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  1. #21
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    ENIGMA, All the said clauses are now mandated If you want a basic problem free house then stick to what basically is problem free. Houses that come in the range of plaster exteriors 1975-2005 unless you have building knowledge dont buy. If you really want advice ask an old time builder. If you really really want advice in auckland then it costs a bottle of whisky if you ken what i mean. macdunk.

  2. #22
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    Most private free standing houses do not have any equipment in them that requires a Warrant of Fitness therefore they don't need a WOF (infact I don't know of any).

    Warrant of Fitnesses are required for lifts, sprinkler systems, etc, etc., in buildings that the public have access to. A lift in a private house does not need a WOF.

    Private houses that were consented after July 1994 should have a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) but that really only states that, on the day the house was inspected, it complied with the Building Act. It may not currently comply.

    Houses built prior to 1994 (thats when the Building Act 1991 became law)under the old Building Permit system cannot be issued with a CCC but you can get a "Safe and Sanitary" letter from the local council.

    That WOF clause would therefore only apply to a commercial building, which would include the public areas of an apartment building, ie the lift and any fire protection systems in particular.

  3. #23
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    Dinosaur that was my understanding to, that WOF only applied to comercial buildings. But there was some talk of making it an obligation to declare any defects they knew of. Duncan may take you up on your offer but Auckland is not the priority. But possible

  4. #24
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    Just a correction to my post above. Actually, there is one item found on some private residential properties that will need a annual Building Warrant of Fitness(BWOF)and that is residential cable cars. Mainly found in Wellington though.

  5. #25
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    We are now getting more nonsense about rotting timber from the knumbskulls that control the building industry. Very simple solution, easy to fix, problem solved in one stroke of the pen.
    All building regulations and systems, to comply with the 1970 code of compliance, and any systems and materials developed after that to be severely tested. We have airtight walls that suck water up hill, we have mastics with a ten year life span, we fill walls up with batts to the extent that walls cant breathe. we have people building and designing, that are completely clueless, we dont teach appretices like we used to. The building trade is a complete shambles and getting worse. macdunk

  6. #26
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    MacDunk, what is your *industry-knowledge* take on this surface-treated wood that they are now on about? Is it an over-reaction?
    Death will be reality, Life is just an illusion.

  7. #27
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    Steve, That is not the problem. The houses of the last century are still up and serving their owners well. They didnt treat wood in those days. The problem is they dont have a clue about design, or any of the more scientific reasons that create this problem. Pressure treated timber, is far superior to painted treated timber, but that has nothing to do with the problem. The problem lies in the fact that design is completely wrong. Build a house with untreated wood exactly as your great grandfather did, and it will last 150 years. Let the timber breathe no stupid insulation in the wall.
    macdunk

  8. #28
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    So the current noise about wood is just for political purposes?...
    Death will be reality, Life is just an illusion.

  9. #29
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    Just like to add my ten cents worth here.

    One aspect the powers that be have not addressed is internal moisture. The cladding can be as water tight as a submarine, but unless you have systems to remove internal moisture, you will have moisture and rotting in external walls.

    As Duncan mentoned, they didn't have a problem in the 1970 because houses still breathed then, although we have to insulate now. No building paper was used behind bricks or timber weatherboards, except shiplap back then. Holes were drilled for ventilation so that dry roof space air could circulate down through the walls. Now it is mandatory to seal the roof space off from the wall cavity. To make it worse, people now days tend to leave houses shut up during the day because they are working and at night for security, so that internal moisture just hangs around waiting for a cold surface to condensate on which are in the external walls.

    That old black buiding paper which was absorbant has mainly been replaced by non-absorbant synthetic wraps which are basically plastic with a few holes punched in it and they call it breathable. They say they have been tested. Well have you seen what happens to carrots when you leave them in those plastic bags with holes in? Yes, they rot.

    There are a couple of brands of wraps that are absorbant but I see mainly the cheaper wraps being used.

    With no ventlation in the walls I believe we are sitting on a time bomb as the new Building Act has moved to make walls even more airtight.

    In Canada, where our powers that be have looked for a solution, they heat the entire house 24/7 over winter, so interiors tend to be dryer than here in NZ. Here we are told only to heat the room we are in. Plus people still use unvented LPG heaters. You then can't use Canadian systems here and expect to get the same results.

    But don't listen to me, I'm just an old dinosaur with 35 years experience in the building industry.

  10. #30
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    Finally someone is talking sense........

    quoteesign, not the timber, leads to leaky buildings, says expert
    19.07.05
    By Arnold Pickmere

    Poor design, not untreated timber, is the leading cause of leaky buildings, says a Canadian expert.

    Dr John Straube told an Auckland University symposium yesterday that the biggest problem was modern designs which exposed building seams to wind and rain - simple things such as not having eaves or proper flashings on windows, flat roofs and enclosed decks.

    Better design of wall systems would ensure that water which got in could also get out.

    Dr Straube, who has a joint role with the University of Waterloo's civil engineering department and school of architecture in Ontario, said using untreated timber in a modern building in which moisture and rain were not controlled was like using a canary in a coalmine.

    "You put some untreated timber in a building, so you found out [about leaks] sooner," he said.

    Moisture problems in buildings had occurred in various countries with both wood and steel framing.

    Untreated timber was also used in many countries. But the qualities of such timbers varied. Dr Straube thought the best of untreated New Zealand pinus radiata was equal to the worst of Canadian timbers.

    But when the timber was treated to H1.2 [full sapwood penetration timber] it was better than the best of untreated Canadian timber.

    But the essential thrust of Dr Straube's lecture was that buildings leak. Even a glass-clad building may eventually leak round the sealants.

    He said there were buildings hundreds of years old which had been designed to cope with the present problems. "It's not new technology and its not rocket science."

    Professor Geoff Duffy, of the Auckland University's faculty of engineering, said: "Wood is hygroscopic as well as bio-active, so we must keep water away from it or remove it when it does invade."

    Greg O'Sullivan, of buildings surveyor Prendos, said comparing untreated pinus radiata with, say, douglas fir in Vancouver was not comparing like-products.

    The douglas fir was much slower-growing and had a lot of natural turpentine, which increased its resistance to insects.

    Mr O'Sullivan said the biggest problem New Zealand faced was to educate designers and builders.

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