Structural defects in domestic buildings & propose guidelines for a safe and economical design

Abstract

A proper shelter is one of the basic needs of a human being. Though everyone is dreaming for a nice-looking house, where they spend immense amount of money and still end up with cracks, deflections, settlements etc. even in their newly built houses on a normal basis presently. As per the literature available, these defects are mainly of two types as Structural and Non-structural defects. A research about structural defects, is of much importance as the overall stability of the buildings lies upon their structural elements. Once a defect is encountered in any of those elements, proper care and timely remedial actions to overcome it may avoid any possible damage to property or lives. Relying on the above background information, this research is focused upon addressing the structural defects in domestic buildings in Sri Lanka. The study followed with a questionnaire survey to identify the common problems, enhanced with field inspection, developed manual and computer based structural analysis on few important defects and finally proposed guidelines to overcome the issue with safe and economical approach. It is intended to give out a simple way of practice to the domestic construction industry to overcome structural defects in the domestic buildings.