L17: Leaky Buildings Flashcards
What is a leaky building?
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)
What are the common features of a leaky building?
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
What percentage of WHRS claims have monolithic cladding?
85%
When did monolithic cladding peak in the Auckland market and why?
2001-2002 at approx 35%
Low cost, easy installation, low maintenance
What contributed to the origin of leaky buildings?
1990s - market liberalisation of construction industry
Removal of apprenticeship training scheme
Performance based building codes
Competition between councils and private certifiers
What are the 4 Ds of weathertightness
Deflection
Drainage
Drying
Durability
What percentage of WHRS claims came from Auckland (May 2013)
77%
What are the key locations of leaks?
45 including parapets, headers of openings, balconies, cladding itself
How did the percentage of stucco and EIFS properties compare to percentage of WHRS claims for these types?
6% stucco, 17% EIFS
Yet majority of WHRS claims
How did the percentage of clay brick properties compare to percentage of WHRS claims for these types?
38%
Yet very few of WHRS claims
What percentage of susceptible building stock is expected to fail in NZ? (PWC study)
11-22%
What are the greatest types of costs making up remediation? (PWC study)
71% repair
17% legal
What is the estimated total hard costs to the economy? (PWC study)
$11-23 billion
= 7-15% of GDP
What are the indirect costs of leaky buildings and what are they estimated at?
Health problems caused by toxic black mould and mental health (depression/stress)
Estimated at $474 million
What is leaky building stigma?
Perceived risk that certain features are more susceptible; no proof that it is leaky but decreases number of potential buyers
How are monolithic-clad properties discounted in the Auckland Region?
Multi-unit - 10%
SF - 5%
What policy changes have been made due to leaky buildings?
Insurance industry Legislative changes Building controls Health-related programmes Ratings valuations
How did the insurance industry react to leaky buildings?
Reacted immediately after Hunn Report released;
Did not want to cover private certifiers and added exclusion clauses for water ingress
How did insurance companies deal with existing policies that could not exclude leaky building problems?
Claims could only be made within 6 years of knowing and 10 years of CCC
What did WHRS 2002 do?
Streamlined leaky claims (did not have to go through high court)
Still required lawyers and didn’t deal with multi-unit claims
What did WHRS 2006 do?
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
What did the Building Act 2004 do?
Removed Building Industry Authority and created DBH
Tightened controls on building consent authorities
Defined restricted work and created LBP scheme
What did the 2008 amendment to the 2004 Building Act do?
Require consent for repairs
What is FAP?
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)
What did the initial building code change do?
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
How did building controls change at councils?
More rigorous documentation required
Looks more at BRANZ and Codemark etc.
Established reclad processes (solutions)
What change was made to unrental WOF?
Addressed health effects
How did ratings valuations change and how many AKL properties were affected by this?
Needed to take into account market stigma (reduced price and potential buyers)
Over 5000
How much did homes with at-risk features reduce in value due to market stigma?
5-20%
Much further discounts for homes with known leaks
