A construction-quality checklist for your next site visit

Start with the ground

Every sound building starts with a soil investigation. Ask whether a soil test was carried out on this plot, how many boreholes were drilled, and which foundation the structural engineer chose as a result — typically piles for multi-storey buildings on Dhaka's soft soils. The developer should be able to show you the report.

Ask, too, whether the structural design follows the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC 2020), including its seismic provisions, and who the structural engineer of record is.

Steel, cement and concrete

Materials are where shortcuts are easiest to hide, so look closely at how they are bought, stored and tested.

• Reinforcing steel: ask for the grade specified by the structural engineer and look for the mill's markings on the bars. Steel should be stored off the ground and free of flaking rust.
• Cement: check the brand and type printed on the bags, and that the bags are stacked on a raised, covered platform rather than on bare soil.
• Concrete: ask how strength is verified. Well-run sites cast test cylinders or cubes from each pour and have them crushed at a laboratory at 7 and 28 days.
• Mixing: ready-mix concrete or a controlled batching arrangement is preferable to hand mixing for columns, beams and slabs.

Workmanship you can see

Look at columns and beams where the formwork has been removed. The concrete should be even, without honeycombing — pockets of exposed stone that suggest poor compaction. Fresh concrete must be kept wet for days after casting; hessian sacks, ponded water on slabs or regular spraying are good signs in hot weather.

Brick walls should be straight and plumb, with filled joints. Electrical conduits should be laid in the slab or wall before plastering rather than cut in afterwards, and plumbing lines should be pressure-tested before they are covered.

Safety and building services

A tidy, safe site usually reflects a well-managed project. Look for barricades at slab edges, safety nets, helmets and harnesses on workers, and protected lift shafts. Ask how fire safety is designed in: protected stairs, fire doors, detectors and hydrants as the building's height requires.

Ask about the lifts and the generator — brand, capacity and maintenance arrangements — and how the roof and the wet areas will be waterproofed. Finally, ask where rainwater from the roof and the plot will drain.

Records that prove it

Quality you cannot see should still be documented. Ask to see material test certificates, concrete test results, the structural engineer's inspection notes and the monthly progress reports.

At Asseto, shareholders receive monthly progress reports with photographs, can visit the site with our engineers, and can review test results and bills at our office. If a developer cannot show you how quality is checked, assume that it is not.