Builders get break on treated timber

By ANNE GIBSON

The Building Industry Authority has backed down over plans to introduce new standards for treated timber next month.

Chief executive John Ryan said yesterday that new rules for using more treated timber had been revised and would be phased in during the next year instead.

Domestic construction is running at record levels and nearly 30,000 houses worth about $7.2 billion are built each year so thousands of homeowners could have been trapped in a legal twilight zone.

Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association chief executive Simon Archer said about 10,000 houses worth $2.4 billion would have got legitimate building consents under the old regime yet might not get final clearance (a code compliance certificate) because the rules had changed during building.

In December, the leaky house crisis prompted the authority to alter the rules, requiring a higher level of treated timber in parts of buildings more at risk of decay, particularly framing.

Industry feedback forced the authority to alter its plan to apply the rules from April 1.

People now have until the end of March next year to comply.

Mr Archer said his organisation represented 40 manufacturers working in an industry that produced materials worth $300 million.

He welcomed the change to the timetable.

Building Industry Federation chief executive John Pfahlert also welcomed the change because people who already had building consents before the December announcement could be placed in the impossible position of complying with old rules yet not being able to have their houses signed off.

If the dates were not changed, he said, homeowners could have been faced with either partly demolishing and rebuilding their houses to comply with the rule change or sticking with the old regime and never getting a final certificate.

"This gives people who already had building consents before December a chance to complete their places and comply with the new law, then get a code compliance certificate," Mr Pfahlert said.

"This is important for homeowners who were part-way through construction when the rule changes were announced last December because they faced the prospect of either having to replace untreated timber with treated timber after the council had issued them with a consent to build and construction had started, or completing construction under their original consent knowing the council would not issue a code compliance certificate."

Construction disputes arbitrator and quantity surveyor Geoff Bayley welcomed the date change too, but called for the authority to alter the timetable on its demands for ventilated cavities.

He cited six Auckland monolithic-clad houses completed but not issued with a code compliance certificate whose owners faced an unpalatable choice.

The first option was to wreck part of their homes by stripping exterior claddings and building a ventilated cavity between the timber framing and cladding, he said.

The second option was to simply finish the houses according to the existing building consent and never get a code compliance certificate which could mean problems when they tried to sell.

Councils could also issue a notice to rectify.

These homeowners were trapped in the twilight zone between rules being brought in by the authority as an interim measure but already being imposed by city councils to avoid leaky house syndrome, he said.

But authority communications manager Laurie Edwards said most stucco-clad houses would not be affected by the change.

Mr Bayley estimated homeowners faced costs of up to $200,000 to create the new cavities on almost-completed houses, ensuring they met the new standards for stucco or monolithic-clad houses.

He said figures from the Building Research Association indicated about 72,000 monolithic-clad houses had been built but he challenged the notion that a ventilated cavity would prevent these homes from leaking and rotting.

He said problems were caused by bad workmanship, bad design and bad maintenance.

"Cavities can trap water and exacerbate the rot," he said.

"Mark my words - in five years' time, we will be ripping these cavities out."

Timber talk

* Treated timber: soaked or sprayed with chemical preservatives to guard against rot caused by exposure to moisture and insects. Under new rules, to be used as house framing.

* Untreated timber: not treated with any chemical preservatives but may be kiln-dried at a factory, making it hard on the outside, smooth and straight. Used mainly for internal house framing but under old rules could be used for exterior framing.

* Building consent: issued by councils to authorise work and necessary before construction begins.

* Building code: performance standards that builders must meet for durability, safety, energy-efficiency and access.

* Code compliance certificate: issued by councils or certifiers when a house is finished, confirming they are satisfied that terms and conditions of the Building Code have been met.