Defects Explained
Defects…What does it all mean?
Fair Trading NSW defines a defect as an issue resulting from defective design, defective or faulty workmanship, defective materials, or a failure to comply with the structural performance requirements of the National Construction Code. This definition refers to an aspect of a building that fails to meet the minimum set of national provisions for the design and construction of a building across Australia. Typically, these defects are managed both pre and during construction to make certain both the design and construction achieves the required level of quality standards.
Unfortunately, with respect to defects, the end of the construction period – even if managed correctly, does not simply eliminate the risk of defects developing over the lifespan of a building. These defects are commonly referred to in the building industry as latent defects.
Latent defects are defects that emerge over time and are caused by a magnitude of variables including; weather, ground water, inadequate building materials, foundation movements, poor building maintenance, inherent design flaws and the reality that all buildings are susceptible to varying levels of deterioration over time.
Management of latent defects necessitates the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of buildings.
Any existing or emerging defect requires early detection and attention to mediate the risk of growth into significant and costly building degradation.
Commonly Encountered Building Defects
General Building Defects
Incomplete or Inadequate works
Unfortunately for unaware owners, due to either time or financial constraints, builders can remove or reduce required items from a building’s design. These items can range in significance and can include; undersized bolts, reduced concrete slab thickness, reduced or eliminated steel reinforcement in concrete, inadequate footings for retaining walls, incomplete drainage connections and inadequate flashing to roofs.
Our engineers know the warning signs and evidence that highlight the presence of these issues.
Incorrect material selections
As the construction industry progresses over time, so does our understanding of material selection for buildings. Specifications for the selection of building materials are constantly evolving and improving.
Our inspections aim to identify the shortfalls that may exist with our clients building assets with respect to building materials and provide recommendations based on current standards.
Waterproofing
Waterproofing is an integral aspect of any building and can be a costly error if not undertaken correctly. Waterproofing is a membrane or barrier that is designed to keep water confined to the areas where it can be directed into the drainage points of a building. Building movements can rupture waterproofing membranes over time and can necessitate repair.
Our understanding of the properties of water movement within a building’s environment, allow us to mediate the significance these impacts can have on our client’s assets.
Water ponding & insufficient falls to drains
Water ponding in areas of a building increase the opportunity of water to penetrate into unwanted areas. Increased exposure time of water ponding on a concrete slab for example, increase the risk of water penetrating into hairline cracks that in normal water transition would not pose a significant risk.
Our engineers aim to provide logical, simple and cost-effective solutions to rectify a buildings drainage and get the water to where it needs to go.
General wear and tear
Management of general wear and tear is the most fundamental and costly oversight by building owners across all industries. Owners neglect the maintenance and general upkeep of a building for many reasons, including; lack of understanding, not wanting to commit ongoing funds, not planning ahead to have funding available, spending funds on insignificant areas of a building and insufficient understanding of the potential consequences of not having a process in place to negate the risk of their building’s long-term dilapidation.
We assist our clients by presenting a prioritised planning tool, in the form of our unique multidisciplinary inspection report, so that general wear and tear can be identified and managed appropriately.
Hydraulic/Plumbing System Defects
Stormwater and Roof Plumbing Failures
A common occurrence across Australian buildings, especially in plumbing work, is the non-compliance of what had been designed for and what has been installed during construction. During construction a building’s gutters, downpipes and stormwater systems are generally one of the last items to be completed. If there are discrepancies with what has been designed and what is possible to install on site, in some cases builders will take it upon themselves to make alterations to the drainage design. These adhoc decisions are made to achieve required deadlines, without the perceived delays a hydraulic engineer’s re-design would take on the relevant aspect of the system. This can increase the risk of water penetrating into the internal area of a building where it can cause significant damage.
Buildings Defects Australia check drainage systems against best practice measures in the plumbing industry and overall compliance with the Australian Standard 3500.3 2018 Plumbing and Drainage of Stormwater. Our aim to provide effective solutions and modifications to a buildings hydraulics to achieve compliance, saving on expensive works that would normally be required to remove and replace entire drainage systems.
Pump Systems
Incorrectly designed or installed sewage, water and fire system pumps and general pumping equipment can result in expensive failures and high maintenance costs.
A pump’s design and configuration may at times meet Australian Standards, while still intermittently failing in operation or by not meeting a building’s operational requirements. Understanding the particular limitations on pump selection and the potential for operational issues resulting from pump arrangement, can prevent ongoing maintenance problems and can increase considerably the longevity of pumping systems for a building.
General Pipework
Many defects occur in the selection and installation of water supply pipework. One example is poor quality control in roll grooving of pipework, that can result in weak joints leading to future mechanical failures. Failures in pipework can be a major risk factor for a building and pose a significant risk of flood damage. Early identification of weak pipe joints is critical, through one of our engineering inspections we can facilitate testing of pipework systems to eliminate catastrophic failures.
Structural Defects
Concrete Defects
Concrete if not poured correctly can deteriorate over time. Some examples of poor workmanship include:
- Inadequate concrete cover of steel reinforcement when pouring the concrete;
- Incorrect design or poor concrete mix selection;
- Concrete additives that cause unwanted effects on concrete integrity;
- Poor concrete vibrating and / or compaction during pour; &
- Poor curing / moisture control of concrete following pour.
If any number of the above errors has occurred during construction of a building, some possible evidence will be:
- Concrete cracking in slabs;
- Honeycombing of concrete;
- Concrete spalling where concrete begins to break apart and fall away in sections;
- Exposure of reinforcement steel – which will speed up the process of concrete deterioration.
The team of experts at Building Defects Australia have extensive experience in the identification, analysis and rectification of concrete structural defects. More often than not, if concrete deterioration is identified early, there are cost effective remediation techniques available that can eliminate the issue altogether or to extend the life of the concrete. We can assist with future works planning and can provide the remediation scope of works required to fix the issue and provide costing estimates to allow for financial forecasting
Undersized or degraded structural steel beams and columns
Structural steel components of a building can deteriorate over time and need to be periodically monitored and maintained to retain structural integrity. Our team are experts in the identification of the key indicators of steel deterioration and will provide advice as to what remediation works are required to preserve the steel components.
Undersized steel beams or columns are another example of items identified in Building Defect Australia’s inspections. The steel components may have been incorrectly sized during construction or with additional works performed following construction, additional or varied structural loads can be a result that were never factored into the original design. If required, we can provide revised calculations to determine new steel component sizes, including methodology of how they are to be installed and the estimated cost of the works. This allows our clients to gain a full picture of the works required and considers both the financial and operational impact on their asset.
First signs of structural defects
Our engineers are trained to identify the early signs of latent defects prior to their emergence. There are various key indicators of structural defects that can build a picture of a building’s current structural adequacy. During a Building Defects Australia inspection, we are able to perform non-destructive investigations, to identify problems before they become costly. If structural defects are identified in their early stages, simple techniques such as eliminating water penetration can mediate the defect before they become a structural issue. This is crucial to minimise the future maintenance costs for our clients.
Electrical Defects
Electrical Overloads
As building technology evolves, so does the need to meet the incoming electrical supply.
Our electrical engineers are well versed in the identification of system shortfalls and providing the scope and component upgrades to achieve our clients electrical system requirements.
Solar Panel Systems
Whilst performing upgrades to our clients electrical infrastructure, our engineers can provide options, recommendations and cost estimates to incorporate a Solar Power System into the upgraded electrical installation, to effect power savings for our clients buildings.
Electrical Faults
Our Electrical Engineers are experts in the identification of the root cause of electrical faults being experienced by our clients.
Through review of the electrical design capacity and overall design compliance, our engineers can identify design shortfalls and perform site inspections to confirm electrical system faults. Our Electrical Building Reports provide a full assessment of the electrical services system of a building, so our clients can prioritise upgrades based on a holistic assessment of their asset.
Mechanical Defects
Damaged Ducting
Damaged flexible ducting used in Air Conditioning systems can significantly reduce the designed airflow capacity of a building.
The mechanical engineers at Buildings Defects Australia can review the mechanical design documentation and confirm compliance with relevant codes and standards. The design review is followed by an onsite inspection to confirm that the installation has been completed inline with the approved design documentation and without damaged/defective components.
Unsealed Penetrations
Mechanical installation can involve wall penetrations. If these wall penetrations are not adequately sealed following installation they reduce a buildings energy efficiency and can lead to other issues developing such as water and pest ingress.
Inadequate Drainage Provisions
If Air Conditioning condensation pipework is not adequately installed, the water produced from operation can impact on other areas of a building causing damage and other moisture related issues such as the promotion of mould.
Latent Defects
Deteriorated Stormwater Systems
Over time, the impact of environmental elements on stormwater systems can significantly reduce their capacity. Stormwater systems can become partially or fully blocked from environmental debris causing water to back-up and overflow from the system.
Building Defects Australia’s Hydraulic Engineers can review the current design of the stormwater system to locate potential blockages and recommend additional overflow discharge points to mitigate future risk.
Ageing Building Components
As buildings move through their life cycle, certain components become susceptible to deterioration. The deterioration of components such a fixings can lead to safety issues for building occupants. If materials become dislodged or detach they can drop from ceilings and cause injury from impact.
With varying environmental conditions experienced across NSW, there is a large range of risk factors that impact on the duration of time it takes for building materials to deteriorate. Let one of our experienced Engineers take the uncertainty out of your ageing asset and plan to mitigate these risks through adequate planning and maintenance.
Outdated Building Systems
Building systems are constantly and inevitably updated to refine efficiency, quality and safety features. Our Engineers review the holistic nature of a building’s systems, through our unique approach to inspections, and provide our clients recommendations in the processes required to achieve updated compliance with codes and standards.
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