A Review: Problems In Refurbishment Projects

Abstract

Globally, the existing buildings take a significant portion of total stock. Due to the cyclical nature, the performance of a building is getting retarded when it is exposed to usage. Thus, in order to prolong the life of a building, refurbishment has become a popular concept. New construction and refurbishment process has salient differences. Even though there are some problems common to both new construction and refurbishment, the impact is different in refurbishment projects such as; difficulty in achieving cost, time and quality targets. Suitable approaches should be adopted in managing refurbishment projects. Sometimes, the same approaches used in new construction may not be always suitable for managing refurbishment projects due to certain differences. Thus, prior to determining approaches, it is necessary to identify the problems associated with refurbishment projects. Therefore, this study aims to identify problems present in refurbishment projects considering the two main stages of procurement and construction. To achieve the aim, a comprehensive literature review was conducted by accompanying books, journals, articles, conference proceedings and other reliable resources. The literature findings manifest that the most important problems associated with refurbishment projects are inaccurate and incomplete information during design stage, determining client needs, restricted access, and unavailability of space on project for storage of materials, potentially reduced security and increased risk to health and/or safety from construction.