Those who decide to renovate or build know that they need patience, planning and organization to face the challenges of the work. And nothing is more unpleasant than discovering, after everything is ready, that the house or apartment has basic errors that affect the quality of life of the residents. Engineer Matheus Moura, from Construtora Vizotto Moura, says that many of these mistakes are common and can be easily avoided with some care.
One of the engineer’s recommendations is to request a topographer to carry out the appropriate measurements of the land and the alignment of the work. “It is a serious mistake to build without demarcating the land correctly, as this can cause great financial losses and bureaucracy with the change in the property documentation”, he clarifies.
Hire a professional to do the land measurements
One problem the homeowner may face is the lack of a proper alignment check. “If the alignment is not correct, you have walls with different measurements and environments that can be ‘misaligned’. This becomes very evident when laying the floor”, he says.
Be careful with the water
Another frequent problem in several properties and that causes irreversible damage is neglecting the waterproofing of baldrame beams (foundation), swimming pools and wet areas. “If the person in charge of the work does not waterproof the beams, the humidity rises through the walls and creates great difficulty for the resident, because there is no way to repair this after the house is ready. It’s important to use quality products because these are the kind of savings that do immeasurable harm,” he says.
Roof
The person responsible for a work must be aware of the water collection system. Bad sizing of gutters and flashings, which direct water to the rainwater outlet, can cause it to return to the roof. “Water is one of the biggest problems in a building. So, from the moment you have water at some point not prepared to receive it, it will find a way to pass and it will give you a lot of headache”, guides the engineer.
leveling
Neglecting heights and drops within a home also creates problems when leveling the floor. Bathrooms, wet areas and balconies need to be at a lower level than the rest of the house to prevent any accumulation of water from spreading. “Usually we leave two centimeters smaller than the level of the house. But we still have to level the floor in these areas to direct the water to the drains. When this is not done, the water puddles in a certain place, an inadmissible error that can be avoided with simple supervision”, he says.
Moura explains that all these failures can be avoided with simple measures that include the use of quality materials, in the case of waterproofing, hiring a surveyor to check the correct measurements and closely monitoring the progress of the work. “This supervision is carried out by the engineer responsible for the work, which is why hiring a construction company to carry out the project offers less risk. In the case where there is no construction company involved, the check is up to the foreman, together with the responsible engineer”, he adds.
five mistakes
- Measuring terrain incorrectly
- Not checking the work square
- Failure to waterproof foundation beams, wet areas and pool
- Bad sizing of flashings and gutters
- Incorrectly leveling wet areas
Also, one of the worst mistakes you can make when starting construction is buying low-quality material. This can cause major damage in the future and compromise your family’s safety. It is important to choose materials of good origin and that meet technical standards.
