By ANNE GIBSON
Insulation is not a factor in the leaking homes crisis, according to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority chief executive, Heather Staley.
Yesterday she hit back at comments from Lockwood Homes executive chairman Joe La Grouw, who had said that the quest for weathertight homes was partly to
blame for the crisis.
Over-restrictive building rules were also to blame by creating tightly insulated homes that were prone to retaining moisture and eventually rotting, he said.
But Staley said insulation was not causing the leaky homes crisis.
"The problem is the inferior cladding systems that allow water to leak into the walls and the use of untreated timber," she said.
"The leaky homes problem is a relatively new occurrence that is plainly due to changes in cladding construction and installation, not in insulation materials.
"Using the leaky homes crisis to continue spurious arguments against wall insulation is unhelpful.
"Homes are already leaking heat to the value of $1 million every week, because of low insulation standards."
Many homes fell below the minimum temperature recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Construction Industry Council chairman John Pfahlert agreed, saying although removing insulation would help more air circulate in the wall cavities, the real problem was preventing water penetration.
"We don't want to revert to a 1960s attitude towards energy efficiency. The principal cause of timber rotting is inadequate cladding and sealing.
"New Zealanders started putting insulation into homes in the 1970s and no problem occurred with timber rotting then," Pfahlert said.
"This happened with the advent of monolithic cladding and the absence of boric treated timber in the mid to late 1990s.
"It may be that some forms of insulation absorb the water that does get in and exacerbates the rotting process, but that is a secondary effect."
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
Lockwood
* If you have information about leaking buildings,
email the Herald or fax (09) 373-6421.
Further reading
Feature: Leaky buildings
Related links
