Noticed cracks forming on your home's exterior walls? Or maybe there’s bubbling, flaking, or even signs of water damage starting to creep in? You’re not alone. Across New Zealand, homeowners frequently encounter exterior plaster issues caused by everything from our wild weather to shifting ground and ageing materials. But here’s the good news: most of […]
The Meditteranean style of build was the trend that took the housing development world by storm and was a far cry from the traditional methods of building in New Zealand. The then-modern style of building did not allow for suitable ventilation between the exterior and interior cladding and became a melting pot for the leaky building syndrome taking Auckland by surprise.
The reason New Zealand suffered so badly from the leaky home crisis was a mash-up of many problems and irregular practises over that time period but was also helped along by lack of regulation. In 1993, the Building Act became law in N.Z, which allowed the regulation of building to be self-regulated by each individual developer or building team.
While most builders were thorough and continued to build with integrity, some builders and developers started skipping corners, and accidentally or knowingly cut their building costs by carelessly constructing houses and using short cuts.
Due to being self-regulated, they were able to get away with building a property that was not properly ventilated and weathertight – which caused problems later on once sold and out of their hands. Coupled with the interest in Meditteranean style builds, it was a recipe for disaster due to the lack of regulation and inspections to check that the constructions were weathertight and properly built.
While this was a huge contributing factor towards the leaky home crisis in Auckland, many things played a factor in creating the housing problems we now face on the regular with leaky buildings on the market all over New Zealand. History with using the wrong kind of wood for weathertight structures and having many unqualified builders working out in the market possibly played a large role in the crisis, as well.
What Can You Do About A Leaky Home?
The minute you suspect that your property is leaky, the best thing to do is get it properly checked as soon as possible. The longer you leave a potential leaky home, the more damage it will create, which means a more costly fix. Holding off could cause structural damage and require a full reclad instead of smaller repairs, which you want to avoid!
Sound Homes provides expert advice and services when it comes to Leaky Home repairs, offering transparent and reliable workmanship. If you’re in Auckland and you suspect your home is leaky, get in touch with Sound Homes today and secure a FREE inspection of your property to get back on track and put value back into your home!
