Chai, C; De Brito, J; Gaspar, P L and Silva, A (2014) Predicting the service life of exterior wall painting: Techno-economic analysis of alternative maintenance strategies. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 140(3): 4013057, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Exterior wall painting is one of the most widely-used coating solutions in Portugal. It is particularly susceptible to degradation; this affects the quality of public spaces and the image of cities. The study of service-life prediction contributes to a more rational management of the maintenance of buildings. The state of repair of 220 façades in the Lisbon region of Portugal determined through an in-service survey is analyzed. The model proposed to estimate the service life of painted surfaces is a relatively simple method that balances cost and speed, enabling its practical application to any structure. The models obtained enabled degradation patterns to be identified. The method yielded an average (reference) service life of paint coatings of around 10 years. A technoeconomic analysis was then performed that compared various maintenance strategies for a period of time of 20 years, as follows: (1) maintenance every 5 years, (2) maintenance at 15 and 20 years, and (3) maintenance adjusted in accordance with the findings of service-life prediction of painted surfaces. The research reported in this paper proved that technical knowledge can be converted into economic and performance gains. In this case the maintenance strategy based on service-life prediction data proved to be the best. Tools such as these are essential to the maintenance of built heritage.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction materials and methods; maintenance strategies; painted surfaces; service-life prediction |
| Index terms: | repair, degradation, Lisbon, public space, estimate, survey, strategy, construction material, coating, life prediction, built heritage, service life, economic analysis, Portugal |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, maintenance engineering, Geography, material degradation and durability, management, design analysis, financial and cost management, building materials, asset management, heritage and conservation, urban design and public space |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Construction Materials, Business Strategy, Design Practice, Cost Management, Research Practice, Urban Studies, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here