What concrete cancer is, and waterproofing solutions to fix or prevent concrete cancer?
What is Concrete Cancer?
Concrete cancer is the breakdown of a building’s concrete, specifically in areas that surround internal steel reinforcements.
Concrete cancer occurs when water makes contact with the structural steel reinforcement bars and causes rust. The steel bars then forcibly expand and deform, breaking apart the concrete that surrounds them. The concrete ‘spalls’, i.e. breaks apart and falls away in chunks.
Buildings are often required to ‘encase’ the steel rebar with specific types and depths of concrete. This serves to shield the steel from the elements, which may include varying levels of rain and/or salt (if near the ocean). However, concrete, no matter how thick or what type, remains a porous substrate. Water likely will eventually soak through to the steel within, and concrete cancer will then occur in time. However, there is a way to prevent or treat it before significant damage is done.