Precast Reinforced Concrete Limitations and Concrete Cancer

There have always been problems associated with PRC houses. These properties were built in the 1940's and 1950's to cope with the increased demand for housing. They were built using Precast Reinforced Concrete at a time when traditional building materials and craftsmen were in short supply. There properties were practically built in kit form. However many of the panels used now conceal potential structural problems. A couple of examples are below on what is considered one of the better PRC designs.

Here are a couple of samples of concrete cancer and PRC metal fatigue.

Click pictures for a larger version

Take into consideration if a Unity 1 PRC design is the least likely to suffer problems out of the 6 main PRC types, yet it still is flawed design. If you have one of the alternative designs.... question "what condition are these steel supports in? ".

As a quick experiment once this house was stripped we took one internal support rod, cut it at an angle for a clean cut and a view of the internal condition of the steel rods.

Within 2 days the steel bar were already corroding with concrete cancer which is typical for Post WW2 low quality steel.

If there are any serious cracks or gaps in the supports any contact with air and/or salt will accelerate metal fatigue at a frightly fast pace. Today's steel on the other hand is more durable and galvanized to stop it from corroding. You can clearly see why a PRC repair is essential for a low maintenance home. As a side note any mortgage lenders would have no problems with a PRC repair due to Landmark's very high standards of construction.

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