Building

A building is any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy.

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Queensland Urban Drainage Manual

The Queensland Urban Drainage Manual defines a buildings as "a habitable room; retail or commercial space; factory or warehouse; basement providing car parking space, building services or equipment; or enclosed car park or enclosed garage."

Types of Buildings

The LG Asset Program distinguishes between Short & Long Life Buildings. Garden sheds are obviously short life and major brick and masonry buildings are obviously long life, but there are many buildings somewhere in between.

The list of building types below is generated automatically, all pages with the "building-type" tag are included in the list.

Building Components

Buildings are sometimes broken up into a number of building components for the purpose of recording information about them in an asset register and depreciating them at an appropriate rate.

Example components include:

Section 43 of AASB 116 states that "Each part of an item of property, plant and equipment with a cost that is significant in relation to the total cost of the item shall be depreciated separately". It doesn't specifically state how the assets should be broken up.

AASB 116 allows for components with similar useful lives to be grouped together.

Component Value Percentages

In the absence of more detailed information, it may sometimes be necessary to apportion the total replacement cost of a building amongst its components when recognising it in an asset register. The proportion of costs will of course depend on the type of building under consideration.

A series of tables showing component cost percentages for various building types would be one way of tackling this task.

The table below gives the percentage value of building components for Bundaberg Regional Council's entire building stock. It is intended as an example, not a suggested break up.

Component Percentage of Cost
Floor 22.8%
Building Envelope 49.4%
Floor Coverings 3.4%
Internal Screens 1.3%
Roof 16.6%
Mechanical Services 5.4%
Fire Services 0.8%
Transport Services 0.3%

Related Pages

Contributors

The following site members have contributed to this page:

External Links & References

  1. NREL Building Component Library
  2. Building Component Life Expectency (CostModelling.com)
  3. Google Search

To edit the above (buildings components) section click here.

Legislation & Standards

There are a numerous Acts, Standards and Codes of Practice that pertain to or have sections pertaining to buildings. The list below by no means exhaustive so please feel free to add additional items to the list.

Lifecycle Costs

Knowing the average whole of life cost of a range of assets helps organisations predict the ongoing costs associated with new assets, and therefore the impact they will have on their budgets going forward. If you have any information about building maintenance and operational costs please help other Councils by contributing to the table below.

Average Annual Maintenance & Operational Costs
Council Maintenance Operation
Launceston City Council 1.7% 0.3%

Service Level Measures

Councils are required to set levels of service for all asset categories in Asset Management Plans in most states. Knowing what to measure is not always easy. The table below contains a list of possible service level measures. (Just a brainstormed list at this point in time) Please feel free to add any additional suggestions you may have.

  • Time taken to replace a broken window
  • Time taken to repair a leaking roof
  • Time taken to treat a termite infestation
  • Time taken to repair or replace a malfuntioning air-conditioner
  • Time taken to repair a faulty lift
  • Time taken to replace a corroded item after it has been assesed to have corroded beyond a prefined acceptable degree
  • Time taken to repaint a building after the where the paintwork has been identified as being below a set standard
  • Time taken to restump a building after the floor condition has dropped below a predefined acceptable standard
  • Frequency of testing of emergency lighting to ensure it is operational

To edit the above table click here.

Related Pages

Collaborators

The following people have indicated (via the Local Government Collaboration Topics Survey) that they have an interest and/or expertise in the topic of 'buildings' and are willing to collaborate with their peers at other councils to identify challenges and resources relating to the topic and to look for ways to work together to overcome any challenges that are identified.

Contributors

The following site members have contributed to this page:

External Links & References

  1. Wikipedia
  2. FNQROC Buildings Level of Service Minutes
  3. Draft BRC Building Asset Management Plan Template
  4. Update on Broad Groups Plans for Taller Prefabricated skyscrapers (Next Big Future)
  5. MIT Building Design Handbook (4.8MB PDF)
  6. Google Search
  7. Designing Buildings Wiki
  8. Building Construction Checklist (buildingguide.co.nz)
  9. IPWEA Building Demolition Discussion
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