Problems with leaks have stemmed from sealant and flashings issues in the seaside apartments. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Problems with leaks have stemmed from sealant and flashings issues in the seaside apartments. Photo / Paul Estcourt
KEY POINTS:
Parts of a large multi-unit luxury seaside apartment block in Devonport are swathed in tarpaulin as repairs are carried out to stop water penetrating exterior decks.
But Stephen Braid, chairman of the Esplanade Apartments' body corporate owners' committee, said the building was not suffering from typical leaky buildingsyndrome.
Instead, water was running from the outside of some units into parts of the building underneath.
"Some of the membrane under the decks failed and is being replaced," he said. Water was not pouring into the apartments but was running into the ground-level carparking area and some retail areas, he added.
"Because the membrane sealant was faulty, as the building settled the cover cracked and came away in places which allowed water through," Mr Braid said. But the building was constructed in concrete, not wood.
Problems around windows were also being fixed because flashings had not been installed correctly, he said.
The three-level building with 16 apartments and five shops was built on the North Shore 12 years ago alongside the Esplanade Hotel at the corner of Queens Parade and Victoria Road directly opposite the Devonport Ferry Terminal.
The large apartments have extensive waterfront views towards Auckland's CBD.
Repairs are understood to be costing about $1 million but Mr Braid said units in the block sold for more than $700,000 each.
Repairs should be finished by June and an extensive tarpaulin coverage was crucial to keep the building dry while the decks were fixed, Mr Braid said.
He praised contractors Reconstruct, a firm which specialises in helping people with leaky buildings restore value to their property
Reports on the problems and how to fix them were carried out by Alexander & Co, another firm which specialises in providing assistance to homeowners suffering weathertightness issues.
Steve Alexander formed the business in the late 1990s and now has a staff of nearly 20.
