Tile Delamination on Façades of Tall Buildings
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Collection
2.2. Data Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Tiling System
- -
- Cement/Sand Rendering: This layer is applied over the substrate to provide a smooth, level surface for the tile bed. It also serves as a levelling base to address irregularities on the substrate surface, ensuring that the tiles are laid consistently. Additionally, this layer helps distribute stress from the substrate, reducing direct impact on the tile bed.
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- Tile Bed (Bedding Adhesive): This is the layer that bonds the ceramic tile to the cement/sand rendering layer. It is often made of adhesive mortar, ensuring that the tiles are securely fastened and able to withstand environmental stressors such as wind loads and temperature-induced expansion and contraction.
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- Ceramic Tiles: The visible, outermost layer provides an aesthetic finish to the building. It protects the underlying layers while withstanding environmental stresses such as wind loads and temperature-induced expansions and contractions. Additionally, it provides protection to the structure against impact from objects.
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- Grouted Joints: Grout fills the gaps between individual tiles, creating a seal that protects the edges of the tiles from water penetration and allows for slight movements. Grout also enhances the visual appearance by forming clean lines between tiles.
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- Movement Joints: These joints are designed to accommodate the expansion and contraction of materials caused by temperature changes, moisture variations, and structural movements. They are typically filled with flexible materials, such as sealants, which allow for elastic movement without cracking or causing stress on the tiles (Figure 5).
3.2. Defects in Tile Façades
3.3. Root Cause Analysis
3.3.1. Type and Extent of Problems
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- Localized and Isolated: The form of failure is limited to specific regions of the façade rather than affecting entire sections. They may appear as isolated areas where tiles have deboned or broken;
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- Widespread and Random: These failures occur in a scattered, irregular pattern across the façade, often without a predictable pattern;
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- Regular and Consistent: In this type, failures occur in a predictable, uniform pattern across similar locations on a building.
3.3.2. Causation Factors
- Design, including specifications, for instance, lack of provision for movement joint;
- Workmanship, such as poor installation and surface preparation;
- Materials, such as unsuitable adhesive and plaster;
- Environment.
Design Considerations
Workmanship Issues
Material Properties
Environment
3.4. Defect-Driven Risk Assessment
4. Recommendations
4.1. Design
4.2. Materials
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- Every 3 to 4.5 m in horizontal and vertical directions;
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- At storey heights;
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- Where the tiling changes directions or angle;
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- Where tiles abut other surfaces and along existing movement joints in the structure;
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- Filled with a stable sealant such as polyurethane
4.3. Workmanship
4.4. Maintenance
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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No. | Study Area | Reference |
---|---|---|
01 | Defect-based risk assessment model for prioritizing inspection of sewer pipelines | [17] |
02 | Risk-Informed, Reliability-Driven Decision Support for Building Basement Systems | [18] |
03 | Evaluating the Impact of Defect Risks in Residential Buildings at the Occupancy Phase | [19] |
04 | Defect Risk Assessment Using a Hybrid Machine Learning Method | [20] |
05 | Probabilistic Defect-Based Risk Assessment Approach for Rail Failures in Railway Infrastructure | [21] |
Defect | Buildings | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
≤10 Years | 10–20 Years | 20–30 Years | 30–40 Years | ≥40 Years | Total | |||||||
16 | % | 40 | % | 48 | % | 40 | % | 16 | % | 160 | (P) | |
A1. Cracking | 15 | 94% | 36 | 90% | 43 | 90% | 39 | 98% | 16 | 100% | 149 | 93% |
A2. Efflorescence | 4 | 25% | 22 | 55% | 26 | 54% | 26 | 65% | 14 | 88% | 92 | 58% |
A3. Chemical attack | 1 | 6% | 3 | 8% | 4 | 8% | 3 | 8% | 2 | 13% | 13 | 8% |
A4. Water Penetration | 9 | 56% | 33 | 83% | 42 | 88% | 36 | 90% | 16 | 100% | 136 | 85% |
A5. Biological Attack | 3 | 19% | 12 | 30% | 23 | 48% | 23 | 58% | 8 | 50% | 69 | 43% |
A6. Joint Failure | 6 | 38% | 32 | 80% | 36 | 75% | 34 | 85% | 16 | 100% | 124 | 78% |
A7. Staining | 9 | 56% | 22 | 55% | 40 | 83% | 34 | 85% | 16 | 100% | 121 | 76% |
Test | Purpose | Parameters Used | Relevance of Results to Tile Delamination | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Shear Strength Test (Effect of Temperature Extremes on Bond Strength) | Evaluate how storage temperature affects adhesive bond strength | Tile size (100 × 100 mm2), Four distinct adhesive compositions, curing (3 days initial, 3 days at test temp, 24 hours equilibration), test temps (−10 °C, 25 °C, 60 °C) | Extreme storage temperatures weaken tile adhesion | [26] |
Shear Strength Test (Effect of Temperature During Application on Bond Strength) | Assess how application temperature impacts bond strength | Tile size (100 × 100 mm2), Four distinct adhesive compositions, gluing temps (10 °C, 25 °C, 40 °C), curing (6 h at gluing temp, 8 days ambient) | Extreme application temperatures cause weakened bonds | [26] |
Elastic Recovery Test | Evaluate the curing rate and elastic recovery of high-performance sealants (polysulphide, polyurethane, silicone) | Mould size (300 × 10 × 15 mm), curing conditions (26 ± 2 °C, 65 ± 5% RH), sealant types (Table 1), test intervals (1–150 days) | Slow-curing sealants may fail to withstand early facade movements, stressing tile adhesives and contributing to tile delamination | [27] |
Shear Strength Test (Effect of Temperature Extremes on Bond Strength) | Study how storage temperature affects adhesive flexibility and bond strength | Tile size (100 × 100 mm2, sandstone, 0.3% absorption, 0.2% moisture expansion, 0.6 thermal expansion coefficient), Four distinct adhesive compositions, curing (3 days initial, 3 days at test temp, 24 hours equilibration), temps (−10 °C, 25 °C, 60 °C) | Extreme storage temperatures weaken tile adhesion | [10] |
Shear Strength Test (Effect of Temperature During Application on Bond Strength) | Assess application temperature’s impact on bond strength. | Tile size (100 × 100 mm2, sandstone, 0.3% absorption, 0.2% moisture expansion, 0.6 thermal expansion coefficient), Four distinct adhesive compositions, gluing temps (10 °C, 25 °C, 40 °C), curing (6 h at gluing temp, 8 days ambient) | Extreme application temperatures cause weakened bonds | [10] |
Shear Strength Test (Effect of Tile/Adhesive Consistency and Moisture) | Study moisture and tile type effects on bond strength | Tile size (100 × 100 mm2, sandstone, 0.3% absorption, 0.2% moisture expansion, 0.6 thermal expansion coefficient), 2 adhesives (A, B), curing (8 days at 25 °C), exposure (14 days dry or wet/dry) | Moisture cycles and tile type affect bond strength; wet/dry conditions weaken adhesion | [10] |
Pull-Off Strength Test | Evaluate adhesive resilience under thermal cycling | Tile (200 × 200 mm2), slab (10 × 10 m2), two adhesives (B, D), curing (7 days wet), 100 cycles (1 h heat, 3 h cool, ~38 °C max) | Thermal cycling significantly weakens bond strength | [10] |
Causes | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | W1 | W2 | W3.1 | W3.2 | M1 | M2 | M3 | M4 | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Defect | ||||||||||||||||||
A1. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
A2. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
A3. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||
A4. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
A5. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
A6. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
A7. | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Cause Category | C1. Design | C2. Workmanship | C3. Material | C4. Environment | OLS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Defect | ||||||
A1. Cracking | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.950 | |
A2. Efflorescence | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.75 | 0.8 | 0.575 | |
A3. Chemical attack | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.500 | |
A4. Water Penetration | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.6 | 0.900 | |
A5. Biological Attack | 0.75 | 0.25 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.575 | |
A6. Joint Failure | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.8 | 0.763 | |
A7. Staining | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.475 |
Defect | Overall Linkage Significance (OLS) | Likelihood (P) | Delamination Risk Index (DRI) | Priority No |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cracking | 0.95 | 0.93 | 0.884 | 1 |
Efflorescence | 0.575 | 0.58 | 0.334 | 5 |
Chemical attack | 0.5 | 0.08 | 0.040 | 7 |
Water Penetration | 0.9 | 0.85 | 0.765 | 2 |
Biological Attack | 0.575 | 0.43 | 0.247 | 6 |
Joint Failure | 0.763 | 0.78 | 0.595 | 3 |
Staining | 0.475 | 0.76 | 0.361 | 4 |
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Share and Cite
Chew, M.Y.L.; Samarakoon, W.K.U.R.M.K.P.K.; Asmone, A.S. Tile Delamination on Façades of Tall Buildings. Buildings 2025, 15, 1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071054
Chew MYL, Samarakoon WKURMKPK, Asmone AS. Tile Delamination on Façades of Tall Buildings. Buildings. 2025; 15(7):1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071054
Chicago/Turabian StyleChew, Michael Yit Lin, W. K. U. R. M. K. P. K. Samarakoon, and Ashan Senel Asmone. 2025. "Tile Delamination on Façades of Tall Buildings" Buildings 15, no. 7: 1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071054
APA StyleChew, M. Y. L., Samarakoon, W. K. U. R. M. K. P. K., & Asmone, A. S. (2025). Tile Delamination on Façades of Tall Buildings. Buildings, 15(7), 1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071054