When finding yourself in the stressful position of owning a “leaky” home the very last thing that you should do is do nothing. The problem will not go away and trying to hide it with a view to selling off the problem to someone else is not an answer either as there is a strong possibility that it could come back to bite you in the future.
There is generally also no cheap and easy fix for a building that has these problems. The best advice that we can give a home owner in this situation is align yourself with professionals who know what they are doing and can give you the best possible advice and also to do it once and do it right.
The starting point in most cases would be to contact a Registered Building Surveyor to discuss your concerns and arrange a weathertightness survey – www.buildingsurveyors.co.nz .
An independent Building Surveyor needs to be involved right through the duration of the project to provide advice initially on the documents and then on-site. They would also be required to advise on the removal of decayed timber and the any treatment of materials that are considered suitable to remain in place. Designers and even Building Inspectors are usually not able to provide this kind of advice partly due to potential liability issues and also partly due to the specialist nature of the work.
Another consultant that can prove to be extremely useful not only at the beginning and during construction but also at the end of the process is an Quantity Surveyor experienced in remedial work. This is particularly useful on more complex projects or projects which are going to court or adjudication where the costs need to be scheduled professionally and correctly to help reduce the disputable items in the claim.
This is the first part in a series of blogs to come on general leaky building advice.