Abstract
A questionnaire survey of 5,800 residential buildings was conducted in the Dry Equatorial, South Western Equatorial, Tropical Continental and the Wet Semi Equatorial climatic zones in Ghana to identify the lead source of dampness in walls of residential buildings in Ghana. Data were analyzed using frequency and severity index. Majority of the houses surveyed were of lateritic materials and sandcrete block walls. The results showed that the most dominant symptoms in the walls of the residential buildings surveyed were hygroscopic salts, decayed skirting, dampness below 1.5 m and mold growth on walls up to 1m high. These symptoms point to the presence of rising dampness in the walls of these residential buildings. The results provide a platform for addressing the problem of rising dampness in buildings.
Highlights
Buildings have an expected lifetime of 60 to over 100 years, during which they offer shelter from the weather to human beings, animals and properties
The results show that 71% of the respondents interviewed in the South Western Equatorial Zone, 77% of the respondents interviewed in the Dry Equatorial Climatic Zone and 56% of the respondents in the Wet Semi Equatorial Climate Zone live in detached buildings
The results show that 81% of buildings (1,370 buildings) in the Wet Semi Equatorial climatic zone were identified with symptoms such as ‘hygroscopic salts’, ‘moisture in skirtings’, ‘dampness below 1.5m in horizontal band’ and ‘mold growth on walls about 1m high’
Summary
Buildings have an expected lifetime of 60 to over 100 years, during which they offer shelter from the weather to human beings, animals and properties. Weather and its variations cause degradation of building materials and structures (www.chalmers.se/.../building). When designing a sustainable building, it is important to take into consideration the location, natural shading, shelter (from storms, etc.) and structural materials (Cukierski, 1999). This is because certain parameters such as ambient air temperature and humidity, solar radiation, wind, precipitation and ground water cause different processes of deterioration in buildings. Moisture in general causes damage to the exterior and interior walls of buildings, high heating energy consumption and uncomfortable indoor environment for occupants (Karouglou et al, 2007). As the most frequently reported cause of building deterioration, dampness in all its forms has assumed an alarming proportion and countries like the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Japan, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, etc. have recorded the enormity of the problem
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