A proposed quantitative model for building repair and maintenance: Theory, model development and application

The effective and efficient management of buildings necessitates, amongst other aspects, the ability to interrogate reliable data relating to condition, cost implications of that condition and the spend options available and appropriate. Most buildings have been subject to one or more surveys and data from these is often available to the building owner, manager or user. The form and value of such data is, however, variable in the extreme and is, not least, relevant mainly to the organization or person who commissioned that particular survey. This paper introduces a quantitative model for the repair and maintenance of buildings/properties. It is based on a coded system of observing, assessing, recording and appraising the condition of those elements of a building which would most influence the costs of repairing or maintaining elements of, or the whole of, buildings. Background information and criteria for the development of this model is detailed in this paper and also, the model matrix system defining the step-by-step calculation process of cost of repair and maintenance has been reported. A detailed report on a case-study (application of the model) consisting of the data collection and cost analysis of a property is also provided. The case-study includes a comparison between the predicted cost of repair and the real cost of repair (cost after completion of repair work) concerning a residential dwelling.