10 Construction Mistakes to Avoid in

Earthquake-Prone Areas
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Buildings require great designs and sound construction practices to be able to withstand
the disastrous forces of an earthquake. There are several common designs and
construction mistakes one can avoid to keep a building intact and minimize the impact of
an earthquake on it.

For instance, flaws like soft storey, short columns, inadequate reinforcement detailing,
non-structural damage, discontinuous force resisting system, poor quality concrete,
inadequate detailing, and inferior materials act as a trigger for earthquake to take down a
building.

These designs and construction mistakes have been observed and noticed repeatedly in
the majority of earthquake-hit areas. Therefore, it is necessary to take these errors into
consideration during the design and construction phase of structures.

10 Construction Mistakes to Avoid

1. Soft Storey
Formation of soft storey in a structure is a common mistake that causes heavy damages to
buildings in the event of an earthquake. Generally, building irregularities are divided into
two major classes namely plan and vertical irregularities.
The latter is further categorized into three types which include discontinuity of vertical
structural system, strength irregularities, and rigidity irregularities. When the ratio of
relative displacement of a given floor to the above floor is different by 1.5, the rigidity
irregularities occur (soft storey).

It is observed that soft storey with masonry infills suffers fewer damages compared
to soft storey without masonry walls between columns of that particular storey. So, the
possibility of damages increases when there are masonry infills on the upper storey but
not on the soft storey.
 Fig. 1: Soft storey Without Masonry Infills

Fig. 2: Damages Due to Soft

Storey

2. Short Columns
The design and construction of short columns or formation of short columns due to
several reasons in structures, especially in seismic prone regions, have been a major
cause of building damages. This claim is proved through inspections and investigation of
structural damages in various earthquake-hit areas around the world such as in 2011-Van
Earthquake in Turkey.

Short columns are formed due to non-load bearing brick walls. This wall restricts lateral
displacement of the frame and increases its rigidity. Differences in column lengths of the
same storey create a brittle fracture in the columns. Also, the voids left between the
columns in infilled walls is another cause of short column formation, Fig. 3.
 Fig. 3: Formation
of Short Column in a Building due to Non-load Bearing Wall

Fig. 4: Short Column

3. Inadequate Reinforcement Detailing

Several reinforcement-detailing mistakes have been observed to be the cause of damages
in earthquake-prone areas. For instance, beam-column joint with inadequate detailing
(Fig. 5 and 6), inadequate lap splice (Fig. 7), and inadequate tie reinforcement (spacing
and bars sizes), Fig. 8. These issues can be prevented by the strict adherence to the code
provisions and by proper monitoring of construction works.

Fig. 5: Damage at Column Beam Joint Due to Improper

Detailing
 Fig. 6: Inadequate
Beam-column Joint

Fig. 7: Inadequate Lap

Splice
 Fig. 8: Inadequate Reinforcement
Detailing

4. Non-structural Damage
By and large, non-structural damages do not endanger the stability of a structure.
However, they can be a source of falling hazards, for instance, cracking and overturning
of partition walls and parapets, falling of plaster and ceilings. A structure needs to have
adequate rigidity to minimize the second-degree moments as much as possible and to
reduce the non-structural damage.
 Fig. 9: Non-structural Damage

5. Discontinuous Force Resisting System

All vertical elements in the lateral-force-resisting system shall be continuous to the
foundation otherwise catastrophic damages such as shown in Fig. 10 can happen. It can
be seen that the ground floor has completely collapsed under the load of the floor just
above it due to the disproportionate transfer of loads by the resisting system.

Fig. 10:
Discontinuous Force Resisting System
6. Strong Beam-weak Column
Strong beam-weak column is another common mistake that leads to the failure of
structures in various earthquake-hit areas. In the case of weak column-strong beam, the
column fails prior to the beam and progressive collapse would be highly possible.

However, when columns are stronger, the beams fail first and the entire safety of the
structure would not be in danger. The repair of the beams in these circumstances would
be feasible.

Fig. 11: Strong Beam-Weak Column

7. Inadequate Detailing
There are certain detailing mistakes which may lead to damages to a building during
earthquakes, for instance, inadequate provisions for drainage, abrupt changes in section,
inadequate expansion joints, and inadequate provision for deflection. Fig.12 exemplifies
the influence of inadequate detailing.
 Fig. 12: Inadequate
Detailing

8. Poor Quality Concrete

The application of poor-quality concrete is yet another mistake that could lead to
structural damages during earthquakes. Low-strength material which has no or very less
tensile and shear strength is more prone to damage.
 Fig. 13: Poor Quality Concrete

9. Inferior Materials
Unreinforced masonry made of stones, adobe or hand-made clay bricks, is the type of
housing construction system that has exhibited the largest damage. Inferior materials are
inherently weak and suffer damages greatly under earthquake attack. The use of some
type of reinforcement is probably responsible for the single most effective change in
reducing earthquake damage of masonry constructions made with distinctly different
materials.
 Fig. 14: Inferior Materials

10. Densely Populated Area

Construction in already very densely populated areas leads to a massive loss of lives and
property in the event of an earthquake.
 Fig. 15: Densly Populated
Area