Assessment the Strength of Column and Beam at Religious Building Structure by Using Non-Destructive Test

Abstract

The mosque is a sacred place for worship for Muslims. To this date, the traditional mosque needs to be conserved and preserved wood for aesthetic value. Nowadays, most of the mosque materials have a combination of other materials such as concrete, wood and glass. In order to maintain its fit-for-purpose status, non-destructive tests (NDTs) are recommended to be done periodically to identify hidden deteriorations for planning maintenance and repair works without damaging the structure itself. This paper presents two NDTs - Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity tool (PUNDIT) and Schmidt rebound hammer test - done on 38 concrete columns and 29 ground beams of Masjid Kampung Ulu Semerah, Batu Pahat. Recorded readings have shown that most beams and columns had moderate or weak strength. As such, remedial action should be taken to uphold the mosque's structural integrity.