Preparing safety case reports structural new cracking

Help to prepare safety case reports

This information is for Accountable Persons (APs) of high-rise buildings to assist them in preparing safety case reports for Building Assessment Certificates that include new cracking.

Cracks in walls or concrete are common. They do not necessarily mean that there are structural problems with the building.

However, new cracks should be investigated and may need to be monitored.

Scenario

New cracking has been noticed or reported in the building.

This might be as part of routine inspections of the building or it may have been reported by a resident.

Background and possible reasons

There are a number of possible causes for cracking. These include cracking could:

be cosmetic or a local, non-structural issue
indicate a structural problem
be one example of a wider problem

Short term responses

The first thing to do is for someone competent to make an initial assessment as soon as possible.

This might be one of your staff if they have the necessary skills and experience. Width of cracks will be a relevant factor.

This should include looking for other cracking in the same or similar areas.

If the competent person is sure cracking is just cosmetic, you may not need to take any further action.

If you cannot be sure the cracking is just cosmetic, you will need to do more:

arrange for a specialist to assess the cracking
- act on the assessment
consider whether any urgent action is needed
- while this is unlikely if the cracking is new and limited, it should be considered

Additional responses

There are a number of possible outcomes after the cracking has been assessed.

These include:

the specialist may recommend no further action
they may recommend a programme of monitoring
you may need to take action to put problems identified right
- what you need to do will depend on what the problem is, what caused it and how widespread it is
if the problem is widespread, you may need to investigate further

Whatever the outcome, you should record details of the cracking and what you have done about it.