L17: Leaky Buildings Flashcards

1
Q

What is a leaky building?

A

One that allows water to penetrate the building envelope –> held inside the wall cavity –> festers and raises moisture content in framing –> fungal growth –> weakens timber and increases mould (health issues)

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2
Q

What are the common features of a leaky building?

A

Modern/Mediterranean style
Monolithic cladding (barrier approach to prevent water coming in but cannot get water out in failure)
Parapets (no eaves)
Typically multi-storey terraced housing

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3
Q

What percentage of WHRS claims have monolithic cladding?

A

85%

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4
Q

When did monolithic cladding peak in the Auckland market and why?

A

2001-2002 at approx 35%

Low cost, easy installation, low maintenance

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5
Q

What contributed to the origin of leaky buildings?

A

1990s - market liberalisation of construction industry
Removal of apprenticeship training scheme
Performance based building codes
Competition between councils and private certifiers

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6
Q

What are the 4 Ds of weathertightness

A

Deflection
Drainage
Drying
Durability

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7
Q

What percentage of WHRS claims came from Auckland (May 2013)

A

77%

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8
Q

What are the key locations of leaks?

A

45 including parapets, headers of openings, balconies, cladding itself

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9
Q

How did the percentage of stucco and EIFS properties compare to percentage of WHRS claims for these types?

A

6% stucco, 17% EIFS

Yet majority of WHRS claims

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10
Q

How did the percentage of clay brick properties compare to percentage of WHRS claims for these types?

A

38%

Yet very few of WHRS claims

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11
Q

What percentage of susceptible building stock is expected to fail in NZ? (PWC study)

A

11-22%

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12
Q

What are the greatest types of costs making up remediation? (PWC study)

A

71% repair

17% legal

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13
Q

What is the estimated total hard costs to the economy? (PWC study)

A

$11-23 billion

= 7-15% of GDP

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14
Q

What are the indirect costs of leaky buildings and what are they estimated at?

A

Health problems caused by toxic black mould and mental health (depression/stress)
Estimated at $474 million

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15
Q

What is leaky building stigma?

A

Perceived risk that certain features are more susceptible; no proof that it is leaky but decreases number of potential buyers

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16
Q

How are monolithic-clad properties discounted in the Auckland Region?

A

Multi-unit - 10%

SF - 5%

17
Q

What policy changes have been made due to leaky buildings?

A
Insurance industry
Legislative changes
Building controls
Health-related programmes
Ratings valuations
18
Q

How did the insurance industry react to leaky buildings?

A

Reacted immediately after Hunn Report released;

Did not want to cover private certifiers and added exclusion clauses for water ingress

19
Q

How did insurance companies deal with existing policies that could not exclude leaky building problems?

A

Claims could only be made within 6 years of knowing and 10 years of CCC

20
Q

What did WHRS 2002 do?

A

Streamlined leaky claims (did not have to go through high court)
Still required lawyers and didn’t deal with multi-unit claims

21
Q

What did WHRS 2006 do?

A

Addressed multi-unit claims
Allowed choice between going through high court and WH Tribunal - assessor’s report produced if claim deemed eligible
Used other details to measure time as 10 year limit could not be used for buildings which council did not give CCC

22
Q

What did the Building Act 2004 do?

A

Removed Building Industry Authority and created DBH
Tightened controls on building consent authorities
Defined restricted work and created LBP scheme

23
Q

What did the 2008 amendment to the 2004 Building Act do?

A

Require consent for repairs

24
Q

What is FAP?

A

Financial Assistance Package (extension to WHRS 2006 Act) aimed to reduce lawyer costs

Claims against council - council pays 25%, govt pays 25%, owner pays 50%

No claim against council (private certifier) - govt pays 25% (but will pay less due to betterment)

25
Q

What did the initial building code change do?

A

Required chemical treatment on structural framing timber (TimberSave, Agent Orange)

Risk matrix to determine whether cladding can be directly fixed or requires drained/vented cavity

26
Q

How did building controls change at councils?

A

More rigorous documentation required
Looks more at BRANZ and Codemark etc.
Established reclad processes (solutions)

27
Q

What change was made to unrental WOF?

A

Addressed health effects

28
Q

How did ratings valuations change and how many AKL properties were affected by this?

A

Needed to take into account market stigma (reduced price and potential buyers)
Over 5000

29
Q

How much did homes with at-risk features reduce in value due to market stigma?

A

5-20%

Much further discounts for homes with known leaks