When building or watching your home being built or renovated. Choice has pointed out a number of faults that they found in relation to apartments.
However, even though these defects relate to apartments I feel that for owner builders in particular you should be well aware of these faults and check that your home or renovation is free from them.
To be clear, these defects aren’t maintenance or repair issues. These are problems which wouldn’t have arisen if it weren’t for subpar construction, materials or design. Building defects, according to the UNSW study authors, may exist at the construction phase, but they can also arise later in the building’s life, triggered by faults in the original construction or design.
The top ten faults found in the study related to:
1. Internal water leaks
2. Cracking to internal or external structures
3. Water penetration from outside
4. Guttering faults
5. Defective roof coverings
6. Defective plumbing
7. Tiling problems
8. Building movement
9. Noise break-through
10. Defective balcony balustrades