Business | Construction
New group aims to raise building material quality
A new organisation intends to tackle specific areas of sub-standard building work in the Middle East.
- By Robert Ditcham, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 1, 2006
Dubai: A new organisation intends to tackle specific areas of sub-standard building work in the Middle East.
Leading figures in the Middle East Drymix Mortar Association (Medma) say mouldy walls ridden with cracks, disintegrating rendering and water stains are linked to poor standards of drymix mortar.
The construction material is made up of cement, sand and chemical additives all weighed and mixed in a factory and packed in bags. The material used has a direct impact on a building's quality, according to the group.
Medma held its first meeting at Dubai's Big 5 trade exhibition and aims to work with architects, contractors and developers to increase industry standards and raise transparency.
"A building might be what you live and work in, but what you actually see are the various kinds of drymix mortars that have been used to finish it," said Ferdinand Leo-polder, secretary to the founding committee of Medma.
"Drymix mortars are used in the walls, on the walls, under the carpets or floor tiles and they prevent the building's energy loss by providing for external thermal insulation.
"We intend to provide clear guidance concerning specifications and industry standards in an area which is currently unregulated.
"The market also needs a lot of education to chose the correct product. Many choices are made on price rather than quality."
Leopold said the group aims to encourage governments to introduce federal standards on the quality of drymix mortar.
"At the moment we will focus on self-imposed industry specifications, such as putting a seal on bags saying the product conforms to certain quality levels. We hope these standards will eventually be enforced by law," he said.
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