Under African Sky

      Last week I visited a house and a very unhappy home owner. This sparked me to drop a line. Typically, the leaking of water in basements / wine cellars can be caused due to two reasons. First and most common is the condensation due to lack of proper ventilation which causes water accumulating on the basement walls. Much like water droplets that form on a cold drink on a hot day. The other is water ingress from outside. Rainwater, melting snow, groundwater or in this case under-groundwater can saturate the soil around the basement foundation or wall and result in dampness, mildew or leak in. This water can leak through cracks, or it can penetrate through concrete or masonry walls in the form of water vapor. In extreme cases like the basement I visited last week, it can actually stream in through the wall!   One way to figure out what's causing the problem is tape an aluminum foil to the basement wall and inspect it a few days later. Moisture on the outside surface of

    Happy New Year and wishing you all the very best for 2021. A new year is like a new page in the notebook of life. A fresh start. A new beginning. I finally took the step and started my consulting company in 2020 in a challenging economic time not witnessed at least in past 100 years. So is the beginnings of P&B Consulting Engineers. As we leave behind a challenging year, we look to 2021 with a fresh and positive outlook. We hope that the economy will grow stronger while we remain committed to our clients to deliver innovative and sustainable engineering solutions. We also take a moment to remember those that may have lost loved ones to COVID19 and the medical staff who are the front line fighters against this pandemic. Till next post. . . #steelstructure #engineering #structuralsteel #engineering #steeldetailing #Pnbconsulting #stealbeams #steel #team #concrete #civilengineering #saice #constructionsite #structural #beton #southafrica #za #forensicenginee

Bekkersdal hostel rehabilitation was probably one of the first projects that I came to know about dolomite. In 2006 as a young engineer I knew very little about dolomite. I recall downloading the guidelines from the Department of Public Works website but it still did not have enough details and to be honest I did not know anything about NHBRC. The result was that I may have largely ignored the risk that dolomitic conditions pose.  As industry we have come a long way since then and have progressed much in developing and standardising our approach to dolomitic conditions.   For additional information on dolomitic design you may make reference to SANS 1936 or NHBRC Home Building Manual. Alternatively give us a call to discus your project and to arrive at a long lasting risk relevant design approach.   #Rehabilitation #Dolomite

Dynamic testing machine located at NHBRC's testing facility Eric Molobi Innovation Hub.The machine is capable of applying dynamic and static loading.

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. King Solomon Ecclesiastes 9:11