Jan 11 2006
Quality Built, the industry leader in risk management and quality assurance services, today released its 2005 quality assurance data, the largest survey of quality assurance data ever tabulated for the new construction industry.
The leading construction defects identified by Quality Built show that a builder's risk losses -- which largely result from failure to follow building code requirements or follow installation instructions -- are preventable.
The new findings come from data captured during the construction data collection process by Quality Built field inspectors on 31,995 completed homes and condominiums across 27 U.S. states for the 12-month period ending October 1, 2005.
What Issues Give Builders the Most Trouble?
Quality Built's findings show single-family homes averaged $5,398 in corrected defects per home in 2005 while multi-family homes and mixed commercial use construction averaged $4,556 in corrected defects. The survey also identifies the leading risk items for each housing type.
These include:
Multi-family and mixed commercial use construction:
- Unprotected penetrations in life-safety assemblies
- Missing fire-rated materials at electrical device boxes
- Building paper and housewrap installation flaws
Single-family housing:
- Building paper and housewrap (i.e., building envelope) installation flaws
- Improper framing around windows and doors
- Missing structural straps and connectors (e.g., hold-downs)
"None of these defects for either category would be visible to a homeowner or building owner upon completion, but the defects can be easily corrected during construction if identified early through a quality assurance program, such as ours," said Stan Luhr, Quality Built CEO and survey author. "A quality assurance program will consistently result in improvements with a host of issues that impact a builder's bottom line, including customer service, water intrusion issues and EIFS-related issues."