Common Defects of Buildings in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

Building maintenance problems are a breakdown in a building's performance, function, and user requirements. Moreover, these problems can be in its structure, services, and other facilities. These problems primarily manifest as defects and should be rectified immediately; otherwise, they would result in a higher maintenance cost, hinder operational efficiency, and even reduce lifespan. At the same time, poor building performance and inadequacies due to these maintenance defects have been known to cause unproductivity of building users and even illnesses. Therefore, it is pertinent to investigate these defects to create maintenance solutions for them. However, even though studies abound on university building maintenance in Nigeria, its issues, and the factors affecting it, there is still the need to explore the common maintenance defects affecting buildings in public universities. Few studies have been conducted on common building maintenance defects; however, these defects have been well-researched in this study. Therefore, this paper illustrates the findings from assessing the common defects in six selected higher education institutions in the country. This study embraced a quantitative approach, and data were gathered from maintenance managers, supervisors, and technicians working in the Works Departments of the selected public institutions. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentile and factor analysis. Findings revealed that the most common defects affecting university buildings are joinery infestation and fittings, substandard finishes and cracks, deterioration and leakages, and rusting and installation issues.