Assessing the building condition of historic timber mosques in Kelantan / Wan Zuriea Wan Ismail … [et al.]

Historic timber mosques, aged over 100 years old, can rarely be found today in Malaysia. Most timber mosques have been demolished and reconstructed using bricks or other materials considered sturdier and stronger. In Kelantan, a few timber mosques can still be found; nevertheless, some are conserved very well, and some are deteriorated and demolished. This study aims to help preserve the remaining mosques in Kelantan by focusing on two objectives: to review timber as a construction material, especially for mosques, and to investigate timber defects found at the selected historic timber mosques in Kelantan. Three historic timber mosques in Kelantan were selected as the case studies: Mulong Old Mosque, Tok Pulai Chondong Mosque, and D’Raja Long Yunus Mosque. Building Condition Assessment (BCA) at each mosque and interviews were done to reveal the maintenance works. Findings showed 80 defects found in the three case studies, mostly cracks followed by rot and discolouration, considerably due to lack of periodic or regular maintenance.