Fans falling from ceiling of leaky apartment building

By ANNE GIBSON

Ceiling exhaust fans are rusting and falling from the hallways of a leaky Auckland apartment building.

Distressed apartment owners of The Aucklander tower at 25 Rutland St are taking legal action against the developer and builder in the latest case of leaky building syndrome.

Numerous water leaks, decaying timber framing, rusting unprotected steel support brackets and cracks in walls have been found in the large Auckland apartment tower, which is only four years old.

A report found that internal exhaust fans in its common hallway areas had been "falling from the ceilings" because spring steel retaining clips were rusting due to high moisture levels.

Six fans had fallen from ceilings by January this year.

Problems throughout the tower resulted in distressed apartment owners commissioning leaky building consultants Prendos to analyse their units.

Paula Beaton of Body Corporate Administration, which represents the owners' interests, called in Prendos.

The construction of apartments, balconies and exterior cladding were the main concerns, according to a report written this year by Sean O'Sullivan of Prendos.

The report describes as dubious some attempts to repair parts of the building during the past few years.

Auckland lawyer John Carter, of Carter & Partners, said last week that he represented the building's developer, Jock Clark's Zelante Services.

Carter said the apartment owners had filed a court statement of claim, based on the findings of the Prendos report, against Zelante and builder Ebert Construction about a month ago. No date had been set for any hearing.

Carter said it was up to the body corporate to take steps to remedy problems with the building.

O'Sullivan's analysis found problems with sealants, flashing and cladding on the building and although not all the apartments had their carpets lifted, "it is likely there is far more water damage than indicated".

The use of flashings throughout the building was limited, he said, but in cases where protection was used, the application was a problem.

The installation of exterior fixed cladding was "disappointing" and in some cases was incomplete. Reinforcing mesh was exposed.

Cracks in the cladding were allowing water into the apartments, not helped by "numerous failures to the waterproofing system under the balcony tiles".

Sealants had been applied to try to fix problems, but were unsatisfactory.

Shower leaks were reported and there were corrosion concerns over supporting brackets to the concrete wall panels.

O'Sullivan recommended repairs to balcony balustrades, which he said should be taken off and grit blasted, metal sprayed and then sealed.

Floor drainage to cater for accidental water overflows from Machinery or kitchen appliances was inadequate and numerous insurance claims had been made by residents.

Walls between apartment balconies were "badly misaligned" to the point where a bifold door on to one balcony was not operating.

O'Sullivan criticised how the building was put up: "The construction and supervision of this particular project has been of a poor standard, resulting in numerous unnecessary problems.

"The repairs required are going to cause major inconvenience to the occupiers and it may be necessary to vacate those apartments."

O'Sullivan concluded: "In my opinion, there have been serious breaches of the Building Code in the construction of this building."

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Further reading
Feature: Leaky buildings

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