Forum Archive Index - May 2003

["Lazy Haggis" <lazyhaggis@hotmail.com>]

I found several of these posts very interesting especially those of MacDunk 
in terms of the technical data. I am definitely a layman when it comes to 
"the trades" and rely heavily on qualified tradesmen with appropriate 
credentials to advise me, albeit I have improved my skills a little in such 
areas over the years.

Just over a year ago I bought a 20 year old average home 
(weatherboard/timber frame) subject to a satisfactory building inspection, 
and hired an approved inspector to provide a written report on its 
structural/quality soundness. The report was good, structurally sound, in 
good liveable order, and with only minor cosmetic type faults noted such as 
missing door stops and loose door handles.

Within 2 days of moving in, and over the following week with the help of a 
local joiner, the following faults were noted. Wet rot in the dining, 
kitchen and laundry floors. Wet rot in the laundry door, laundry walls, and 
outside deck plus supports. Plumbing leak in sub-floor, leaking toilet 
cistern, exposed electric wiring, defective garage door, buckled ranchslider 
framework, internal doors binding, and various wet rot to some external 
corner parts of the house, plus a few other less important faults.

I got all of these fixed over a 9 month period, and in parallel took the 
inspector's firm to court. The inspector admitted in court that he had 
neglected to inspect the sub-floor, garage, roof and decking and had made 
just a brief casual look around. His reasons for such neglect were that the 
owners were present having a cup of tea on the deck and he didn't wish to 
disturb them!!

I suspect there were other more reasons, but in any event, I won in court, 
and his fee turned out in the end to be an award against his firm of several 
thousands of dollars of compensation, which has since been paid to me. 
Hopefully the inspector also lost his job.

I wonder how many other people have bought homes in the belief that they 
were constructed by a good builder, and/or inspected as satisfactory by a 
"so called" reputable inspector. I am not at all surprised by NZ's leaky 
building problems, but I feel very sorry for the innocent victims.

Lazy Haggis.

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