Integrity or profit? Quality standards in housing construction
I took this picture of a newly-built house, part of a development near my home in Hertfordshire. It shows houses that have been constructed with little care about the visual impact of the brickwork. Knowing that the ugly patterns of different coloured brick are going to be an eyesore for many years frustrated and disappoints me. What does this say about the integrity of the companies that don’t care enough to do a better job? If they do this for the front face of their development what other short cuts do they take? Does anyone else have the same feeling or observations? What lessons does this teach us about business?
Best practice bricklaying
Bricks are fired in batches and do not always achieve a consistent colour, which is a well-known problem in bricklaying. Discrepancies are caused by minor differences in conditions such as the clay mix, sand/stain colour and variations in firing temperature.
Best practice advice from brick manufacturers and the British Standards Institute states that builders should blend batches of bricks by loading units from at least three packs. Guidelines say that “banding” is “unacceptable” and that all brickwork should be examined from a minimum distance of three metres – or unsightly consequences, such as those on the picture above, can occur.
Poor quality control
Another local builder made a building’s appearance even worse by using different colour mortar, also against industry best practice.
Permanent visual impairment
When I contacted this developer, Weston Homes, their spokeswoman responded that all works had been carried out to the correct standard, there was no quality issue and that “…Permanent visual impairment and consequent loss of visual appeal to the development is subject to personal opinion, and we do not feel any compromise has occurred at the development.”
My observations told a different story. It shows that the developer has not followed industry best practice on bricklaying and use of mortar. This poor quality build with its display of bad workmanship will blight the local area for the lifetime of the building – possibly 100 years or more.
Cutting corners for profit
Large-scale housing development in the UK has a hard-to-shake-off image problem as an industry prepared to cut corners for a quick profit. Issues such as these are avoided so easily – and cheaply – when builders follow best practice and pay attention to brick batches and mortar preparation.
Poor oversight from local authorities
Local authorities could ensure that all housing within their county is built to a high standard by providing better oversight. Planners owe it to local residents and businesses to enforce quality standards across the board – whether developers are individuals or multinationals.
A question of integrity
This eyesore could have been avoided so easily that failure to do so raises a question mark over the developer’s integrity. When a construction firm chooses to prioritise a quick profit it reveals that the company does not have high standards – and it leaves home-buyers, residents and share-holders wondering what other corners might have been cut?
The little things tell you a lot about a company or a person. When you walk into a business foyer and see that nobody can be bothered to water a plant which is wilting it helps you understand something about the ethos of the company. For myself I try to set a standard for the company whether it is picking up debris on the carpets or ensuring that the instruments we make not only work properly around the world but that they are easy to use and have a proven accuracy track record.