Building Defects: Prevention, Identification and Rectification

About this course.

A building defect is a fault or shortcoming in a building that arises because something was not designed, documented, built or specified to the standard required — so that the building, or a part of it, does not perform as it should. That is different from ordinary wear and tear, from routine maintenance needs, and from the minor movement and settling that every building undergoes. Defects matter because they can compromise the safety, health, durability, amenity and value of a building; because they are far more expensive and disruptive to fix after the fact than to prevent; and because they are a leading source of disputes, complaints and claims in the building industry. Getting clear on what is and is not a defect is the foundation for everything that follows.

The distinction between a defect and a maintenance item is important and frequently contested. A defect exists where the building or an element of it falls short of the applicable requirements, the contract, the approved documentation, or the standard of work reasonably expected of a competent practitioner — for example, a shower that leaks because the waterproofing was installed incorrectly. Maintenance, by contrast, is the ongoing care every building needs to remain in good condition over its life: cleaning gutters, resealing certain joints periodically, repainting, servicing equipment. The difficulty is that the two can look similar at the surface. A stain on a ceiling might be a defect (a failed waterproof membrane) or a maintenance issue (a blocked gutter overflowing), and only proper investigation reveals which. Practitioners should resist the temptation to label something a "maintenance issue" to avoid responsibility, or to call normal wear a "defect" to shift cost; honest characterisation depends on evidence.