I recently got a call from a man with cracks in his house.
He sits in his living room with a pleasant breeze and a nice
view across the countryside but he has to admit he is a bit
worried. You see there isn’t a window on that side of
his house.
He has built a rather nice two story house in North Denpasar
on land which was, until fairly recently, rice paddies. Hairline
cracks were visible in several rooms but at the back corner
of the house was a major crack 3 cms wide rising 4 metres
up the corner of the house. The back garden wall was tearing
the corner off his house! Good for ventilation but not conducive
for a good night’s sleep.
He didn’t think so but in fact he was relatively lucky.
Next door and behind his house were two more houses each with
a large crack right through the middle. Rather handy if you
have a divorce in the family and you need to split the assets
but these were new houses, brand new, fresh out of the box
so to speak.
A local builder’s response was predictable. “No
what what” (tidak apa apa) a bit of chewing gum and
paint and no one will know the difference. Rather scary.
The cause of the problem was that the land the houses were
built on is an area of old paddy fields with a good thick
layer of mud. The mud expands and contracts between the wet
and the dry season. Combine this with the weight of my friend’s
concrete palace (English men always like to build things well
don’t they, I suspect it is their way of being remembered
in centuries to come) and it isn’t surprising he has
cracks.
To anyone considering the major investment of building or
buying a property in Bali it may be useful to know what causes
cracks in buildings and how you may safeguard your interests.
Have a look around, do you have cracks in your walls? Now
before you go putting on your brown trousers it is important
to understand that it is a simple fact of life that new buildings
crack. We all live with cracks in our houses.
Cracks may be caused by drying out of building materials but
is more usually caused by settling of the land as a result
of the addition of the considerable weight of the building.
If the house is properly built it is to be expected that such
cracking would be minor and, unless you get the odd small
earth tremor, would cease after a year or so.
There are two key questions to be investigated:
1. Are there cracks in the structurally important parts of
your house such as reinforced columns, beams or suspended
concrete floors?
2. Are the cracks still moving?
If the answer to both questions is no then cracks can usually
be filled and painted over.
If, on the other hand, there are cracks in the main structural
elements you should seek specialist advice from someone who
understands the fundamentals of how reinforced concrete works
and, more importantly, the vital aspects of how reinforced
concrete should be repaired.
If cracks are still active and continue to appear or get wider
or if they are more than “hairline” cracks then
we have to consider more serious land movement than mere settling
of the site.
In some countries land subsidence can be a problem as a result
of mining operations. Coal or other minerals are removed leaving
a void deep below the surface, the land eventually collapses
and this may cause severe damage to buildings above.
In the more steeply sloping areas of Bali there are major
problems with landslides. In many places paddy fields have
been “sculptured” into the hillsides with steep
slopes between them. If it rains a lot or a watercourse gets
diverted onto the land it may well collapse.
Giraffes are a bit of a problem in Bali. You see trees are
very effective in stabilising the ground. The removal of trees
in many parts of Indonesia has considerably increased the
incidence of landslides. This is also a serious problem in
Bali. I get into the countryside a lot and it is noticeable
that the insatiable demand for carving wood to make giraffes
(have you ever noticed how many giraffes are being made in
Tegallalang? Why giraffes? Where do they all go to? What is
the meaning of life?) has meant the quite worrying loss of
treecover and land stability on the Island.
In Bali landslips are very common on higher sloping land.
Usually caused by heavy rain or where streams have eroded
land or, believe it or not, where someone starts digging out
soil from the block next door. I saw a block of land once
where the landowner had dug soil out to a depth of 4 metres
right up to the boundary wall. Great to have a neighbour like
that!
There are, of course, other causes of cracks in buildings....
earthquakes for instance. We do get earthquakes in Bali from
time to time and there is always the potential for a big one.
Don’t be scared of this – just be prepared. There
are some very clear lessons to be learned from the Yogya earthquake
and I will look at these another time. For the time being
all we need to understand is that your house should be well
designed by someone who knows what they are doing.
When you engage an architect ask him about previous work he
has done. If he says he worked for the Kuta Beach Watch Company
or if during your discussion about your new home he asks you
if you need transport, or a tattoo, or a massage, it may be
prudent to avoid him like the proverbial plague.
Unfortunately it is important in Bali to either think for
yourself or find someone you can trust. Either way if you
want to build a house that will not fall down around your
ears the next time you get the tremours I suggest you:
• Select a stable building site.
• Avoid steep slopes in the paddy fields (a nice dream
I know)
• Keep the structure light and if possible single story.
• If you do want to build a concrete multistory house
make sure it is properly designed and well built with reinforced
concrete beams and columns. Concrete beams should also form
part of the foundation.
• Make sure that the foundation is strong enough for
the design you choose.
Oh and if you do have a problem and your builder blames it
on rabbits, moles or badgers I would be a little suspicious
if I were you.
Phil Wilson
Phil Wilson a project director for Focus Indonesia and a partner
of MrFixit property maintenance services. Opinions expressed
are those of Phil Wilson. If you have any questions or comments
related to property maintenance he can be contacted at the
office on 0361 288 789 or through the website at www.mrfixitbali.com
Copyright@2007 Fixed Abode
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