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Experimental field test apparatus has been used to determine the inter-variability and intra-variability floodwater ingress rates of the masonry wall of a domestic building, before and after preparation with an improved surface treatment procedure. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue.

Replicated and repeated simulations of floodwater conditions (600 mm head) outside a building were created, before and after the wall was treated with a combination of mortar admixture and surface impregnation.

Untreated and treated floodwater ingress rates were 4.99 litres/hour (234.99 litres/hour/m2) and 1.74 litres/hour (81.90 litres/hour/m2), respectively, and display high intra-variability before treatment. These preliminary results indicate water penetration through masonry is linked to the initial rate of absorption of brick units and perceivably the workmanship of the bricklayer.

Reductions in floodwater penetration from outside a building, by the impregnation and admixture treatments of masonry walls, can be achieved to manageable levels. However, the target for rates of water ingress through permeable masonry of < 10 litres/hour/m2, to accord with values for kitemark products, still needs further work.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the flood impact on a detached dwelling based on physical attributes related to the positioning, form and orientation of the house, and second, to investigate the effectiveness of property-level protection (PLP) to mitigate the direct structural damage of the house and the degree of floodwater ingress within the house.

The methods included modelling and simulation within the ANSYS Fluent® computational fluid dynamics software. Flooding scenarios with constrained parameters using theoretical modelling methods/tools were used to test the research hypotheses. Therefore, the results obtained will match the what-if scenarios considered if/based on the standard equations and assumptions made in the idealised model.

It was found that the position, orientation and form of an individual dwelling with brick and block construction informs the impact of the applied pressure on the structure and water ingress. Increase in pressure on the structure was noted from 0.3 m. All examined PLP mitigated the risk of structural damage if applied in consideration with other interventions e.g. mortar sealing. The use of non-return valves could potentially increase the pressure on the structure, but was also found to be effective in reducing water ingress. Findings should be considered in conjunction with the assumptions and exceptions of this study.

The limitations of this study are that the findings are based on an idealised model of a single detached house, with no landscape obstruction to the watercourse. This mathematical approach concerned with developing the normative models may therefore not fully describe the real-world complex phenomena. But it provides the first vision and an objective basis to answer the questions under study, and to propose usable outputs. Flooding caused from internal sources (e.g. bursting of pipes, roof leaks) or seepage from the ground and moisture through the walls were excluded. Building content was not modelled.

Common property-level flood interventions are typically tested to mitigate water ingress to the house. This study extends this approach to include the prevention of structural damage to the external walls; this can help to avoid the indiscriminate use of property-level flood prevention solutions without full understanding of their degree of effectiveness or impact on the building’s structural integrity. This study is practically significant because it provides outputs and means to examine which intervention(s) are better for delivering flood protection to a standard brick/block detached house type. This knowledge is highly beneficial for relevant stakeholders who can use it to deliver effective property-level flooding resilience measures.

The study provides useful insights for property owners and building professionals to explore suitable, cost-effective single property-level protection against flooding. Furthermore, the effective implementation of interventions can be used to achieve a customised, “fit for purpose” resilience retrofit.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of new and innovative crystallising materials, so-called moisture blockers, in protecting masonry structures from water ingress.

Two masonry wells were constructed: one with lime mortar and the other with cement-based mortar in order to hold water inside, and then a moisture blocking product was applied at dry and wet conditions to the negative hydrostatic pressure side. The moisture levels of both, the surfaces and the substrate, were then observed for 14 days.

Results demonstrated that moisture blocking materials are effective methods in reducing the levels of surface moisture for bricks, mortar-brick interface and mortar.

Moisture blockers use the available water in the masonry to block the passage of water to the surface of the masonry, filling pores, cracks and spaces at the interface between mortar and bricks. This approach will deliver a wider understanding of how water-based moisture blockers work and the scenarios in which they are best applied. The pursuit of possible environmentally friendly and sustainable materials for use in the construction industry is the key driver of this research.

About 26,000 Airey Houses were erected during the post war years (1946–55) as part of the house building programme of that period. The Airey House is essentially a prefabricated concrete structure which was erected on site to form a box. This box was erected upon a concrete raft which acted as the foundation and floor of the dwelling. The basic box was formed from several framed ‘goal posts’ to which thin concrete cladding panels were fastened to the upright columns by copper wire. The vertical loading from the first floor and roof is taken on the vertical columns but may also be shared with the concrete cladding panels (see Figure 1).

The cementitious/chemical properties of the untreated CFA are dependent on the coal composition and previous burning conditions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether untreated CFA can efficiently reduce cement replacement and does not require further combustion treatment to be a viable cement replacement.

Two types of mixes: Type I concrete and PCFA (Type I and 30 per cent untreated CFA) concrete were batched and subjected to compressive strength tests and cyclic exposures of 5 per cent sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) and 5 per cent magnesium sulphate (MgSO₄), respectively.

PCFA mix was 41.1 and 35.21 per cent lower in strength compared to Type I at 28 and 56 days correspondingly. Continuous-sulphate-exposure resulted in slow but continued strength development for both mixes. However, the strengths of PCFA cubes exposed to cyclic sulphate and sulphate/magnesium salts continued to increase at a lower rate from their corresponding 28-day strength (rate of 18.7 per cent and strength 27.30 MPa in Na₂SO₄ and rate of 10.0 per cent and strength 25.30 MPa in MgSO₄) while Type I specimens subjected to the same exposure conditions experienced drastic reductions in strength (rate of −15.0 per cent and strength 33.21 MPa in Na₂SO₄ and rate of −23.4 per cent and strength 29.94 MPa in MgSO₄).

Results justify the need for additional tests essentially: at different percentage replacement of untreated CFA, fineness of materials, chloride environment and longer exposures, to address the cementitious properties of untreated CFA as cement replacement.

Treatment methods for fly ashes require undoubtedly additional resources, energy input and cost. This paper paves the way to define whether untreated CFA can be used as cement replacement in concrete.

This paper presents a case study of the response of a pharmaceutical goods manufacturer to an unexpected disruptive event. Following a period of heavy rainfall, a small town within the UK was quickly overwhelmed by localised flash flooding. The sudden rise in ground water overwhelmed local drainage systems and caused flooding in several areas of the town. One of the impacted areas included the manufacturing facilities of a pharmaceutical goods producer. This case study explores the subsequent response of the organisation to the event.

Based on direct interviews and supporting documentation, this case study analyses the organisation's response and recovery activities in the face of escalating impacts. Drawing on identified theory, specific attention is placed on characterising severe events and the challenges of coordinating response activities.

Drawing on the evidence of this case study, this paper highlights the identified features of an effective response within escalating events. Without this response, events such as those experienced by the case study organisation carry the distinct possibility of developing into large scale disruptions. This study highlights the importance of established channels of authority and the ability to identify and contain impacts.

This paper outlines some of the key considerations and operational priorities within response activities. These priorities support the effective identification and resolution of disruptive events and their associated impacts.

During the 1960s, thousands of high‐ and medium‐rise single sided corridor blocks were designed and constructed using prefabricated concrete cladding systems. Most were characterised by inferior quality material and poor workmanship, poor supervision and inadequate environmental services which subsequently deteriorated to a state of disrepair. The main culprits were condensation, water ingress and cold bridging effects owing to low energy efficiency standards and lack of thermal insulation. It was initially contemplated that at the end of their life span these problems would be remedied by adopting “high‐tech” components involving composite cladding methods and highly automated environmental services to improve the operational efficiency and optimise their long‐term durability and life cost cycle. However, the cost has proved to be beyond client affordability. Meeting the requirements of today’s users and the current building regulations necessitated rethinking of the whole process; and alternative cost‐effective maintenance and energy efficient approaches had to be developed. This paper critically evaluates the approach to low‐cost maintenance and refurbishment of high‐rise buildings in parts of Birmingham, UK.

The purpose of this paper is to present results of an action research addressing climate change adaptation of selected social housing stock in the UK. Climate change continues to pose major challenges to those responsible for the management of built assets. The adaptation required to address long-term building performance affected by climate change rarely get prioritised above more immediate, short-term needs (general built asset management needs).

The study adopts an in-depth participatory action research with a London-based social landlord and integrates climate change adaptation framework and performance-based model established through author’s previous research projects.

A staged process for including adaptation measures in built asset management strategy is developed along with metrics to analyse the performance of the housing stock against climate change impact of flooding. The prioritisation of adaptation measure implementation into long-term built asset management plans was examined through cost-based appraisal.

The research was carried out with a singular organisation, already acquainted with potential climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptive capacity assessment. The process adopted will differ for similar organisation in the sector with different settings and limited working knowledge of climate change impact assessment.

The paper concludes with a ten-step process developed as an aide memoir to guide social landlords through the climate change adaptation planning process.

In addition to the practical results from the study, the paper outlines a novel process that integrates resilience concepts, risk framing (to climate change impact) and performance management into built asset management (maintenance and refurbishment) planning.

The purpose of this paper is to present an investigation of facilities management (FM) needs of warehouse tenants to inform future warehouse design.

This study examines FM needs that must be designed into warehouse projects. It identifies tenants' FM requirements in warehouses; investigates the relationship between tenant satisfaction and performance of different facilities in warehouses; and recommends design and FM practices that warehouse owners should adopt to give tenants value for money. The research involves a quantitative study of tenant requirements for using warehouses. A questionnaire survey was conducted on tenants to find out their important requirements with a structured instrument. The sample was tenants of warehouses in Singapore.

The results reveal that users' main needs and priority in warehouse operation comprise: incorporating an operations office within warehouses; providing an air well along the loading/unloading bays; ensuring no interruption of electricity supply; providing air‐conditioning to the office; and providing good housekeeping.

The paper provides information that can be the foundation for developing a set of generic tenant FM requirements that could accelerate the design development of warehouses.

This paper aims to explore the history of Anglican churches in Malaysia and discusses their typical features and their respective maintenance practices.

A narrative review of 84 literacy sources published between 1967 and 2020 on the development and features of Anglican churches in Malaysia, along with recommendations on maintenance practices from the asset and facilities management perspective. The exploration of churches’ features follows three main disciplines in building maintenance according to the Jabatan Kerja Raya Guideline for as-built buildings in Malaysia.

The findings of the study have then been tabulated to form a maintenance framework to recommend suitable maintenance practices on specific building components based on different materials. The paper argues that as places of worship, the assets of religious facilities are intangible compared to any other types of building that serve a tangible function (i.e. shelter, commercial or industrial operation). Throughout the exploration of their maintenance practices suggested by vast sources of literature, it is proven that the maintenance of churches is not as straightforward as merely remedying the defects, but it requires the maintenance to radically minimise any disturbance to their aesthetics, thus making maintenance a more challenging task at churches.

This paper proposes a maintenance framework for Anglican churches in Malaysia by categorising building disciplines and their corresponding building components, which supports future research to improve the maintenance practices of religious facilities.