Investigating defects

Overview

Building surveys and defect diagnosis require an understanding of how and why buildings are constructed. Some fundamental questions about them are useful from the outset. At a basic level, begin by asking yourself the following:

  • What is the building’s purpose? For example, does it provide inhabitants with a dry and warm environment?
  • How does it serve this purpose? Does it have a roof, walls and window designed to keep the inhabitants warm and dry?

It all sounds rather simplistic, but breaking the property down into these questions can eventually help determine the causes of defects. The surveyor will ask which elements have failed and why and how the defect is represented (damp, mould, flooding, cracking, bowing, etc.) before digging deeper into the cause.

There can be a number of factors that contribute to the formation of a defect. Outlined below are some of the things to look out for when examining defects and specifying their repair, whether it be a detailed inspection on site or back at your desk.

There are 4 main points to consider when thinking about diagnosing and remedying a defect:

  1. keep the rain out;
  2. building chemistry;
  3. dating buildings; and
  4. load paths.

Each of these issues affects buildings in different ways and are discussed in more detail within this section.