THE EFFECTS OF MAINTENANCE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS: A CASE STUDY OF SOME PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN THE SALAGA TOWNSHIP, EAST GONJA DISTRICT IN THE NORTHERN REGION

ABSTRACT

A building fabric is referred to as an “environmental envelope” because it is the means by which the natural or external environment may be modified, to produce a satisfactory internal environment for man to live in and affect the ability of the buildings to perform their functions adequately. The deterioration of buildings hampers its ability to perform adequately, thus it is important to ensure proper maintenance to prevent deterioration. Maintenance of public buildings in Salaga Township is on the decrease regardless of the size, type, location and ownership. Public buildings represent significant investment of the tax payers’ money and therefore preserving these building systems is important. In view of the above, this study was designed to assess the current condition of public buildings, identify the underlying principal causes of poor maintenance of public buildings, analyze the maintenance policy and practice and capacity of the maintenance and estate departments of public institutions and make suggestions and recommendations towards the adoption of effective maintenance policy and innovations that would address the building maintenance problem in public institutions. The field investigations focused on residential buildings of Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, District Assembly, and other departments. Through the application of sampling techniques, 25 buildings were covered in the survey. The survey revealed that there is a real housing maintenance problem in public institutions. The study also established the following factors as being responsible for the poor maintenance of public buildings: The age of the buildings, Lack of maintenance culture, Inadequate funds and high maintenance cost, Pressure on building facilities by number of users and Poor construction work and maintenance work done and others. The study concluded by enumerating a number of recommendations aimed at providing the necessary framework for proper and effective maintenance of buildings.