Problems with Wide and/or High Expansion Joints
The most common problem with wide and high movement expansion joints is water leaking through them, and therefore into the areas below causing damage to fittings, finishing’s and equipment etc., or water ingress into the structure itself, causing steel reinforcement corrosion and damage to the structural concrete that can soon become serious. However, there are also many other problems and issues that can also arise with wide and / or high movement expansion joints that are not designed and installed to perform as required.
Movement joint problems and issues arising include:
- Leaking and water ingress
- Corrosion damage to internal fittings and finishing’s
- Damage to stored goods and equipment
- Increased risk of fire / spread of fire (through the gap)
- Loss of thermal insulation
- Loss of acoustic insulation
- Owner / occupier / traffic disruption
Any and all of these serious movement joint problems and issues that frequently occur together in some combination, can be very costly and require that expensive remedial works are necessary, which usually also means that ‘Claims’ will follow!
Common reasons for these joint problems include:
- Inadequate joint design
- Inadequate joint sealing system installation
- Inadequate joint sealing materials / products
- Inadequate movement joint system durability / service life
- Mechanical damage or abuse, even changes of use and exposure requirements etc.
- Structural / environmental changes
Important note - There is nearly always more than one reason for problems and sometimes the root causes can be complex to define (Especially once lawyers are involved in the event of Claims!)