The importance of communication in a works contract
This week we saw a recent court case relating to a building contract. It involved the lowering of a ground floor of an existing basement, and extending the basement floor area to a property located in Central London. During the construction the specification for waterproofing provided by the engineer and contractor did not perform as intended.
The result
The judgement identified that there was inadequate communication and professionalism between all the appointed parties, incurring poor design specification and flawed installation. This resulted in a failure of the waterproofing system and ingress of water.
From the information we have seen, there is no indication in this case that the guidance provided in BS8102 was applied at the design stage, understanding the risk or specification of materials or installation methodology. The claim for costs, following the breakdown of the building contract, to remediate the ineffective installation and additional professional guidance was awarded to the homeowner.
Read more here
Design experts
Structural Waterproofing is not the domain of an architect, structural engineer or building contractor, and this case highlights that below ground structures require the expertise of a qualified structural waterproofing designer with appropriate PI insurance.
The PCA continues to promote to the construction industry the inclusion of its members, who are trained and qualified waterproofing design specialists in all building contracts where below ground structures are involved.
Find a design specialist here