Buyers Beware!

This is the alarming heading of a late August front page article in 7 Days. The gist of the story is that buildings in the UAE are perhaps not being built to last. It referred especially to villas which may begin to deteriorate in as little as 15 years. However, it goes on to advise that proper maintenance should enable the structure to avoid any major problems for 20 to 30 years. In fact, a well-maintained structure, including an apartment or office tower may be expected to survive 50 to 60 years on average.

The issue of salt being absorbed by the concrete foundations of structures through ground water was highlighted as a particular concern. The sandy desert soil presumably contains a great amount of salt and salt contamination is a more prevalent problem where landscaping features surrounding buildings are heavily irrigated. Such irrigation allows more salt to be absorbed from the sand by the buildings' concrete foundations. At sites directly exposed to sea breezes, as on the palm island developments, the issue of salt contamination is even more severe unless builders take extra care.

The article is useful in pointing out the necesity of proper maintenance, however, it leaves unanswered the question of how the purchaser, whether of a villa or apartment in a tower development, goes about implementing such maintenance.

Go to Construction Issues (News Index)
Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.