Weathering on Buildings?

Question

I need help for my geography project!
I need to know how weathering affect buildings and what phisycal evidences are there to show that weathering is taking place weathering.
Can you also tell me how does heat affect buildings?
Thx.

Answer 1

Two easy ways that weathering affects buildings are by dissolution of certain minerals and freeze/thaw cycles.

If you have a building made of limestone, and it is rained on, most rainwater is slightly acidic and will cause the calcium carbonate which makes up the limestone (or marble) to dissolve. You can see this is gravestones, where the etchings have become indistinct over years, or on gargoyles that look like they have lost their features.

Freeze-thaw cycles can involve ice wedging. This is when water gets into a small crack and freezes. Since water expands when it gets colder, it will force the crack to widen. You see this a lot in sidewalks and other concrete structures, and on steps up to buildings.

Heat can also cause cracks to form, as rocks and a lot of building laterials expand when they heat up, and contract when they cool. The pressure can crack them up.

Hope this helps!