STRUCTURAL FACTORS THAT CAUSE BUILDING FAILURES

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STRUCTURAL FACTORS THAT CAUSE BUILDING FAILURES

ABSTRACT

The persistent failure of building in Lagos State which is attributed or linked to some structural factors/problems affecting the structural components of the building has been a matter of concern to the government and the building industry at large. This study is therefore designed to find out the structural factors that can cause building failure.

The study adopted a survey research design. A population of 220 respondents was used which is made up of 43 Architects, 66 Structural Engineers, and 111 Building Technicians who are all registered members of COREN and NIOB. Five research questions and hypotheses were raised and formulated respectively to guide the study. Data collected were analysed using the mean and standard deviation for the research questions while ANOVA was used for the research hypotheses.

Result of the data analysis revealed that 58 structural factors can affect the structural components of a building and lead to building failure. Structural components were identified as; foundation, wall, floor, beams, columns and roof. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that NIOB and NSE should investigate buildings under construction properly before construction, only qualified and registered builders, structural engineers and architects should be allowed to practise building construction in Nigeria.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The reoccurrence menace of building failure in Lagos State and its environs has been generating a lot of reactions from both the general public and stakeholders in the building construction industry. According to Oloko (2009), hardly will a year end without recording an incident of building failure in Lagos State. When building failure occurs, the State Government reacts that such collapsed structure is forfeited to the government as punitive measure without taking further steps to sanction the professionals who approved such buildings.

Buildings serve as shelters for humans and their belongings. They must be properly planned, designed and erected to obtain desired satisfaction from the environment. The factors to be observed in building construction include durability, adequate stability to prevent its failure or discomfort to the users, resistance to weather, fire outbreak and other forms of accidents. The styles of building construction are constantly changing with the introduction of new materials and techniques of construction. Consequently, the work involved in the design and construction stages of buildings are largely that of selecting materials, components and structures that will meet the expected building standards and aesthetics on economy basis.

Building failure is an unacceptable difference between expected and observed performance in building. Failure can be considered as occurring in a component when that component can no longer be relied upon to fulfill its principal functions. Limited deflection in a floor which causes a certain amount of cracking/distortion in partitions could reasonably be considered as defect but not a failure, whereas excessive deflection resulting in serious damage to partitions, ceilings and floor finishes could be classed as a build failure (Roddis, 1993). Building failure can be described as a deformation or cracks in any structural components of the building which may lead to the collapse of the building. A failure in an older building may be caused by lack of adequate maintenance.

Failure in buildings can broadly be attributed either to defects or deterioration. Richardson (1992) stated that, defects arise due to error or omission, that is, breach of contract or negligence by a designer or contractor, but deterioration is a natural process which may be unavoidable, although minimized by care in design and the selection of materials. However,

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where the rate of deterioration is excessive, it may be due to defect, such as the selection and use of unsuitable materials, or to event such as a cracking and distortion of beams.

The defect in a structural and non structural element/component of a building which is attributable to defective design, defective or faulty workmanship or defective materials or any combination of these can be termed as failure in building (Richardson, 1992). Jack (1978) stated that structural components of a building are those elements that bear the load while the non-structural components are those elements that are movable in a building. Structural failure refers to loss of the load-carrying capacity of a component or member within a structure or of the structure itself. Structural failure is initiated when the material is stressed to its strength limit, thus causing fracture or excessive deformations. The ultimate failure strength of the materials, component or system is its maximum load-bearing capacity. When this limit is reached, damage to the material has been done, and its load- bearing capacity is reduced permanently, significantly and quickly. In a well-designed system, a localized failure should not cause immediate or even progressive collapse of the entire structure.

Richardson (1992) stated, that structural failures are the result of over-stressing, that is, the imposition of loads in excess of the capacity of the structural components. Collapse is, of course, the ultimate and most serious result, but over-stressing is also evident at earlier stages through development of distortion and fractures. If a structure is correctly designed and constructed in accordance with the design, over-stressing indicates some other inadequacies such as the use of an unsuitable material. Harold (1980) identified the prominent components of a building, as foundation, columns, beams, slabs, floors, lintels, roofs and walls.

Structural factors are the deformation, distortion, excessive tension and defects encountered by each of the structural components of the building which leads to the collapse of the building. Several structural factors and defects affect each of these components which lead to building failure. Building failure occur due to the inadequate structural design or construction for the required structural loadings of all the structural component in the building, but structural failure can still occur, even with correct design and construction, if materials that are used are unsuitable or subsequently deteriorate.

The incident of building collapse in Lagos State has constituted a serious concern to property owners and the stakeholders in the construction industry (Oloko, 2009). According to Alli (2009), within the last three years, not fewer than 32 persons died in the state as a

result of series of building collapse. The highest figure was recorded in July 18, 2006, when 28 persons died when a four-storey building collapsed in Ebute Meta area of Lagos State (Nigeriaworld, September 28, 2007).

The building that is well designed and constructed is required to satisfy the basic needs, which include the following: resistance to penetration of rainwater, sun, and protection against wind. Buildings are also expected to regulate heat (thermal insulation), insulate sound, and provide resistance to fire outbreak and security to man and materials among others. Ezeji (1984) observed that these are the basic functions of buildings. He explained that, buildings that do not satisfy these functions have not satisfied the objectives of their construction. Non-satisfaction of the objectives could result from lack of technical expertise required and good workmanship of construction activities of such building.

According to the report of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development authority, 800 buildings located in various Local Government Areas of Lagos State are currently in a precarious state (Nigeriaworld, September 28, 2007). Investigations have been carried out on those structures to further test and determine their structural stability. In most of these buildings, structural defects of various forms have been detected. These defects range from roof leakage, damaged doors and windows, wall cracks, collapsing roof (Richardson, 1991). These defects could have resulted from boycotting of the professionals of building construction activities. Therefore, the likely causes would be traced to human factors like employment of unqualified building construction specialist to be in charge of project design and qualities, lack of up to date skills and experiences of building engineers and technicians, poor estimations, organization; co-ordination and supervision, purchasing of sub-standard materials by the building clients or the non-performance of government agents in charge of the building constructions’ quality control and planning.

According to Ofori (2000), the issue of improved service delivery of building construction and proper awareness of the building clients to the call to use standard and quality materials is very crucial. He observed that as building owners become more aware in their understanding of construction processes, they tend to employ the services of less competent contractors who are not certified by Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB). Therefore, for the achievement of best results and positive changes in the Building construction industry, the awareness of the problems and the possible solutions needed are to be appreciated not by the clients only, but by all who are involved in building construction processes.

Alan (2002) opined that Lagos State have so much prominence today because of its nearness to water. Its closeness to water naturally gave room for shipping ports in these areas, shipping port in turn promotes commercial activities, and commercial activities naturally generates heavy human traffic and human being requires shelter for himself, his goods and services. So buildings spring up in these places and that brings competition for very few available spaces in these areas. Hence to meet demands, designers and building constructors settle for multi-storey buildings because of increasing economic value of these areas.

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