The structural evaluation of existing buildings requires the study of the main bearing structural sentence of the existing building to be evaluated, by identifying all the factors necessary to know the status of each of the structural elements that make up the structural bearing carrying the building.

Structural evaluation steps for existing buildings:

Study and check the executive plans, if any, or prepare alternative executive plans that represent the implemented elements.

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Study the stages of construction and the method used in construction, and determine the date of construction, and see the documents that are useful in identifying and determining the quality of implementation - if any - and the extent to which the design plans coincide with the implementation and the method of construction followed at the time.

Conducting a field inspection of all the structural elements that carry and constitute the building, and that includes studying the ceilings, floors, beams, columns, bases and foundations; To determine the safety of each of these elements.

Identify and choose the appropriate field and laboratory tests to be performed on the structural elements bearing the building.

Field and laboratory tests and tests of structural elements:

Among the field and laboratory methods of examination and testing that can be used (all or some of them) for existing buildings are the following:

Using the Schmidt hammer test according to the technical and standard principles of this test.

The use of sound waves according to the technical and standard principles of this test.

Using the half-cell test according to the technical and standard principles of this test.

Use the concrete ball test according to the technical and standard principles of this test, provided that the following tests are performed on the samples:

- Single-axis fracture test for sample; To determine the current resistance of concrete.

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Carbonization test; To determine the extent of interaction of surface concrete and determine its extent of wear, so that the possibility and arrival of the corrosion risk can be determined for the effective reinforcement of the studied component.

- Chemical analysis to determine the percentage of sulfates and chlorides and the degree of alkalinity PH.

Conducting other tests, depending on the needs and condition of the facilities.

Detecting the concrete coverage of the reinforcing steel: through which the thickness of the protective concrete layer of the reinforcing steel is determined by using advanced devices that do not need to break concrete, and determining the degree of protection of this layer of the reinforcement against the attack of salts that lead to the corrosion of concrete and rebar.

Determine the effective diameter of the reinforcing steel, and determine its current resistance with appropriate tests.

Study of foundation soil and bases:

A report of the soil examination and study on the basis of which the building was constructed (if any) should be found, and in the absence of it, a new geotechnical study must be carried out to obtain the correct image of the soil layers below the building, with the aim of comparing the soil bearing capacity with the loads transferred to it From the building. The specifications of the existing foundations and their ability to transfer the building loads to the soil below the building are also determined, and this requires doing the following:

Undertaking field investigations and investigations of soil layers below the building; To determine its specifications and study its physical and mechanical properties, or to make confirmation probes in the case of a previous geotechnical study.

Carrying out building inspections through exploratory excavation of the bases, through which the type of bases used, their dimensions and the foundation layer are determined, as well as the foundations of the bases made of concrete and reinforcing steel.

Conducting a geotechnical evaluation of the building’s rules under evaluation, in order to determine the capacity of the rules and their suitability for the type of building and to study the declines made under these rules, according to the loads transferred to them and according to the depth of foundation that the rules were established and implemented, with a case study of the foundations on Different levels and comparison of all data between the rules to determine the variation in the decreases between the adjacent bases.

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The geotechnical study should be in accordance with the technical requirements for preparing geotechnical studies issued by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs

Building technical evaluation:

The possibility of increasing the loads on the building’s rules should be determined if all the structural elements are capable of bearing the possible increase resulting from the increase in the number of floors above the building.

Sectional columns, beams and slabs should be studied, focusing on the last floor, and determining the tolerance of these elements for the loads resulting from adding other floors to the building.

Determine the impact of landings on building safety under the influence of adding building floors