Forcada, N; MacArulla, M; Gangolells, M and Casals, M (2014) Assessment of construction defects in residential buildings in Spain. Building Research & Information, 42(5), pp. 629-640. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
The building industry is noted for its repeated building defects causing cost increases and time delays during construction. In Spain, despite the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (Building Regulation Act), which establishes a general framework to promote overall building quality, construction defects in residential buildings remain a pervasive problem. An analysis of 3647 construction defects is presented which identified the location within the building, subcontractors and building element in 68 residential building developments undertaken by two large Spanish contractors. The research reveals that the most common defects that arise during construction are related to the stability of the structure and inappropriate installation of roofs and facades. These technical faults are caused by poor workmanship rather than by the quality of the materials or products used. By comparing these results with a previous study on defects after handover, it can be concluded that while the nature of defects during construction is basically technical, at handover it is aesthetic or technical.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction defects; defects; housing; quality control; Spain; subcontractors |
| Index terms: | stability, Spain, aesthetic, residential building, building regulation, building defect, construction defect, quality control, roof, subcontractor, housing, workmanship, cost increase, building industry, time delay |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, regulatory law, project controls, contractual condition, Geography, design practice, factor and component analysis, structural engineering, economics, professional practice, contract obligations, project delivery, practitioner, construction type |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Design Practice, Legal Issues, Time Control, Contract Administration, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Cost Management, Construction Technology, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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