How to evaluate the safety of a house
In buildings there are various types of facilities: electricity, heating, water, gas and air conditioning. Facility which, for various reasons, in some cases can be a source of serious accidents. Furthermore, Italy is known, is a seismic country, and therefore subject to earthquakes. This means that the buildings, and thus also our homes, can also be damaged seriously by events of a certain magnitude. How do you recognize the signs of potential dangers?
The National Council of Architects has prepared a quick reference guide, clear and concise manner that makes us able to clearly assess the level of security of our premises and, if necessary, run for cover. The following is the introduction of the guide "Building security":
"To understand how buildings are constructed and to evaluate safety problems, can help make an analogy with the human body.
The analogy between the human body and building is very old. The terms that indicate the status of a person as sick: sick, sickness, nurses, are all derived from the Latin ancestor firmitas (stability) that indicates the status of 'good health' of a building.
When a person is sick you call the doctor because they face the diagnosis and prescribe the cure, when a building has anomalies such as cracks, displacements and deformations have to call the technician who will be able to trace the causes which led to them and assess their seriousness .
The buildings then, like the human body, must be cared for and kept under control to keep them in good health. It may therefore be useful to be able to identify the early symptoms of malaise that may occur in their own home. "
The guide also suggests some tests to check your own state of the building:
• TO RECOGNIZE THE CONCRETE FLOORS FROM THOSE IN WOOD OR IRON
You can make a pop-up in the middle of the room: If fluctuate dramatically are made of wood or iron, otherwise they are of reinforced concrete.
• TO ACCEPT THE CONCRETE OF POOR QUALITY '
A simple method, but indicative, to recognize a good concrete from a bad one is to beat with a hammer. If the hammer bounces off and the noise is sound, concrete is good. If the hammer leaves a footprint or concrete breaks down and the sound is dull, concrete is of poor quality.
• MALTA (mortar), BRICKS AND THAT TUFF SFARINANO
To check the quality of concrete, mortar and bricks just scrape them with a nail: sfarinano easily if you are not good. The same test can also be made with tufa, with which they built many houses.
• BRICKS OF POOR QUALITY '
The quality of the bricks you might recognize from the sound they make as if they are beaten with a light hammer blow: if they are good the sound is dry, almost metallic, if they are bad the sound is dull.
• unseasoned wood, rotted O bugged
Even the wooden beams you can make an easy quality control tapping with a hammer or by sticking a nail. The rotten wood rotted or does not transmit sound and the hammer blow is cushioned. The wood is good sound and resists the penetration of the nail.
The handbook concludes by analyzing the potential risks deriving from the plants in your home
15/05/2009
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Translated via software
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Source:
Italian version of ReteIngegneri.it