Building defects

Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to be released from the soil and rock where it is generated. Radon isotopes are the immediate decay products of radium isotopes.

Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied, unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants but highly derived cockroaches. About 2,997 extant species are currently described, 2,125 of which are members of the family Termitidae.

tendency of matter to change volume in response to a change in temperature

thumb|Ductile failure of a metallic specimen strained axially

Hylotrupes is a monotypic genus of woodboring beetles in the family Cerambycidae, the longhorn beetles. The sole species, Hylotrupes bajulus, is known by several common names, including house longhorn beetle, old house borer, and European house borer. In South Africa it also is known as the Italian beetle because of infested packing cases that had come from Italy. Hylotrupes is the only genus in the tribe Hylotrupini.

science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a building

thumb|300px|Subsided house, called The Crooked House, the result of 19th-century mining subsidence in [[Staffordshire, England]] thumb|A625 road#Mam Tor road|Mam Tor road destroyed by subsidence and shear, near Castleton, [[Derbyshire]]

species of woodboring beetle

area or component of an object which has higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials

a medical condition where people in a building suffer from symptoms of illness or feel unwell for no apparent reason

species of beetle

species of beetle

previous industrial or commercial land, often somewhat contaminated as a result

thumb|Example of downy mildew (left) along with [[powdery mildew (right) on a grape leaf]]

engineering event in which the structural integrity of a construction is compromised by failure of components of the structure

results from ice forming beneath the surface of soil during freezing conditions

A common kind of fungal wood rot

subfamily of beetles

distortion or disruption of parts of a building

toxic type of household and industrial paint

thumb|upright=1.2|The common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) in situ

damages inflicted to concrete by various harmful physical phenomena and chemical or biological processes

presence of unwanted moisture in the structure of a building

non-taxonomic name for a beetle that eats wood

Harmful effects of molds

species of fungus

thumb|A weatherized building is protected from the outside elements in order to maximize energy efficiency. thumb|Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station Weatherization (American English) or weatherproofing (British English) is the practice of protecting a building and its interior from the elements, particularly from sunlight, precipitation, and wind, and of modifying a building to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.