Traps for the wary in treated timber

By PAULA OLIVER

The traditional spring real estate boom is clouding the effect of the leaky building crisis on house prices - but there is clear evidence of a shift in the building materials market.

A shortage of listings in the Auckland market means that homes in desirable locations are being snapped up regardless of construction type.

In one case late last month, a modern plaster-clad Mt Eden townhouse sold for $900,000 when it was expected by experienced agents to fetch around $750,000.

Barfoot & Thompson's Marion Tolich said the home was not near the Mt Eden village, which is traditionally the more popular part of the suburb.

"Who knows how long this will last? But, yes, sellers are definitely getting more for their homes because of the demand."

And buyers are not writing off monolithic-clad homes - rather, they are subjecting them to vigorous checks by inspectors before committing.

Building inspectors the Weekend Herald spoke to report a 40 per cent increase in business in the past two months - most from buyers nervous about leaks.

That boom extends to Wellington, where an inspection firm said business had grown 20 per cent.

Real estate agents said the traditional desires of buying within school zones and in good areas were still big factors in the market, as was immigration. Recent auctions have drawn bidders from a wide range of nationalities.

Elsewhere, some in the property world are struggling to assess the full impact of the leaks crisis.

A source from a company which develops traditional standalone homes with eaves told the Weekend Herald that his business was extremely busy.

But he could not say if it was a direct result of a shift from monolithic-clad construction.

"A few months down the track it might be more obvious. But at the moment everyone is doing well because the market is hot."

The humble Lockwood design home is one construction type claimed to be benefiting from the leaky issue.

Phil Tuohy, whose Tuohy Lockwood businesses are in Takapuna and Wellington, said he was seeing direct repercussions.

"There's been a very strong public reaction to the fact that this adverse publicity is directed at certain construction types.

"We don't like to gain at the expense of others, but we have said for a long time we will not do certain types of construction. We lost work when we said that."

Mr Tuohy said a client recently paid him a deposit months before she needed to begin building because she was worried that Lockwood would be too busy in coming months to build her home.

Evidence of a shift in buyer behaviour at the grassroots level of building materials is mounting.

Building supplies retailers say they are selling far more treated timber for framing than previously. But they are concerned that consumers do not understand what they are buying.

At least two major retailers said nervous people building homes were using treated timber, believing it would protect them against fungal decay - when the timber they were buying might be protected only against insects.

NZ standards require that treated timber fits into a grading scale according to its level and type of treatment.

Hazard grade one, or H1, is timber treated against insects that bore into wood. H3 is treated for fungal decay as well as insects, and is suitable for decking and outdoor jobs.

H1 usually costs about 25 per cent more than untreated, while H3 is about 50 per cent more.

Retailers are seeing a big shift from untreated timber towards H1 timber that is treated with Light Organic Solvent Preservative - which provides no protection for decay.

Hillside Building Supplies director Steve McNally said that before the leaky building publicity 99 per cent of the timber he sold for framing had been untreated. Now the ratio had come back to about 50 per cent.

Another retailer, who asked not to be named, said his company had also seen a big shift toward H1.

"The fungicide treatment for that is zero in most cases. People think they're getting protection when they're not. It needs to be sorted out."

Some timber-treaters do put fungicide into their mix for H1, but it is not consistent across the industry.

Many in the industry reported intense confusion among architects, merchants and buyers as to what they should be using.

Some blamed architects for the increased use of H1.

Last week, timber companies Carter Holt Harvey and Fletcher Challenge Forests placed newspaper advertisements warning that treated timber was not the answer to leak problems.

Instead, the leaks needed to be stopped. They recommended H3 timber for framing.

In response to the issue, the industry has begun producing an H1 plus grade, which includes treatment for fungal decay.

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

Further reading
Feature: Leaky buildings

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