Building defects in Norway – lessons learned from an archive study

Purpose Building defects remain a persistent challenge in the building industry. This study analyses a building defect archive to investigate the physical causes of process-induced building defects in Norway and compare the findings with scientific literature from other countries. Design/methodology/approach The statistical analysis is based on the SINTEF building defects archive, a large, high-quality, private database of building defects in Norway. Findings A typical Norwegian building defect is found to be a moisture defect caused by intrusion of rainwater in a roof or façade of an apartment building, discovered by its owner a few years after handover. The trends in the past decades show that defects due to indoor air condensation have become less prominent, while the share caused by precipitation is increasing. The dominant reasons for the changes are explainable by changes in the regulations on technical requirements for construction works in 2007, as well as increased rainfall due to climate change. Practical implications The technical requirements’ greater emphasis on airtightness of the building envelope has yielded positive results, while requirements for stepless doorways in the entrance and terrace have introduced more snow and rain intrusion. Originality/value Compared to building defect studies from around the world, the Scandinavian buildings seem more troubled by their local climatic conditions. Hence, the findings may be of relevance for other regions with wet and cold climates. Further, the study documents the effect of changes in national building regulations, the need for more resources for design and clearer clarification of responsibilities at the boundaries between technical disciplines, building elements and subcontractors.