Huge repair bill for new homes with leaks

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Huge repair bill for new homes with leaks

13 April 2002

Thousands of new homes are now believed to contain serious leaks and rotting

timber frames, creating a national repair bill estimated at $1 billion and a

health threat from toxic mould.

Concern over the " leaky building crisis " - and its effect on property values

and confidence in the building industry - has already prompted the

Government-appointed Building Industry Authority to launch an inquiry into

how many homes are affected.

Industry sources said one in 10 new homes - 2000 of the 20,000 built each

year - were at risk of leaking and dozens of large-scale developments built

in the past five to 10 years, some with 100 units or more, had serious

problems that were only just becoming public.

Few industry experts were prepared to be quoted on the scale of the problem,

citing their commercial and legal obligations but an Auckland building

repair specialist, Steve , said he was investigating leaks at 560

units spread across 49 properties, including 10 multi-unit developments.

In the past few years he had dealt with at least as many cases again.

A biodeterioration expert at the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua, Robin

Wakeling - who studies building materials affected by damp and rot - said

the scale of the damage in new houses was just starting to emerge.

" We are aware of hundreds of properties which have been affected and those

would be representative of many thousands that have been built in the past

five years.

" On that basis, we've only seen the very beginning of the problem. "

Scientists were also monitoring an increase in the growth of a potentially

lethal fungus, stachybotrys, and other toxic moulds believed to cause health

problems, including breathing difficulties and flu-like symptoms.

Microbiologist Dr Nick Waipara, who is studying the extent and health

implications of mould in homes, said poorly constructed modern homes were

providing the perfect breeding ground for stachybotrys, which thrived in

damp conditions.

The leaky building problem is caused by several factors: design changes,

such as flat roofs and no eaves; the replacement of weatherboard and brick

by new claddings; untreated timber which rots more easily; and declining

building standards. Experts disagree over which is most important.

This week, building inspectors were told the cost and frequency of leak

problems were rising.

A survey of 250 new units needing repairs found the total bill was $8

million - an average cost of $32,654 a unit.

The research by building repair specialists Prendos, covered 50 sites built

since 1990, mainly in Auckland. The average house was five years old, two to

three storeys and worth $450,000.

Author Philip O'Sullivan found 1420 leaks - an average of 5.7 in each unit.

Buildings on four sites had had major repairs but still needed to be fixed

again.

Mr O'Sullivan, an industry crusader against leaky buildings, has predicted

in trade publications the long-term repair bill for the country would easily

top $1 billion. Others believed it would be higher.

Some experienced observers fear New Zealand's problems could be as bad as

Canada's " leaky condo " scandal, which created a crisis of confidence among

homeowners and in the building industry.

In Vancouver, experts believed nearly 90 per cent of the 800-plus three to

four-storey, wooden-frame condominiums built between 1980 and 1995 had

serious leaks.

Owners, often retired people, who paid about C$150,000 ($213,000) faced

C$35,000 ($49,600) repair bills they could not pay.

Property values in Canada plummeted by up to two-thirds and building

consents were still less than half their previous level.

A Vancouver commission of inquiry found units with decay in as little as

three years and buildings were being repaired twice for the same problem -

which many builders say is happening in New Zealand.

It is now compulsory in Vancouver to install " drainage planes " - a gap

between the cladding and timber frame allowing water to escape - in new

condominiums.

, chairman of the New Zealand building industry steering group

on the issue, said the same measures might be introduced in New Zealand.