Service Life Prediction of Natural Stone Claddings with an Indirect Fastening System

Abstract

This paper intends to establish a model for the service life prediction of natural stone claddings with indirect fastening system based on a survey of the degradation state of 142 buildings in the Lisbon area. The state of degradation is evaluated through visual inspections that allow describing the extent of the cladding area affected by the different anomalies, thereby enabling the level of severity of the anomalies detected to be established. A numerical index of the degradation severity of stone claddings (Sw) is established; this is intended to express the global degradation level of these claddings, thus allowing the study of the evolution of their degradation with time to estimate a reference service life of this type of cladding. The results achieved in this study allow analyzing the influence of some intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics on the durability and service life of natural stone claddings with indirect fastening system. The information provided by the proposed models is essential for the definition of maintenance strategies, promoting a rational and sustainable management of the built heritage, optimizing the use of resources, and minimizing the overall cost of the building over its lifecycle.