Building reforms overkill: owner

Leaky-home owner Mark Swayne says the Government's latest building industry package is like reaching for a sledgehammer to kill an ant.

"The three reasons these places leak are quite identifiable and quite fixable, without going through all this sort of palaver," said the retired Auckland lawyer, who has to replace most of the outside walls on his $900,000 Epsom home.

"It's lack of flashings, use of untreated timber and taking external walls down too far ... If you address those issues and you have a [wall] cavity as well, you ain't going to have a problem.

"I think it's really a lot of Government jargon, trying to show the masses out there that they're in control of things."

Mr Swayne said Auckland City and other councils had already clamped down on the problem by insisting on flashings, treated timber and wall cavities for all new homes that looked likely to leak.

However, he predicted that councils could be next in the firing line for approving leaky buildings in the past. His assessor from the Government's Weathertight Homes Resolution Service had recommended extensive recladding for his house and told him that other assessors were reaching the same conclusions across the country.

For Mr Swayne, the good news is that the repair bill on his Ranfurly Rd home will probably not reach $150,000, as he suspected when interviewed by the Herald last October.

Tests have since shown the house was built with treated timber after all, so the cost may turn out be a comparatively cheap $40,000.

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