Cracks appear as NAB continues to settle

An improvised warning sign sitting on a sinking tile on the NAB faculty floor.

Wall cracks and sinking tiles appeared last week on the faculty floor of the New Academic Building (NAB) “due to temperature deformations caused by the usage of different construction materials,” Facilities Director Lyudmila Dzakova said. The tiles were fixed on Wednesday by the maintenance staff of the Facilities Office, and the walls were plastered.

 It is not the first time such cracks occur. “The cracks on the walls of the NAB were repaired twice by now for no cost because at that time the building was at its warranty period,” Dzakova said.

Up to five years are necessarily for a newly constructed building to settle down, Stilcomplex’s Chief Engineer Stoyan Vretenarov said. Stilcomplex is one of the three companies that constructed the NAB, and has previously repaired cracks in the vending machines area and those near the library stairs. “The plastering of the walls is just cosmetic. We shouldn’t worry as it [the settling down process] is something normal,” Vretenarov added.

As the NAB warranty period has already passed, AUBG organized a tender to choose a company to repair the cracks. “We had chosen the lowest price for this type of repair which amount to less than $200,” Dzakova said.

“I am here to teach only so I don’t pay much attention to such problems,” professor Nadeem Naqvi, who has an office near the sinking tiles spot, said.