Atlas of Defects within a Global Building Inspection System

Abstract

Building inspection systems are essential to optimise building maintenance. In the context of developing a global building inspection system, the lack of an expeditious tool to identify defects and their urgency of repair was detected. This study intends to propose an atlas of defects applicable to several types of building elements/materials, simplifying issues associated with the diagnosis of building pathology. A database was devised using previously developed components of the global inspection system: the classification list of defects and the urgency of repair parameters. Such a database was structured using several pages, each one with tables organised according to types of defects, building elements/materials and levels of urgency of repair (five-level scale—0–4). The atlas of defects has 38 pages in total, each for a different type of defect. The levels of urgency of repair are illustrated with photographs and described with concise classification criteria. Not all levels of urgency of repair apply to all defect–building element/material combinations; levels 1, 2 and 3 are those most often considered. The proposed atlas of defects is an innovative approach, useful to assist surveyors during technical inspections of buildings, whose concept may be adapted to other inspection systems.