# Read this if you are building or renovating



## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

It is an absolute disgrace & the New Zealand Government has to really got to get it's act together.

Years ago in Australia they introduced a Builders Guarantee Scheme which protected home owners from dodgy builders & shoddy workmanship.

Here in New Zealand despite the enormous problems of Leaky Homes first emerging in 2001 some 11 years down the line & the Government still has not introduced any protection. From the following article this would appear to be a new emerging problem on top of the Leaky Building problems.

As if the poor home owners do not have enough to contend with fighting to get resolution & compensation which has dragged on & for some unfortunate home owners it looks like there no end in sight. Then if they are lucky enough to receive the funds to rebuild or rectify the earthquake damage there is no guarantee or protection for them.

Where is the justice?

It would appear the New Zealand government is only interested in raking the 15% GST off everybody once they spend any money whether it is groceries, power bills, insurance, house rates & probably funerals also,

They have no problem handing out money either ( Tax Payer's money) but do they protect Mr & Mrs Home Owner - No- Zilch & it's a dam disgrace. If you've ever watched the TV program Fairgo you will see the home owners who have been fleeced by unprofessional so called tradespeople & others that have had building nightmare stories to tell but the stories that make it to air are just a very small % given the weekly 30 minutes TV program. What about all the others that you & I do not get to hear about?.



> New Zealand's biggest councils are imploring the Government to introduce warranties in new building laws or risk "Leaky Buildings 2".
> 
> Building reforms before Parliament were designed to make sure the construction industry was more accountable for its work, but councils said the changes did not go far enough.
> 
> ...


To read the story that has got me on my soap box again click on this Councils dread 'Leaky Buildings II' - National - NZ Herald News


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## carosapien (Oct 16, 2011)

anski said:


> It is an absolute disgrace & the New Zealand Government has to really got to get it's act together.
> 
> Years ago in Australia they introduced a Builders Guarantee Scheme which protected home owners from dodgy builders & shoddy workmanship.
> 
> ...


The problem goes beyond private homes though, commercial buildings are every bit as bad. The problem starts with the people who design these buildings, which a concern in an earthquake zone 

CTV engineer inexperienced on high-rises

"Engineers had their hands "smacked'' if they put anything in a building design that was not absolutely necessary, a royal commission has heard. 

Structural engineer David Harding is today giving evidence at a royal commission hearing into the collapse of the CTV building during the February 2011 earthquake, which claimed 115 lives. 

Harding prepared the detailed design of the CTV building in 1985, while employed by Alan Reay Consultants. 

He told the commission there was no tolerance from developers at that time for "conservative" design, for example including additional steel reinforcing that meant the building more than met the building code. 

You would "get your hand smacked" if you put in unnecessary reinforcement, he said. 

"If you couldn't justify it being in the building, you had to leave it out.'' 

The main reason for this was cost, he said. 

"The objective was always to reduce the cost where possible, while still complying with the code." 

Harding designed the CTV building while employed by Alan Reay, principal of Alan Reay Consultants. 

He told the commission that, prior to the CTV design, he had only ever worked on single and two-storey buildings. 

He had also spent the five years prior to designing the CTV building working on mainly roading projects for the Waimakariri District Council. 

Due to his inexperience, Harding said he relied on Reay for guidance on the CTV design. 

Harding said he was told by Reay that the client wanted the CTV building to look like the Contours building, on Durham St. 

Due to his inexperience with multi-storey buildings, Reay gave him calculations for Landsborough House, at 287 Durham St, to use as a template. 

Harding was also tasked with using a special modelling programme called Etabs to test the CTV design, even though he had never used it before. 

The Etabs programme was designed to test how well a building would withstand vertical loadings such as in a seismic event. 

Harding said that Reay had a strong hand in all the projects undertaken by the company, and was aware he had not used Etabs before. 

Reay would have contact with clients and the architect, prepare preliminary calculations and decide where the major structural elements would go. 

Harding would be shown the preliminary drawings and would then do the structural calculations, which he then gave to the draughtsmen so they could complete their drawings. 

In earlier evidence, Reay said that he accepted his firm would be responsible for the CTV building failure were any shortcomings found in Harding's work."


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## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

I love the country & the people but I am afraid the words Cheap, Frugal, Cost Cutting etc come to mind.

Safety standards are appalling, every week you read of horrendous accidents to workers that are not protected adequately.

The general lethargy of the people living in NZ is also disgusting, they just stand back & take it, no fighting spirit I do not understand it.


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