Tick-off These 7 Things From Your Construction Quality Checklist

By Author: Saloni Mehta
Total Articles: 28
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Owing to the frequent cases of building collapses across India, it becomes the duty of home buyers to keep the construction quality checklist handy before moving into a newly built property. Many buyers ignore the quality in construction projects as it is not possible for a common buyer to check the materials used in a particular building. As more and more end users look for completed homes to buy and occupy, only a few home buyers possess the construction quality awareness of a residential project. An alarming percentage of real estate consumers are clueless about the due-diligence and just wished to know the process to check the quality in construction projects.

Lack of awareness is the biggest challenge home buyers face while going through the construction quality checklist. Reputed builders, like Godrej Properties, have now started keeping a QA/QC team (Quality Assurance and Quality Control) which assesses the quality after the construction is over.

Here are a few pointers for you by the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) to check the quality in construction projects

1. The material used must be durable as it determines your maintenance costs. If the developer saves on capex, then the operating expenses will rise.

2. Visit the previous projects of the developer to check if there are service issues like seepage patches or slow lifts there.

3. Look for small cracks in walls, creaking or jammed doors.

4. Alignment of floor: Carry some marbles and release them gently on the floor. If the floor is sloping it will roll in the direction of the slope. If there is a drain, the marbles should roll in the direction of the drain.

5. Alignment of plaster: Inspect the house in the evening at dusk. Switch on the light. The light should reflect evenly off the walls.

6. Carry a nail and drive it into the plaster. If you’re able to do it easily, the quality of mortar is bad. If the nail bends the mortar quality is good. Do the same on the bricks and the mortar between the bricks. They should offer resistance to the nail.

7. Wet areas: Pour 5-6 buckets of water in the pot and the floor of the bathroom and don’t allow it to drain. In a couple of hours, there will be a seepage patch if the joints are faulty.

This takes care of 60% of the construction problems consumers face. The average lifespan of a new residential building is 60 to 75 years. However, a poorly constructed building has a much lower lifespan. Make sure to carry the construction awareness checklist before buying or moving into a new home.