What are the most common defects in Maltese buildings?

A sunny country underestimates rain

Matthew starts with the reason rather than the defect: "We live in a sunny country so we do not give enough attention to rain." Malta's weather sells itself on sunshine, and the buildings are designed, sold and viewed in that frame of mind. The rain arrives concentrated into a few months, and it finds whatever was not detailed for it.

The most common defect is waterproofing

"Probably the most common defect is waterproofing — on roofs, at apertures and round apertures." Two of those three are the same place: the aperture itself, and the junction where the aperture meets the wall around it. That junction is where two materials and two trades meet, and it is where water gets in.

Why it does not stay a small problem

A waterproofing defect does not present as a waterproofing defect. "Those defects cause structural damage, cause architectural finishes damage." By the time you are looking at the damage, you are looking at the symptom — the stained ceiling, the blown plaster, the corroding structure behind it. The failure happened somewhere else, earlier, and cheaper to fix.

This is also why the structural-soundness check matters after you sign: when a buyer's architect inspects a property, confirming it is structurally sound is half of what they are there for.

Sources

• Perit Matthew James Mercieca — Yitaku Asks video (Architect Series, Cluster 1) — a sunny country doesn't attend to rain; waterproofing at roofs and apertures; structural and finishes damage