Building Movements and Joints

This text is intended for the concerned reader - whether engineer, architect, builder, or student - who wants to know more about why and how the parts of concrete buildings move and change shape, and how these changes can be controlled. Temperature and moisture changes are always at work, changing the length, width, and thickness of concrete, masonry, and other building materials. Gravity pulls, bends, and twists the parts of a building as do wind, rain, snow, and earthquake. Chemical actions sometimes occur and cause movements that must be anticipated. These individual movements are minute, but they can have noticeable effects as the building adjusts itself into balance with its environment. When they are recognized and understood, they are easier to cope with. Although the causes of the movements, fractures, and distress encountered in buildings can be complex, the remedies are usually quite simple. Ways are shown for controlling these movements within the state of the art. If such preventive measures are included in the planning stages, the builder as well as the user can have confidence that the building will be attractive, comfortable, and safe.