Parameters to Judge the Construction Quality of a Building
With a large number of builders and real estate developers working on multiple projects at the same time, the quality of construction can give sleepless nights to buyers. The lack of an adequate real estate watchdog has meant that there have been builders supplying under par construction houses at times. While checking the quality of construction is a tedious and a specialized process, here is a basic checklist that can help buyers to understand the quality of construction used in the apartment as well as the township or society.
Why this happens:
Usually most buyers focus on the financial payments and legal paper work but ignore the quality of construction being offered. It may be a little difficult to ensure the right quality parameters are being followed by the builder especially for people not related to civil infrastructure but there are certain obvious parameters that can give a decent idea to the user.
What to check:
Quality of external fittings: Check the quality of external fittings used in various rooms especially the kitchen. Bad external fittings can be detrimental and prone to breakage and leakage. Usually most reputed builders do not compromise of the quality of external fittings and have a clause with their contractors ensuring quality fittings. If a builder is using cheap fittings, chances are that the builder is prone to cost cutting even at the expense of providing quality materials.
Quality of plastering on the outer walls: Check the quality of plastering on the outer walls. Any uneven wall surface or cracks in plastering may indicate bad quality of construction. Any cracks in the exteriors wall is directly linked to bad foundation work of the building. Checking the plastering of the walls inside the apartment is also an important parameter that can reveal a lot of hidden information about the quality of construction. While the use of concrete depends on the sand to concrete and cement ratio used while plastering, if a nail goes gets embedded too easily in a wall, it usually is a sign of bad compound mixture.
Wall painting: Check out the paint applied on the walls and doors. Application of a good paint enhances the life span by acting as a polymer compound bonding the walls and doors together. In case the builder has applied cheap paint which can be easily scrapped off, it is a sign that the builder may not have used good quality construction as well and is not following the desired construction parameters.
Hire structural engineer
The more a builder spends on beatification and landscaping of the green belt also reveals the mindset of the builder. While most well known builders give an equal importance to the open spaces as they do to the constructed areas, most small time builders try and maximize their space utilization which underlines the mindset of maximizing profits as the cost of good construction and ambience.
Hiring the services of a structural engineer is recommended if there is any doubt with the quality of inner or outer construction. Only a structural engineer can check the skeletal structure of the building which is not visible to the naked eye.
