Sky-high repairs take shine off luxury tower

The Nautilus. Photo / NZ Herald

The Nautilus, Orewa's contentious tower, could cost $20 million and take two years to fix.

Owners of the 150 luxury apartments on 12 levels, with penthouse views from Kawau Island to Whangaparaoa, have filed a $30 million lawsuit which includes details of the massive repair job and claims for general damages, consequential losses, stress and anxiety.

Many of those named in the case are expected to defend their role in designing, creating or approving the tower where water has been seeping behind the cladding for years.

Windows in the $65 million, seven-year-old tower are having to be stripped out and thrown away as owners of the leaky complex face one of the country's biggest fix-ups.

The bill for new windows alone is expected to be $3 million.

The looming, shiny, silver-clad tower at 9-13 Tamariki Ave needs its exterior skin replaced with new cladding to keep out the weather.

A massive scaffolding system could soon be erected before the windows are torn out and replaced.

All the tiles in apartments on levels five to 12 are to be ripped off and thrown away.

A report on the cost of remedial work predicts at least 104 rubbish skips will be needed to take away debris.

A mini construction camp will go up on the site for two years and the building firm which wins the contract will bring in dozens of workers including quantity surveyors, project managers and other tradespeople.

The Nautilus, developed by Cornerstone Group's Rick Martin, caused an outcry when it went up around 2003 in the heart of the low-rise coastal town.

When the repairs start, luxury apartments will be protected by massive external wall-cover sheets and a hoist will drag up new materials.

Owners have lodged a statement of claim in the High Court at Auckland against parties involved in approving and building the tower including Rodney District Council (which issued code compliance certificates), builder Brookfield Multiplex (Constructions) NZ, Walker Architects, Downer EDI Works (which did damp proofing and structural waterproofing membranes), Facade Technologies, and tile supplier and installer Charles Norager & Sons.

Tim Rainey of Rainey Law, specialists in leaky building litigation, is acting for Nautilus owners and leading the case.

"The matter is before the court and the owners are confident of a successful resolution of their claims and the repair of their building in due course," Mr Rainey said this week.

Mr Martin acknowledged the building had problems and blamed Brookfield and apartment owners.

Tim Pope, Brookfield's New Zealand head, could not respond.

A prepared statement was suppressed after legal consultations in Sydney.

But former chief Dan Ashby said last year the builder's job finished years ago and the company had then received no notification of any claim against it.

Ashley Gillard-Allen, a director of Walker Architects, said his firm had lodged a statement of defence.