Construction flaws in facing brick facades and the risk of associated litigation

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the most common types of construction flaws in facing brick facades. It is intended to examine the intervening parameters and know the interrelations between them, developing a risk evaluation framework through a process of categorisation. The 274 cases analysed correspond to the totality of the period of the study and cover the entirety of the Spanish territory. Adaptation of the weighted factor method allows to establish and quantify risk categories according to the number of variants of interrelations and according to the number of cases, subsequently determining the risk of lawsuit for each construction flaw. The results include a dual study according to the two above-mentioned concepts, providing a standardised codification of each case, as well as its individual risk factor. As for the evaluation, five risk categories are established (very high, high, moderate, low and very low), allowing to demonstrate that, by intervening on certain interrelations (whether in the design stage or at the execution stage) it is possible to clearly reduce the probability of litigation, as well as the number of associated construction flaws. Consequently, establishment of the aforementioned categories constitutes a very useful tool for risk managers – requiring first their identification and, secondly, their control and reduction.