Assessment of construction defects in residential buildings in Spain

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.