisting of cement, steel and aggregates.

What is maintenance?

According to British standard maintenance is "The combination if all technical and administrative actions taken out to retain an item in order or to restore it to a state in which it can perform its particular function properly."
Various people defined maintenance according to their own words, their ideas towards maintenance etc. The committee in Maintenance under Government of India defined meaning of maintenance as "Building maintenance is work undertaken to keep, restore or improve the facility (every facility) i.e. every part of a building, its services and surroundings to a currently acceptable standard and to sustain the utility and value of the facility."
Well the meaning of maintenance in simple words is that "Maintenance is the work done to keep the structure or building in a healthy condition so that it can perform all the objectives of its construction smoothly." In maintenance increasing the facility is optional.

Classification of maintenance work

Maintenance work of building is broadly classified into following categories.

1. Routine maintenance
2. Preventive maintenance
3. Remedial maintenance
4. Special maintenance

1. Routine maintenance  

This type of maintenance is be easily understood by its name, well Routine maintenance work may be defined as the maintenance processes which are done at particular intervals (The time duration may be one week, one month, two months etc, the time duration cannot  be too high) to attend the various defects of buildings which may cause decay of structure.

Routine maintenance work is one of the best maintenance work. It is essential to keep the structure in a healthy condition i.e free from any defects and signs of decay of structure. There are various works that falls under routine maintenance work and these works are done regularly to maintain the healthy condition of building and to resist early decay of structure.

Following activities are taken under routine maintenance -

• Checking the water supply line, if any defect is found it is repaired. Defects include leakage, blockage in pipes etc.
• Checking the waste water line, if any defect is found it is repaired. Defects include leakage, blockage in pipes etc.
• Cleaning the water storages like tanks periodically at intervals of not more than 3 months, both ground and overhead. This is done so that production of harmful bacterias, pathogens etc can be eliminated. 
• Walls of buildings are properly checked, if any cracks are found these are filled with cement mortar. This process is done to avoid expansion of cracks and to give a smooth finish to wall as before.
• Mostly it is seen that plaster on the walls and ceiling shows bulging or cracks, this can be due to moisture or any other reason. So walls and ceiling should be checked by beating with light wooden hammer. The portions emitting dull sound indicate defect in which plaster looses its bond with wall and it separates from the surface of wall. The portions where this defect is observed should be taken out in a regular shape (like square, circle etc.) and replastered with cement mortar of same proportion as used before. New mortar should be applied after proper cleaning of surface of brick.
• Painting of surface of building is very important for hygienic protection of structure and aesthetic. Painting of building reduces the adverse affects of weathering agencies on the surface of building.
• Painting of doors and windows should be done periodically so that it is protected from following bad factors - Termite attack, rotting etc (in case of wood) & corrosion (in case of metals).
• Plinth protection around the building should be properly maintained. This is very important because it prevents any passage for surface water to percolate inside the building, in the foundation and on any other part of building. Percolation of surface water causes settlement of structure, dampness, reduction in strength of structure etc.
• Mostly during rainy season plants and moss grow on the walls, floor and roofs of the building. These plants should be uprooted and the place should be treated with copper sulphate solution or acid for permanent eradication. When plants grow on the surface of walls, floor and roofs of building, these plants capture moisture which causes dampness and the structure looses its strength.
• The roof top should be washed regularly to avoid blockage (due to dust and rubbish (leaves, grass etc)) on drainage system of roof. 

2. Preventive maintenance 

One could easily understand the meaning of this type maintenance by its name. We can define preventive maintenance work as "The maintenance work done to prevent the defect that occur on the building."

The another definition of preventive maintenance work is "The maintenance work where the maintenance activities are done before the defects occur or damage developed in the structure of building."
The aim of preventive maintenance is to solve the trouble before it becomes a serious problem. The preventive maintenance work has no immediate visible effect. Efforts made on doing preventive maintenance work takes a long duration to give its return and become visible. Preventive maintenance work has many benefits because it reduces the maintenance cost.

3. Remedial maintenance 

Remedial maintenance also called corrective maintenance. In this type of maintenance, repair and maintenance processes are done after the occurrence of defects. So, we can define remedial maintenance as "Remedial maintenance may be defined as the maintenance activities which are done after the occurrence of defects and damages in the structure."
Various maintenance problems falls under remedial maintenance. Remedial maintenance is simply to restore the defected part to its initial condition or removal of defects in the structure. This can be done by replacing the defected or damaged part of the structure with fresh part. During remedial maintenance, actions done for repairing and restoring work should be done by ensuring no increase of possible defects which will cause further damage to the structure. While doing any repair work, the cause and the exact location of defect should be known properly for proper removal of these defects.

Following activities are involved in remedial maintenance -

• Finding the defect or damage.
• Finding exact location of defect or damage.
• Finding the meaningful cause of defect.
• Evaluating the strength of the existing structures.
• If necessary, removing the defected part.
• Knowing the need of that particular defected part in the structure.
• Selecting and implementing the suitable procedure for maintenance activity.

4. Special maintenance

It can be easily understood by its name. The general idea about this type of maintenance will be "The maintenance works which are done in special conditions."
Special maintenance is defined as "The maintenance activities that are performed under special conditions to correct heavy damages to the structure."
Special maintenance is mainly done to upgrade the working of building i.e it is done to increase the serviceability of building and adding new features to the building. This may be done by complete renewal of  parts of a building. Special maintenance is done by doing detailed planning, design and implementation of programme according to the special nature of the work.

Factors affecting repair and maintenance of building

If the repair and maintenance of building is not done properly, the age of building may decrease. Due to this building will not be able to perform its construction purpose properly. Mostly it is seen that building owner do not care about repair and maintenance of building until sign of failure are visible due to this repair and maintenance becomes a matter of urgency.
Remember - Regular maintenance of building is overall less costly than instant maintenance after failure symptoms in building.
As you understand that Repair and Maintenance of building is very important for smooth functioning of building, so it is important to know the factors that affect the repair and maintenance of building.

Main factors affecting repair and maintenance of building are -

• Age of building
• Cost applied on manufacturing of building
• Availability of resources
• Future use of structure
• Atmospheric conditions
• Social considerations
• Total cost of repair and maintenance  

Age of building

Age of the building is the most important factor and this factor is mainly responsible for requirement of repair and maintenance of building. As the age of building increases it requires more repairing and maintenance. Every building material has its particular age after which the material undergoes undesirable changes and these changes makes the building weak and failures occur on the building. This makes the building unsuitable for its construction purpose. By doing regular repairing and maintenance the age of building can be increased.

Cost applied on manufacturing of building

Well cost applied on manufacturing of building is also the main factor which should be considered. More the cost applied while manufacturing of building more will be the age of building. This means that the building made with good quality materials will require less repair and maintenance.

Availability of resources

Repair and maintenance of building can be easily carried out if the resources are easily available. These resources include labour, materials, equipments etc.

Future use of the structure

The future use of building should be considered before doing any repair and maintenance work. The extent of repair and timing of maintenance work should be duly considered.

Atmospheric conditions

Atmospheric conditions is the major factor that affect repair and maintenance. If the atmospheric condition is polluted i.e. acidic the repair and maintenance of building is required periodically in short duration.

Social considerations

The factors that are also considered while planning the maintenance of building are -

• The planning of maintenance should be done properly to avoid/minimize the nuisance. 
• While doing maintenance work there should no inconvenience to the occupants.
• Serious repair and maintenance of building should be carried out when the building is unoccupied.
• Disturbances like dust, noise, foul smell etc should be minimum.

Total cost of repair and maintenance 

The total cost applied on repair and maintenance work of structure is the major factor that affects the repair and maintenance work.
More the cost of repair and maintenance work, more better is the work (repair and maintenance) done.

Objectives of maintenance

The objectives of maintenance are many, but following are some main objectives of maintenance of a structure -

1. To keep the structure in good and healthy condition.
2. To prevent serious damages in buildings.
3. To prevent decay of structure caused due to adverse effects of weathering agencies.
4. To strengthen the structures or to maintain the standard of structure.
5. To make some needful improvements in the building so that it can preform its function properly.
6. To improve the facilities depending on the modernization of that area.
7. To maintain the utility value.
8. To increase the durability of structure.
9. To enhance the serviceability of a structure.
10. To avoid crisis maintenance by doing regular and planned maintenance program.