EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF FAULTY DESIGN ON BUILDING MAINTENANCE IN AKOKO SOUTH WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE; NIGERIA.

The study evaluated the effects of faulty design on the maintenance of building. The following research questions guides the study: what are factors contributing to faulty design on building maintenance, what are the impacts of faulty of faulty design on building maintenance and the strategies proposed to improve building maintenance? A survey of randomly selected samples of 45 builder and 10 architects were conducted. Questionnaires were used to collect data from Architects and Builders. The survey included 11 factors contributing to faulty design, 5 impact on building maintenance and 6 strategies proposed for improving building maintenance. The predominant severity effects of each factor was assessed and ranked based on descriptive statistics by both the Builders and the Architects. The results shows that 2 factors were rated as most severe, 3 as moderately severe and 6 as slightly severe factors. The results also show that most significant factors contributing to faulty design are poor structural design (with a mean rating of 43.75 and a high standard deviation of 25.37), and ignoring the impacts of load on building stability (with a mean rating of 43.75 and a high standard deviation of 25.37) by both the Architects and the builders. The study concluded that there should be a design review before finally approving the design for construction; maintenance expert should not be overlooked in the planning stage of the project and most importantly the employment of professionals for any building projects, it was also recommended that architect and builder should pay more attention to the design phase, ensuring that the design is adequate and considers environmental factors, such as changing weather condition and wind effects on the structure.