Municipality tells UAQ contractors to 'rebuild' faulty buildings

Under-construction buildings in UAQ were found to be below standard.

In a recent inspection visit by officials of the Umm Al Quwain Municipality, many critical faults were found in buildings under construction in a single day, according to a senior official with the civic body here.
Topping the list was poor quality of concrete used which means failure to abide by the set technical standards. A building constructed using inferior quality concrete mix, for example, cannot sustain the pressure from additional floors, said Mohammed Nasser Subhi, head of building and follow-up section.
"Large parts of the plaster used in some buildings easily came down when examined with a sharp tool."
Some walls were sub-standard that they could collapse with a slight push. "Cement and other concrete contents were adulterated and proved to be below standards."
The concrete works of a building in Al Ras area were not properly done, he elaborated. "All the concrete covers of the iron columns did not meet the set technical standards and therefore cannot sustain the pressure of the upper floors."
The contractor involved has been ordered to dismantle the iron bars, and reinstall them in a proper way as per stipulated terms, Subhi stated.
"A hefty fine (unidentified) has been imposed on the erring contractor for non-compliance with technical standards."
Poor quality material, mainly plaster, was found to be used in another building at the same area, he pointed out. "A large amount of plaster fell down when checked with a sharp tool."
The walls of the same building proved to be so weak and can easily collapse, he said. "This means the quality of the materials used is very poor or the cement layers used have been manipulated." The contractor involved has been fined and ordered to remove all the plaster layers and rebuild them as per the set standards. "The new plaster to be built shall be re-examined."
Some holes were detected in the concrete columns of a third building after filling in the columns and drying. Some concrete parts fell off when touched by hand, Subhi said.
"This means that the vibrator was not used in a proper way to distribute the concrete in the right way and was not made solid by removing all the air bubbles. The contractor was ordered to remove the faulty parts and pour the concrete in again."
The contractor was also alerted that his staff workers were not observing the due safety procedures by working on high columns without safety belts and that they may slip to death at any time.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Umm Al Quwain