Uruguayan Timber
What defines poor construction?
- Walls are considered of poor quality if they are made of waste materials or adobe; of “average” quality if they are made of light materials or unfinished brick, and of “good” quality if they are made of finished brick.
- Roofing is considered “poor” if it is built from waste materials; “average” if it is built with light materials or thatch, and “good” if it is built of concrete.
- Floors without underfloors are regarded as “poor,” those made of concrete or unglazed tiling are considered “average” and those made of wood, carpet, glazed tiling, or linoleum as “good.
An overall score was given to each housing unit. Those houses that had at least one subscore of “poor” were given an overall score of “poor”. The rest of the houses were classified as “average” or “good” according to the subscore with higher frequency.
This chart shows the quality of construction of buildings currently erected in Uruguay with data supplied by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The definitions are for key components in a house; external walls, floors and roof.
The Housing Problems in Uruguay and Latin America
The Housing problem in Uruguay and Latin America can be understood in terms of two particular measurements:
A. Not enough houses
B. Low Quality Existing Houses
- Housing demand in Latin America stands at 18 - 20 Million houses
- Over 8% of Uruguayan live in houses made from waste materials
- More than 55,000 people in Uruguay live in 'irregular' or illegal Settlements
Types of Problems
- Houses with small problems are those that have delamination on ceilings, doors or windows in bad condition, and/or moisture problems in roofs or foundations.
- Houses with medium problems are those with leaks and cracks in walls and/or floors
- Houses with severe problems comprise those with flooding and that are in danger of collapsing.
The data finds that there is a clear link between the quality of construction and structural problems. More than 75% of houses of poor construction quality have severe or medium structural problems while only 31.5% of good quality homes have similar issues.
The data also shows that 5% of houses considered being of good construction suffer from severe structural problems, showing that good quality construction materials do not always make good quality buildings.
This graph shows the extent of structural problems of increasing severity. Data is also from the IDB.
- Almost 1 in 10 housing units do not meet minimum quality standards
- 25% of houses lack critical amenities (water, electricity or sanitation)
- 9% of buildings in Uruguay are in danger of collapsing or flooded