$815,000 leaky homes victory

A Wellington couple's Wairarapa dream home has been rebuilt from a leaky house of horrors - and the $815,000 cheque is now in the mail to pay for it.

Just hours before a two-week civil case was to have begun in the High Court on Monday against the designer, builder, and local council, the insurer for designer Spencer Holmes Ltd signed the agreement to settle the case.

Such out-of-court settlements are normally confidential but one of the home's owners, Chris Street, insisted on being able to talk about it.

The outcome might have been different had Mr Street not been a lawyer. The more than 750 hours he spent preparing the case has paid off for him and partner Michelle Groves. The settlement covers all their costs plus some to mark the stress they endured.

Mr Street knows the grans and solo mums who have sunk their life savings into leaky homes will not be so lucky. The court process did not unnerve him, even though it is tortuous and painfully slow.

Mr Street said the Government-instituted leaky homes resolution process would never have recovered his costs for him and he thinks it is a second-rate solution for most people.

Basic errors in the house, near Gladstone, meant it was not watertight or structurally sound. The plastering was so bad inspectors asked if Mr Street had done it himself.

Agricultural lime had been used instead of sand in the plaster, joints to control cracking and moisture were missing and flashing around windows and doors was either missing or incorrectly installed.

Decks lacked proper waterproofing, barriers and slopes to take water away from the house.

Within months the decks were leaking into the rooms below; within a year walls were cracking and then a ceiling collapsed.

The contract with builder, W. Dean Building Ltd, was cancelled and the couple started looked around for people to put the work right.

Mr Street says they had much better luck the second time round.

Although Warwick Dean was a registered Master Builder when he tendered for the job, he did not disclose his registration was suspended because he failed to recertify as needed.

Court proceedings were filed against Mr Dean and his company Spencer Holmes Ltd who designed, engineered, and supervised construction, and Carterton District Council. The council was sued for approving the plans without asking for more detail, and for what Mr Street says was an inadequate inspection process.

Mr Street said he understands the council is not contributing to the settlement and is bemused at the politics involved. It seems Spencer Holmes has agreed to give the council $35,000 costs, but Spencer Holmes' insurer did not want to give the money directly so Mr Street will pass the cheque along and gets $5000 for his trouble.

His advice to those intending to build is to go behind the credentials of the people hired. A master builder is no guarantee of good workmanship.

And on a bigger project, hire an independent project manager to deal with excuses that would be offered to the client direct.

- NZPA