Construction defects in a new building

Construction defects in a new building are common, and it pays to catch them at the earliest stage, since they can affect your quality of life and, unfortunately, a new building often has plenty. What do you do to check for them in a new building from a contractor, and how do you handle a dispute with that same contractor once you find them? Below, real examples.

On this page, building inspection engineer Ron Arad shares photographed, real-world examples of defects in new buildings from a contractor. Every example comes from a new apartment or a common area where we were called in for a home inspection (bedek bayit): case descriptions with photos of the various construction defects our engineers have found in new buildings. Most are prominent defects, real oversights that often put residents at risk.

Examples of construction defects in a new building

Ceiling lamps with no hanging hooks
Without hanging hooks, a ceiling lamp hangs from its electrical cable alone, a real safety risk for residents.

A pool inside a shared building
The dream of heading down with a towel and flip-flops to a pool in your own building is a real draw, so what defects can spoil it?

Parking and waterproofing defects

Non-standard parking in a building
Buying a parking spot comes with expectations of convenience. Too often, construction and planning defects get in the way, as this article explains.

What's the difference between a waterproofing worker and a leak detection expert
Is trial and error really how you solve dampness problems? Worried it'll be back next winter? This is worth reading.

Safety defects: the smoke shaft
Have you actually checked that your building's fire safety systems meet the standard? It turns out even life-saving systems can have construction defects and engineering flaws that cost lives in a fire.

Inside the home

Construction defect: condensation on windows
What condensation on your windows means, and the insulation problem behind it in aluminum frames.

What should the slope be in a shower stall
Nothing worse than showering and watching the water run out of the stall instead of down the drain. Dampness, mold, water seeping to the neighbors: how do you prevent it?

Safety-related defects

A solar water heater that isn't heating properly
Running out of hot water too fast, again? Check whether the collector is positioned to get the sun exposure it needs.

Safety defect: risk of climbing and falling from a window
What happens when a child can easily climb onto the toilet seat and fall from a window just 30 cm above it? It defies both the standard and common sense.

A dangerous safety defect: aluminum steps falling from a balcony
In one new building, balcony steps came loose and fell straight down into the yard of the apartment below.

An electrical panel on the roof of a shared building
Electricity and water in direct contact: what does an electrical panel covered in plastic sheeting on a shared roof tell you?

Waterproofing a pipe on the roof

What happens when a roof pipe isn't properly waterproofed? Does a quick, easy fix at the time really hold up against the dampness damage that follows?

Gas tank: safety defects
The gas tank sits underground: does its location matter? What if it's placed right next to the fire suppression system?

Air conditioners in a building's parking garage
In one building, ground-floor stores needed air conditioning units, and for some reason they ended up in the shared parking garage. What does that mean for the building?

Fire safety in a new building
Access for a fire truck in an emergency matters, so what happens when that access gets sold as a regular parking spot, complete with a "no parking" sign?

A narrow hallway
Do you have to hold your breath to pass through a hallway at home? The standard sets a minimum width, and falling short of it is a construction defect.

Piping that invites climbing, with a long fall below
A railing and pipe installed low enough to invite climbing, with a high parking shaft directly underneath if someone falls.

Waterproofing problems in a building's parking garage
In one upscale new building, extensive dampness on the walls turned out to point to a basic structural failure, not something that was going to fix itself.