Building Defects Due to Poor Workmanship in Addis Ababa: The Case Study On 20/80 Condominium Houses

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Date

2016-10

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

The rate of construction project accomplishment is weak because of the rapid increasing rate of major defects in building as a result of poor workmanship and poor quality materials which have been identified as the major cause of defects in the construction industry. This paper aims to investigate building defect due to of poor workmanship in Addis Ababa 20/80 condominium housing construction projects. The objectives of this study are to investigate common building defects that mostly occur at housing projects due to poor workmanship, the factors that contribute to poor workmanship, its impact on the project performance and to established possible measures to minimize these problems. After relevant literatures were reviewed both primary and secondary data collected through questionnaire, observation and case study. The sample was selected from Yeka Sub City by purposive sampling targeting under construction Yeka Abado (project 14) and residents in yeka 20/80 condominium houses from 5 sites within the sub city. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were applied to ensure triangulation of information from different source tested with correlation analysis for agreement. The most commonly occurring defects in 20/80 condominium housing were defects on floor/ wall finish, faulty door and windows frames with accessories, failure of service installation observed both during construction and after the houses transfer to the tenants. The causes for building defects that mostly occur at the houses are due to poor workmanship. Additionally, construction of condominium housing commonly suffers from low quality workmanship due to lack of skills and experience, poor project management and complicated role of subcontractors in the construction work. Major impacts of defect due to poor workmanship were project cost overrun and project delay. These significant impediments can be remedied by providing suitable construction management, giving training and education to the labourers as well as implementing strict supervision during construction work. The study also forwarded two recommendations in line with the need of further study and continuous capacity building mainly for micro scale enterprises based on impact assessment. Improvements on all project management phases need to be done by amend the existing contractual document including specification and guidelines with the nature of condominium projects. Key Words: - Building defect, Construction industry, 20/80 condominium houses, and Poor workmanship.

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Keywords

Building defect, Construction industry, 20/80 condominium houses, Poor workmanship

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