Social Housing foundationSHiFT workshop Design for efficient maintenance in rental housing

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Social Housing foundation/SHiFT workshop -
Design for efficient maintenance in rental
housing

• Findings from recent Building condition audits
  implications for design
• Jacus Pienaar
• Land Housing Development Support Group
• 30 September 2008

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Findings based on results of

• 2007 Building condition audits (BCAs) of 40
  complexes across SA (SPSH/Rooftops)
• 2006-2008 Rectification inspections for
• Joe Slovo Park phase 1, N2 Gateway
• Abahlali Housing Association Algoa Park
• 2007 Assessments for Free State CRU strategy

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2007 SPSH / Rooftops BCA programme
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40 complexes mix of older refurbished
high-rises/walk-ups and newer walk-ups

• Reports included (at 2007 constant prices)
• Quantified Deferred Maintenance Liability (DML)
  for each project, unit and portfolio
• DML priority 1 (immediate), and
• priority 2 (3-6m) work, not done that should have
  been
• Quantified and costed 20 year maintenance plan
  and funding need per project, unit portfolio

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Condition rating system used
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20 year maintenance funding needs
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20 year maintenance funding needs
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Condition of SHI portfolios inspected against
typical trends
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Results

• Newly built/renovated stock unacceptably high DML
  and short-medium term maintenance funding needs
  to catch up
• Most recently built/renovated buildings ageing
  prematurely
• Problem How to fund catch-up?
• Need rent increases up to 40 (not possible)
• If situation not rectified,
• will reach CR 2 (poor) within 10-12 years
• and CR 1 (beyond repair) within 20 years
• Why?

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Some observations

• Inadequate maintenance budgets and expenditures
• Little evidence of planned or preventive
  maintenance
• Poor house keeping programs
• Little or no attention to energy and water
  management and conservation
• Poor workmanship, supervision and quality control
  in maintenance and repair work
• But,what about design?

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What aspects of design seemed to cause early
deterioration?

• Designers pressured into making inadequate
  provision for the realities and requirements of
  for instance
• Unframed, load-bearing cement-based masonry
  construction up to 3-4 storeys high
• The need for downmarket finishes, roof
  construction and coverings
• High intensity use, especially of ablution
  facilities in shared accommodation

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What aspects of design seemed to cause early
deterioration?

• Some specific facets of the above include not
  providing for
• how materials perform in the long term
• and in interaction with each other and the
  environment,
• how buildings will really be used,
• buildability (practicality) of details
• Biological decay e.g. natural ageing of materials
  (accelerated by environments), exposure to
  aggressive chemical agents, atmosphere, etc.)

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What aspects of design seemed to cause early
deterioration?

• Inadequate attention to dealing with Water in all
  forms, e.g.
• rising damp
• rain penetration
• ground water pressure
• flooding
• condensation

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What aspects of design and construction process
cause early deterioration?

• Inadequate attention to dealing with Movement in
  all its forms (more specifically differential or
  relative movement) due to
• Settlement and heave
• drying shrinkage
• contraction and expansion due to temperature
  variations, moisture content
• creep and sag (overloading or under designing of
  structures).

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Some examples in new construction

• Inadequate roof pitches and protective overhangs
• Omission of rain water goods
• Omission of verge treatments
• Poor detailing at junctions - Flat roofs and
  parapets
• Inadequate weathering/sealing of top edges of
  parapet and balustrade walls

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Some examples in new construction

• Inadequate weather proofing of building envelope
  (especially single skin exterior masonry) with
  poor detailing at junctions with floor slabs,
  roofs and window and door frames
• Inadequate sealing around window frames, and
  sanitary fittings allowing ingress of water into
  the walls and structures

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Some examples in new construction

• Inadequate provision (joints) for movement,
  resulting in cracking and further ingress of
  water
• Poor quality sanitary and other fittings, kitchen
  cabinets, taps, doors and door locks
• Inadequate storm water containment / disposal

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Working or wearing services and components

• Designers should always ask themselves
• How can it be reached?
• How can it be cleaned?
• How can it be repaired?
• How can it be replaced?

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Nice idea washlines hidden and secure, but
mostly in shade
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So washing goes outside in sun facing N2, giving
minister heartburn every time she drives past
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In refurbishment of older existing buildings

• Inadequate or no repair of cracked/spalled
  exposed concrete slab edges, leading to
  contamination of steel reinforcing (especially in
  coastal towns)
• Inadequate re-sealing and re-grouting of joints
  that had opened up over time and created many
  places where water can get into structures in
  e.g.
• Face brick walls and copings
• Window sills
• Tiling in showers
• Edge junctions of sanitary fittings with walls

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In refurbishment of older existing buildings

• Inadequate re-waterproofing of old and leaky
  roofs
• Not fixing plumbing leaks or replacing defective
  piping
• Re-painting over old paint on rusting metal work
  such as steel window frames and fire escape
  stairs without proper preparation and rust
  control
• Not immediately re-sealing exposed roof timbers,
  wood fascias, doors and window frames
• aging components/equipment (lifts, roofs,
  plumbing, windows, etc) are often not replaced or
  refurbished during acquisition / rehabilitation

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Regulation of product standards and quality for
housing in South Africa

• 1998 Home Building Manual
• Technical Guidelines (revised 1999) of the NHBRC
• 2000 NDoH National Housing Code
• Norms and Standards houses and services
• 2003 NDoH Generic Specification GFSH-11
• Design and Construction of Houses
• FOCUS MAINLY ON SINGLE STOREY CHEAP FREE HOUSES!

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First recognition of SH needs

• 2006 SH Programme Guidelines
• Project cost estimates and funding needs based on
  SH product (medium density, attached multi-storey
  buildings)
• Social Housing Capital Restructuring Grant
  (SHCRG) more responsive funding mechanism
• Lower debt levels improved quality and
  viability?
• Unfortunately overtaken by rapid rises in
  interest rates (after 2006) and building costs
  (ongoing since 1990s)

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Assessment of submissions for SHRCG funding

• Three standardised assessment tools from NDoH
• Quickscan A
• Governance and organisational viability of SHI
  applying for the grant
• Quickscan B
• Project validity, readiness and overall
  technical quality
• Quickscan C
• Financial model for project viability

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Revision of the Quickscan assessment process in
2008

• First round assessments before completion of BCAP
  (NO structured evaluation of quality and
  maintenance isues.)
• BCAP caused bit of a stir and resulted in
• More critical evaluation in Quickscans A C of
• maintenance provisions in operational cost
  estimates
• new project and portfolio KPI for planned
  maintenance (1.2-1.5 of replacement cost)
• More critical evaluation in Quickscan B of
• product design and quality
• influence of that on future maintenance needs

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Conclusions

• BCAP has highlighted quick decline in physical
  condition of recently constructed/renovated
  social housing stock
• Already too late to fund maintenance backlog from
  operational income
• Building cheap creates management philosophy of
  cheap
• Cheap design not necessarily economical, and
  vice versa

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Recommendations (Designers and maintenance
managers to be involved)

• Product must be responsive to initial capital
  cost of a project but also to ongoing operational
  costs
• Maintenance managers/experts must be part of
  design review teams
• Sector must develop performance specifications
  and design guidelines for
• new projects
• acquisition and rehabilitation

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Recommendations (Designers and maintenance
managers to be involved)

• Explicit funding conditions around quality and
  low maintenance needed
• Further project funding of social housing
  development must be made conditional on
  acceptable arrangements to reduce maintenance
  needs and liabilities
• If not, substantial investments in the sector
  will be largely wasted on one-generation stock