Why many homes in bahria town rawalpindi are damaged.

Buying Property Property Evaluation
#1

Me & my family wanted to buy a decent 5-7 marla house in bt ,i came to know after research that the soil in bt-r is causing large scale cracks visible on homes,some houses have cracks on different parts of the interior as well exterior.

We visited many homes where cracks were starting on top floor and all the way down to the foundations of the house,hence my father rejected to buy a house in rawalpindi.

Does anybody know why this is happening?

As you may know on north side of the eiffel tower ,safari villas are completely damaged and one whole block looks like being struck by an earthquake.

Seeing all this we didn't make up our mind to invest in bahria town rawalpindi,what is your opinion?

#2

Though Bahria town officials force people to take extreme precautions on building on earth filled land, still it can never match the bearing capacity of the natural land. The filling is the reason and risk always stays there.

Sir why are you just considering just Bahria town there are lot more places to invest.

#3

Dear Abdul Raees,

Why you focus on Safari villas?Nobody like to purchase 8 marla villas because 75% with cracks?Yes there is cracks even some area of Rafi block but these all are old houses.

There is two reasons filling and last earthquake.Now Bahria and consultant are strict about sand test report and excavation of foundation.They can't compromise with foundation.This is the reason builders and investors are avoid filling area because more expenditure once you start construction in filling plot.

If you like to purchase house then focus on solid land houses.If you like to purchase 5 marla then Ali block,E-1, 7 marla Abu Bakar or Ali or Usman block 10 marla B,C,D,F-1 or Overseas 4 or 6.The better way purchase plot at solid land and construct yourself.

Regards

#4

More than 90% area in phase 8 has filling

#5

What is filling?

anyone know the total cost of building 6 to 7 marla house in bahria town?

#7

Bahria Town RWP/ISB always has filling issues. Phase-8 is still ok while Bahria Enclave is the worst among all.

#8

A.o.a, we have recently constructed our house in bahria town phase 8 . Wall cracks are appearing in our house as before our shifting .

Does any body guide us that why it is happening and about its solution???

#9

Now it is almost impossible to avoid Bahria standards and end up having cracks in building.

We recently worked in Usman block (02 units side by side) and no problem, Al-Hamdolillah.

Constructing in "E" block and no problem whatsoever.

Just started a commercial in Overseas-5. Will see how it goes.

I think people save money in foundations and end up with problems.

Having said that, construction in Bahria phase-8 cost like fortune now.

#10

BT construction standards are good (they have to enforce as it becomes mandatory for them to somehow hide and compensate for their filled/fabricated land). The compliance and money they make doesn't justify the structural strength and in most cases that happens to be the soil/land underneath the structure....

Had personal experience in P-8 Umer Block. Once the crack start to appear underneath the ceiling, there is no going back, unless some drastic measures are taken...

No t so long ago, the unfortunate Plaza in BT LHR:

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/05/07/plaza-collapses-in-lahores-bahria-town/

#11

I think the safest way is to make basement and must not save steel in the foundations.

Now you have to make full thick concrete bed of heavy steel

Regarding enforcing BT laws, I think since it is in the house owner benefit, foundation must go by book in order to avoid any structural defects.

#12

A really informative discussion. Thanks to Abdul Raees for raising this issue and to the property Gurus and experts for their most insightful advice.

#13

Dear All,

Is this filling or deep plots are only in Bahria town pindi, rest of the islamabad / pindi is all built on solid land and no where else this issue raised ??

Please needs clearification.

#14

For sure, not second thoughts on laws and enforcement for structural integrity. However, even after following the laws and undertaking the expensive constructions, people/house owners in many cases suffer because of the fact that land had issues that must had been sorted out by the BT itself before selling.

In other way, for BTs issues, customer ends up paying heavier and ultimate structural defects.

#15

Very informative and useful discussion. Just curious to know how a common person understand soil health/status if it is with filling or not?

#16

Abbasi Sb.

Fortunately there is an authentic way to check the ground's hardness. They call it "soil testing". They drill holes deep enough at multiple locations and submit report, pretty bulky by the way, detailing the earth softness or harness status.
A one Kanal plot soil testing cost around Rs.25000-30000. This report can tell fairly good analysis of the land.

#18

BT to large and somehow DHA have mastered the art of filling and sell it. CDA is evil in so many things but doesnt care much about filling and mostly leaves the land as that is, whether one buys or not but of-course that comes in depressed area and sells slow and cheap.

1. Why cracks appear?

Can a mix of things, to say the least filled land, depressed soil under the structure, less or low quality plaster, low quality bricks etc.

2. What to do? - before buying Plot or House

Some general tips that may not be applicable to all scenarios but can be helpful. Some hints

- In most cases plot/house on depressed land may be cheaper than normal

- Level of plot from adjacent road, down to 2 - 3 feet is ok, more than that can be an issue not only for construction but even drainage for (rain) water that may flow from the road.

- If one want to buy a plot, perform soil test as they can be helpful to reveal the filling and to know what extent. Some test can be onsite, some needs to be done in the lab.


- If one wants to buy a house check the documentation for soil test. Not fool proof, as people can get that manipulated but at-least some evidence.

3. What to do? - after buying Plot or House

- Basement, if one can afford or prefer

- Exit by selling out, there can be people who may be interested to buy as many of the commercial plots can be bought cheaper due to depression but their basements (lower grounds) can somehow compensate.

- Rafting or Piling in the construction.

- Can be more complex if one bought a constructed house and after sometime the cracks appear. Than the engineer can better tell as sometimes that may vary from case to case.

* In areas where Google Street View is available, if there is, once can check the historical imagery of a location to see how that looked years back... and how that looks now, a rough guesstimate...

The above steps are not exhaustive and comprehensive but a few general guidelines!

#19

Another problem that i noticed is the seepage line on the outer walls of the houses. Its very common in BT and also in dha. What can be the cause of that.

#20

Mohammad

Seepage normally initiates from the earth upward to the walls, if not from the concealed water line leakage. We do not normally pay much attention to the foundations damp proofing when raising the DPCs!
If done properly, moisture from down the DPCs can be arrested with good concrete layer, coupled with good steel amount, putting a tick and fit for the job polyethene sheet (thick and properly selected polythene sheet type will never degrade for centuries). Then there shall be good quality charcoal layer.
Another mistake normally exercised is, that we conceal bath & kitchen water line too much inside the walls.
Water lines must be in open in the galleries and only 9" spool to be inserted in bath room wall and all shower's and wash basin piping to be put outside the tiles.
Now fancy showers are available which look nice even above the tiles. There are situations where piping has to be concealed but it must be at minimum.
If plot is in depression, then also damp can ingress from adjacent higher location houses: If that is the case then a 4" concrete wall/boundary wall is the solution.
Depression plots, although cheap, must be avoided as a thumb rule. These low elevation houses always pose headache, even if you do all what I am suggesting.

#21

Damp proofing course (DPC) applied correctly when the building foundations are made should ensure that there is no seepage/damp appearing on the walls. Abdul Qayyum sahib has correctly identified the biggest culprit IMHO which is concealed piping inside the walls. In an earthquake prone country like Pakistan all water/gas piping MUST be visible inside the house incase of any cracks developing in them. Also I believe in Pakistan they are still using iron pipes whereas in Europe they use copper piping for both gas and water piping inside the houses unless I am way out of date on my knowledge with regards to building materials currently used in Pakistan.

#22

We recently built a house in bahria and followed all the instructions regarding stronger base and more pilling but even after that our house has settled from front and back and the cracks have appeared inside the house and outside also. Will the house fall ? What can we possibly do to save it?

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