Cathedral just a little too open to the heavens

By JAMES GARDINER

Wellington Cathedral of St Paul has a costly case of leaky-building syndrome just five years after its completion.

Anglican Church heads are in talks with the architects over the extent of the problems, the cost of repairs and who is responsible.

In one part of the cathedral, above the pulpit, the ceiling is badly stained after timber used to frame the concrete roof was exposed to water and rotted.

That construction dates back to the decade between 1964 and 1974 when the second part of the cathedral was built.

But more recent construction work, completed in 1998 at a cost of $6 million, has also failed to keep out the elements and will have to be repaired or rebuilt, says the Dean of Wellington, the Very Rev Dr Douglas Sparks.

He described the leaks as disappointing.

"You obviously don't want these kinds of things to happen but the reality is in most buildings like this that are built over a period of time you are going to run into these kinds of things."

The cathedral, in Molesworth St near Parliament, was built in three stages beginning in 1954, and was consecrated two years ago.

Dean Sparks did not know how much work was required, or the likely cost, saying talks were being held with architects Warren and Mahoney.

Who was responsible and who would pay for the repairs were issues "we're going to be talking about".

The leaks were first noticed last year and for several months cameras were installed in crevices to determine the cause and extent of the problems.

Roy Wilson, of Warren and Mahoney, denied there was any leak in the roof of the most recently constructed section, the tower and the entrance, which his firm was responsible for between 1996 and 1998.

"There has been work done to leaks in those areas but they've been rectified."

The main leak had been evident for 20 years and other experts had tried to find the cause and fix the problem, he said.

His firm had "struggled" with it for the past three years and still could not find how the water was getting in.

"It's pretty desperate when you've got to cut a hole in an external wall and put a camera in there to try and find where you think it might be leaking."

Mr Wilson said it had finally been decided the solution was to replace about 4sq m of concrete ceiling and it was up to the church to approve that work.

"It may sound simple, but it isn't. There's a lot of complications."

He would not say what the cost was likely to be.