Rebuilding homes could take years - expert

Alex Joyce at her Courtnay Place family home which has been damaged by the recent Christchurch earthquake. Photo / Pam Johnson

Rebuilding the estimated 100,000 damaged and destroyed homes in quake-hit Canterbury could take years.

Damage assessments have only just begun and while some buildings have been demolished in the days following the 7.1 earthquake, they have been knocked down for safety reasons - not to clear ground for re-building.

Masterbuilders chief executive Warwick Quinn said the Australian state of Victoria is still re-building homes lost in the bush fires of February, 2009.

Mr Quinn said it is far too early to even tell when building will begin.

He said the local council have stopped any new building going ahead for the next two weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Christchurch City Council said the civic offices which process building consents is closed until next Tuesday.

Mr Quinn said until all the claims are received by the insurance companies and the Earthquake Commission, no building will begin.

He said insurance companies are still landing extra staff on the ground to assess the damage and just getting resource consent to re-build a home could take months.

Mr Quinn said the estimate from Treasury of a $2 billion cost for the damage includes roads but if $1.5b is just for construction, it would be equal to between 10 and 15 per cent of the annual national building expenditure.

"It is within our capability to do it. We are at the lowest ebb - the lowest part of our cycle," Mr Quinn said.

He said local builders will be able to carry out the work but it depends on how patient the people of Canterbury are.

"It is a massive task," Mr Quinn said.

Electricians are also preparing themselves.

Electrical Contractors Association CEO Neville Simpson said electricians are checking to make sure power supplies are safe before people re-enter buildings.

He said there will be a significant amount of work for electricians further down the track but they come in towards the end of a project.

Mr Simpson said electricians around the country had volunteered to travel to Christchurch and help but Mr Simpson had told them to tai-ho.

"It was similar to the tsunami in Samoa. It is a bit difficult until you get a project in front of you because your wasting your time getting in people's way," Mr Simpson said.