Minister asks officials why no action on leaks

By ANDREW LAXON

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel has asked the Building Industry Authority to explain immediately why councils are still approving potentially leaky homes.

The Herald has learned that Ms Dalziel was shocked to learn at a meeting this week that monolithic claddings - identified as a leading cause of leaking and rotting homes - are still being passed by some council inspectors without extra precautions, such as wall cavities, despite extensive publicity on the dangers.

A spokesman for Ms Dalziel confirmed last night that she had spoken to BIA chairman Barry Brown about how the authority could ensure that this no longer happened.

The spokesman said Mr Brown was due to report directly to the minister early next week.

The BIA board would also discuss how to set firm rules on which claddings should be approved.

Meanwhile, the timber and building industries are calling for a delay in the re-introduction of compulsory treated timber in new houses as a partial solution to leaky homes.

A group of 12 large companies and organisations - ranging from timber manufacturer Carter Holt Harvey to cladding manufacturer James Hardie and the PlaceMakers building supply chain - have urged senior Government ministers to wait until June to decide which treatment would be most effective.

"Over the last 18 months there has been much debate and confusion among all involved in the building supply chain," they write in a letter to the BIA, Ms Dalziel, Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen and MPs involved in the select committee inquiry into leaky buildings.

"As a result of this confusion, people are specifying and using a variety of 'treated' timber, often in the mistaken belief that all 'treated' timber will give future protection to their home."

The group recommends a united message to consumers from the Government and the industry that untreated timber is still suitable for buildings with ventilation, a cavity system or a low risk of leaks.

Treated timber, of a type to be determined by June 1, should be reserved for high-risk buildings with no wall cavities, says the group.

Carter Holt Harvey, which released the letter yesterday, said treated timber was not a complete solution to weatherproofing homes.

Other signatories were: Benchmark Building Supplies, Building Industry Federation, Carters; Carter Holt Harvey Innovision; Fletcher Challenge Forests, Frame & Truss Manufacturers Association, Forest Industries Council, James Hardie, ITM, Placemakers and Timber Preservation Council.

Carter Holt chief operating officer Devon Mclean said treated timber would delay, but not prevent, the inevitable decay of framing and other materials.

The real problem was poor design and workmanship.

Critics of untreated timber partly agree but say boron treatment, dropped as a compulsory standard in 1996, gives home-owners years of extra time to find and fix leaks before wall frames start to rot.

The BIA said this week that it planned a return to the compulsory use of treated timber in external walls and other risky areas.

The new standard, due to be released for consultation next month, is expected to be boron-treated timber known as "H1 Plus".

While boron treatment is known to be effective, other chemical treatments, such as light organic solvent preservative (LOSP), can also work - but only if they contain an added fungicide.

Both are often sold under the same H1 Plus label.

* If you have information about leaking buildings,
email the Herald or fax (09) 373-6421.