What Is Large-scale Repair?

Have you ever heard of the term, large-scale repair?

Most people probably have only superficial understandings of it, such as large scales of cleaning done in an apartment.

Living in a rented apartment, you might come across a large-scale repair in your own building. Let us take this opportunity to explain to you some simple facts to enhance your understanding.

What Is Large-scale Repair?

Now we’d like to explain to you about this term, large-scale repair.

A large-scale repair is a large-scale repair work that is carried out in regular intervals to prevent degradation as the apartment ages.

It is defined as [To repair more than half of the building’s main structure].

The main structure consists of 6 portions: pillars, floors, stairways, walls, roofs, and beams.

To be concrete, repair works will include painting the exterior walls, repairing wall cracks, waterproofing roofs, and plumbing water/drain lines.

What Will Happen Without Large-scale Repairs?

Walking around, you can spot a great number of apartments that seem like they haven’t undergone large-scale repairs for many years.

Well, what will become of apartments if large-scale repairs don’t take place?

Not surprisingly, exterior walls of these apartments will gradually degrade as years go by.

Without large-scale repairs, paints on the exterior walls will peel off and crack, letting in rainwater. With lowered safety, it will become difficult to live a comfortable life.

The most dangerous, are the accidents that may occur from them.

Concrete pieces falling off from the exterior walls can possibly hit the heads of residents.

When Is the Best Time for a Large-scale Repair?

Then, when is the best time for a large-scale repair to be carried out?

Generally speaking, the most appropriate time for a repair is 10 to 15 years after construction.

However, a condition of a building is different in each apartment, so it is important to determine the timing by both the number of years and condition.

What kinds of characteristics are inspected in determining a building’s condition?

As a building degrades, it begins to form what is called “chalking”, a white powder that adheres to the hand when touched. Here, large-scale repairs are not yet needed.

Following is the forming of cracks.

There are two types of cracks: cracks in the coating film, and cracks in the building frames.

Cracks in the coating film are still acceptable, but large-scale repairs will become necessary if cracks in building frames are found.

The way to distinguish these two cracks, is to see its widths. Cracks with widths below 0.3milimeters will be coating film cracks, so they will be safe.

If the crack is wider than 0.3 millimeters, then it will likely be a crack in the building frame, which calls for large-scale repairs.

As a more serious case, when a “blister” opens in the walls, large-scale repairs will be mandatory. When a “blister” forms, the moisture inside will cause the steel frames to rust, putting the building to a terrible state.

“blisters” can be determined by observing the eaves, so pay deep attention to them.

It is important to grasp the conditions of an apartment, not just its age.

[Notes from the Writer]

Today, I have described to you about large-scale repairs.

This is only a broad outline of it, but I will be glad if this will be of any help to everyone in their lives.