It’s monsoon time yet again……and as usual, I have a lot of friends calling me up to ask for handy monsoon tips to keep home interiors seepage free. Most of them, victims of poor-quality construction work, find ’wall-tiling’ an amazing option to conceal the moss and gross of rainwater seepage. Exterior walls of buildings are the worst hit, especially in a country like India, where monsoon equates to not just farming and agriculture, but often floods and deluges too.
The Question is…………….. Is wall tiling really as useful as it seems to be? Not Really.
Here’s WHY -
Just give a thought to why seepage occurs. Obviously, there is a crack somewhere that is allowing the entry of rain-water from the exteriors right into your home. The root causes of crack formation may be various. Beginning from poor quality plasterwork, joint-filling…..right up to improper RCC built-up. Very often, the original cause of a crack cannot be detected until it grows large enough to trace its origin on its own.
Tiling up interiors prevents the sight of seepage. When you conceal the surface displaying seepage, you hide from your view, not just the wetness but also the gradual deterioration of your wall. The impervious material of cladding stops water from seeping in only at the innermost surface of the wall. But unless the the opening of the crack is suitably filled and treated at the exterior, the inflow of water continues to de-strengthen brickwork beneath the seemingly neat tiling surface.
If the crack lies through the cover of some structural member, there is a serious possibility of a hazard if tiling is conducted for decorative purposes. The water continues to penetrate to the reinforcement with widening of the crack. Consulting a qualified Structural Consultant is advisable, always.
INFERENCE - Treat seepage at its source of water-entry not its outlet.
The Question is…………….. Is wall tiling really as useful as it seems to be? Not Really.
Here’s WHY -
Just give a thought to why seepage occurs. Obviously, there is a crack somewhere that is allowing the entry of rain-water from the exteriors right into your home. The root causes of crack formation may be various. Beginning from poor quality plasterwork, joint-filling…..right up to improper RCC built-up. Very often, the original cause of a crack cannot be detected until it grows large enough to trace its origin on its own.
Tiling up interiors prevents the sight of seepage. When you conceal the surface displaying seepage, you hide from your view, not just the wetness but also the gradual deterioration of your wall. The impervious material of cladding stops water from seeping in only at the innermost surface of the wall. But unless the the opening of the crack is suitably filled and treated at the exterior, the inflow of water continues to de-strengthen brickwork beneath the seemingly neat tiling surface.
If the crack lies through the cover of some structural member, there is a serious possibility of a hazard if tiling is conducted for decorative purposes. The water continues to penetrate to the reinforcement with widening of the crack. Consulting a qualified Structural Consultant is advisable, always.
INFERENCE - Treat seepage at its source of water-entry not its outlet.
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