Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting

Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting Book By M. G. Alexander

In the light of the developments in the field of con-

crete structures the increasing attention for “design

for service life” is remarkable. The background of

this development is clear. Damage due to insufficient

attention for durability, or due to the use of inade-

quate criteria, have led to expensive repair and even

demolition and replacement. De Sitter (1984) made

a statement which perfectly touches the core of the

matter. This statement is known as the Rule of Fives:

“If no maintenance is carried out the later repair costs

will be five times the saved maintenance costs. If no

repair is carried out, the cost of renovation will be

five times the money saved by not repairing”. Mean-

while we have experienced the truth behind this say-

ing: expensive maintenance and repair measures are

necessary there, where in the past the need for the

aspect durability was ignored.