Assessment of construction defects in residential buildings in Spain

The housing industry is characterized for its repeated building defects causing cost increase and time delay during the construction. In Spain, despite the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (Building Regulation Act) which establishes a general framework within which to promote overall building quality, defects during construction in houses remain a pervasive problem. This paper presents the findings from a research project that analysed the location, subcontract, and element of 3647 construction defects derived from two Spanish builders and sixty eight residential developments. The research reveals that the most common defects that arise during construction are problems with the stability of the structure and inappropriate installation of roofs and façades, all technical related items and caused by poor workmanship rather than the quality of the materials or products used. Comparing these results to a previous study carried out in Spain regarding the remaining defects after handing over the building, it can be concluded that during construction the nature of defects is basically technical, and at handover it is aesthetic or technical. Author keywords: Spain, construction defects, quality, element, location, subcontract