EFFECTS OF

CHEMICALS IN
BUILDING MATERIALS
STEEL
CONCRETE
WOOD
FLOOR
PAINT
• In ideal environments, most common
construction materials are very durable
and can last indefinitely.

•However , design or construction

deficiencies or lack of proper
maintenance can result in less than ideal
conditions under which construction
materials will degrade.

•Degradation can take many forms

,including chemical reactions,
consumption by living organisms and
erosion of mechanical wear.
STEEL
• Corrosion is the most common and expensive form of material
degradation for construction steels.

• Steel corrosion (rusting or oxidation) is an electrochemical that occurs when

iron atoms loose electrons in the presence of oxygen and water.
• Most effective and common procedure for
preventing or slowing corrosion is to prevent
contact with water, either by coatings or by
protecting it within a viable building
envelope.
CONCRETE
• Concrete is a composite material composed of cement, a fine aggregate, a
coarse aggregate and sometimes chemical admixtures.

• Water reacts with the cement around the aggregate to form a solid , bonded ,
conglomerate.

• Degradation of concrete happens as an after effect of steel corrosion. When

the steel corrodes, it expands and damages the concrete, often resulting in
delamination and spalls.

•Other degradation mechanisms include sulphite attack and alkaline silica

reaction.

•Prevention is done by designing a resistant concrete mix or protecting the

concrete from aggressive environment.
WOOD

• The principle degradation mechanisms for wood biological attacks, namely

decay and termites.

• Most damaging fungi affect wood only when the moisture content is above
the fibre saturation point.

several species of termites can damage wood, but most damage is due to
subterranean termites.

•The useful method of preventing subterranean termite infestation is to prevent

access, that is isolating wood from the ground surface and thereby denying the
termites a bridge to the structure.
FLOOR
• Many floor care chemicals today are effective at cleaning floors, but they
may contain ingredients that overtime can reach their way below the surface
and this is when flooring failures begin.

•Using low VOC adhesives can reduce the effects of failures.

PAINT
•Chalking: the surface of the paint become soft and powdery and it gets
wiped out easily due to the UV degradation and improper pigmentation.

•Cracking: small breakings in the paint coating, happened because of

continued polymerization or oxidation.

•Discolouration : yellowing , greying or darkening due to weathering or

chemical reaction.