Building Defects

Building Surveying Building Defects

Building Defects
 What is meant by Build Defect?

Defects within buildings are areas of non-compliance with the Building Code of particular Country,
various that countries’ standards and published acceptable tolerances and standards. Defective building
construction contributes to final cost of the project and maintains cost which can be substantial.
Construction may lead to failure of the structure due to defectives.
Generally defects are due to

- Inadequacy in design
- Poor workmanship
- Building usage not accordance with design.
- Lack of or incorrect maintenance.

 Defect Categorizations

Generally, construction defects are tangible and can grouped into following categories

Design Deficiencies; Deficiencies that may occur due to lack of professional guidance.

Material Deficiencies; Inferior building materials can cause material deficiencies such as windows
that leak or fail to perform and function adequately, even when properly installed.

Construction Deficiencies; Poor quality workmanship such as Cracks in foundations, floor slabs,
walls, dry rotting of wood or other building materials, termite or other pest infestations, electrical and
mechanical problems, plumbing leaks and back-ups, lack of appropriate sound insulation and fire-
resistive construction between adjacent housing units, etc.

Subsurface / Geotechnical Problems; this may cause to cracks in foundations, floor slabs, and other
damage to a building. A worst-case scenario in some instances could render a building uninhabitable,

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as well as uninsurable. The courts have typically used these categories and associated standards to
determine culpability for construction defect problems.
 Common Building Defects

- RCC construction defects

- Concrete cancer
- Ill – fitting doors and windows
- Leaking showers
- Dampness to buildings (rising damps, penetration or lateral damps, concession or mould, dap in
unit)
- Excessive sagging to roof or ceiling
- Structural settlement cracks
- Water seepage
- Efflorescent
- Fungus stain and harmful growth
- Erosion of Mortar Joints
-  Peeling Paint
- Defective Plastered Renderings
- Cracking of Walls and Leaning Walls
- Defective Rainwater Goods
- Decayed Floorboards
- Insect or Termite Attacks
- Dampness Penetration through Walls
- Unstable Foundations
- Poor Installation of Air-conditioning Units

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 Observed Building Defects

- Wall Cracks

Wall Cracks are recent building defect that may occur due to
structural settlement, over loading or heaved. There are different types
of wall cracks

Vertical Cracks – upward overloading adjacent to downward over

loading may cause to vertical cracks in buildings. This may cause to
one side rises or sinks with respect to other side. Settlements,
compaction, soil eroding under the footing, over loading from top,
overloading from bellow such as frost or hydraulic expansion are the
basic reasons for vertical cracks.

Horizontal cracks – Horizontal cracks may cause to over loading from outside such as from frost, soil
pressure or improper backfilling. This cause to cracks may bow inward and crack horizontally.
Horizontal cracks can see in block wall, in a mortar joint and is wider on the inner face. Foundation
where laid on top of unstable soil, the wall which lacks the proper support could drop resulting in a
horizontal crack without vertical displacement of the wall surface.

Angled Cracks – Up and down forces are offset from one another may cause to angle cracks. These
cracks can see where the building is built on expansive clays or major discontinuity in the soil.

- Fungus stain and harmful growth

If there is water or moisture in walls, columns, beams, roof or

floor, fungus stains, mould can be occur. They grow well in an
environment of high humidity with lack of ventilation. This harmful
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growth includes creeping and climbing (ivy) plants which can grow anywhere in building elements.
These plants grow where in small openings in the walls, mortar. Due to existing holes causing further
cracks and water penetration, roots of this harmful growth can develop.

-  Peeling Paint

Places where expose to excessive rain and dampness such as

building facades, on plastered walls, columns etc. Buildings that
are faces to sea side have greater risk on peeling paints. Chalky,
wrinkled or blistered of the paints depend on the sunlight received
by the surface, constant wind, rain etc. Therefore to avoid this
heritage building are used two three coat of paints. Now a day’s
different types of paints are used in different methods depending
on their nature such as emulsion, oil based, tar, bituminous and oil –
bound water paints.

- Dampness Penetration Through Walls

Dampness Penetration through walls is depending on the location. Where there are buildings
located near water sources cause to feel that defect. Dampness
deteriorates building structure and damage to furnishings. When
the paint deteriorates in these areas, the rainwater is absorbed
into the walls and is absorbed through the brickwork and will
affect the internal plaster. In prolonged exposure, the plaster can
soften and deteriorate on the inside of the building. Commonly
water penetrates through walls which expose to wet wind or rain.
Due to gravity water penetrate through capillaries or cracks
between mortar joints and bricks or blocks before building up
trap moisture behind hard renders. Leaking gutter or down pipes, defective drains, burst
plumbing and condensation due to insufficient ventilation may cause to dampness. Dampness
may also enter a building from the ground through cracks or mortar joints in the foundation
walls.

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To avoid dampness, the paint on the external surface is the waterproof coating and must be
retained in reasonable to good condition. This would also include the brick parapet walls above
roof level.

- Defective Plastered Renderings

Defective plastered rendering occurs mostly on the external walls,

columns and ceiling. In a humid tropical climate like Malaysia,
defective renderings are normally caused by biological attacks
arising from penetrating rain, evaporation, condensation, air
pollution, dehydration and thermal stress. Other causes may be the
mould or harmful growth, insects, animals and traffic vibration.
Prior to being decomposed and broken apart, renderings may crack
due to either shrinkage or movement in the substrate.

Group Members
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- Athapaththu A.M.K.I. 082715J

- Fernando W.N.J.K. 082627P

- Ganesaratnam S. 082419F

- Gurusinghe G.A.T.D. 082423L

- Navarathna R.A.G. 082431J

- Pathirana R.P.I. 082662R

- Siriwardana M.R. 082443X

- Wijesiri S.D.M.P. 082457T

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