Remodeling & Renovations Blog

Joinery is a major issue in the leaky house syndrome, so I thought I would start with this material investigation first. There are several areas to consider:

1. The building standard for my local region
2. The type of finish used
3. The design components that ensure weather tightness
4. The expertise required for installation without damaging the product
5. The thermal and noise protection properties of the glass.

Failure in Joinery in Leaky Homes

The main areas of failure include:

1. Inadequate head flashing
2. Inadequate side flashing
3. Too much reliance on sealants for weathertightness to the building envelope - these sealants fail within 4-5 years
4. No recessing of windows - the flush window design in many modern homes offers little, if no protection from driving wind and capillary action
5. Poor joinery ventilation and water egress - the design of joinery should ensure that any moisture build up or water access is able to escape outside of the building envelope

I am investigating the various anodised and powder coated aluminium joinery products available, and how to tell good quality joinery from cheaper, inferior options without relying on price alone. Check out the new updates in the joinery section of the Remodeling Renovations Website:

• How to Choose Joinery
• Anodised Joinery
• Powder Coated Joinery
• Joinery Standards - NZ

When fixing a house suffering from leaky house syndrome, there are some high level considerations that must be made. On my rebuild project this includes:

• Rebuild or Repair
• Joinery Options
• Cladding Options
• Roof Design and Materials

Rebuild or Repair

Is it worth repairing the house or should I rebuild a completely new home? With such stigma attached to repaired leaky houses, it is worth investigating with local real estate agents the financial impact of the stigma attached to leaky homes.

A rough calculation to rebuild the house from scratch is around $320,000. This does not include demolition of the existing house, or factor in any parts that are reusable. Reusable items include the floor, any unaffected structural elements, joinery, bathroom fittings etc. Even should I replace all joinery, it may be more cost effective to reuse the glass in the existing joinery, if it meets thermal requirements.

If the design of the house is not really to your liking, rebuilding is a great option. Unfortunately, my house is a great design for the site, so there will be virtually no design changes in rebuilding to take advantage of. However, even a few minor changes in kitchens and bathrooms, and changing the size and location of windows can make a big impact to the living enjoyment of the home.

Estimates to rebuild are in the range of $180,000 - $250,000 so one has to consider if the additional investment is worth while. With such a wide range, this is a tough decision. At $180,000 I would repair, at $250,000 I will rebuild. So this is a decision that really can only be made once the final costs are confirmed - and that may not be until they start demolition. Hence, my current view is that since the building of a new home will be almost identical in design to a repaired home, and any differences can be incorporated into a repaired home with minimal extra cost, I will design for a total rebuild and then start cutting the cost back once we ascertain what parts are reusable.

Building Acts and Trade Licensing

The Building Act in NZ was updated in 2004. This new Act includes provisions specifically to improve weather tightness and also incorporates energy efficiency items such as insulation specifications for wall, roofs and windows.

With the climatic changes in NZ over the past 5 years, we are experiencing more extreme conditions. The summers are hotter in the northern regions and the winters colder in the southern regions.

Another consideration is with trade licensing. This will provide some form of checking option for consumers that their tradesmen are qualified. From November 2007, design and building practitioners will be able to start applying to be licensed under the government’s licensed building practitioner scheme. A public register will be able online.

In addition, consumers will be able to make complaints to the Building Practitioners Board about licensed building practitioners if they carry out substandard work. Not every builder will have to have a license but at least you have the option of knowing who has and who has not.

In my case, building will hopefully start around the time this comes into effect, so I will not be able to take advantage of pre-checking, but it does give me more options if I have a problem with the builder and subs.

Next: Checking Joinery Options

I am about to start winding up my leaky house repair project again. I have been out of action with this remedy for several years now due to:

• The funds I received to repair my leaky house were grossly under estimated by Prendos, hence after paying off the lawyer there was only around a 15-20% of the estimated true cost to fix the house
• The new standards around weather tightness were not robust enough for me to be sure that they would be permanent and my house would comply for at least 25 years
• There was so much competition in the builder market that it was near impossible to get a builder, and if you did, you would pay high prices
• There is a current investigation into why builders are charging so much to fix leaky homes. This might expose those who have been taking too much advantage of the situation.
• The collapse of around 20 finance companies in NZ, including one which had $55,000 of the funds I had saved towards fixing my leaking house
• After taking off some time to heal mentally from the 8.5 years of hell going through court cases, I injured my arm, preventing me from going back to work for nearly 2 years – hence my savings are somewhat depleted

BUT!!! I am a determined person who will succeed in spite of this – and so it is time to start revamping my plans to rebuild this house and get this monster monkey off my back.

In the interim I have not been idle. I have been investigating options:

1. Do I repair or completely rebuild? - there are cost and design issues to consider
2. How can I integrate Green building techniques into my house without significantly increasing the cost ? - this may be a case of building in the option to change or add elements later
3. Waiting for building costs to get off the high - the building industry is certainly slowing now so I will hopefully have better options

Learn from past rebuilds - many of the initial leaky house repairs are failing again. In fact - I have a deck and entrance area that was built AFTER the leaky house syndrome was publicised and it now has failed - so back to Court for a second time

New Methods - there are some great new technologies and building materials that have come onto the market in the past few years which are ideal for rebuilding. We will cover these in more detail later.

Coming Next: Investigating New Materials

Often it is the simple things that get left out of planning a new home renovation. Like, what is the normal order of activity when building a house. We all get the standard - foundations, floor, walls, roof, exterior, but what about those interim tasks.

The general order of things:

1. Excavations
2. Foundations
3. Concrete floors poured
4. Framing constructed
5. Roof on
6. Windows fitted
7. Exterior cladding
8. Plumbing
9. Wiring
10. Insulation installed
11. Doors fitted
12. Interior lining installed
13. Cabinets installed in kitchen, bathroom, laundry
14. Tiling
15. Final electrical and plumbing work
16. Painting and finishing
17. Floor coverings

If you work to this order you should be fine. When discussing items with your builder, ask them to indicate where in the process the action will occur. Keeping track of progress is much easier once you have a general high level expectation of the order of work.

Google is preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in finding cheaper, cleaner alternative energy sources. And they are walking the talk, with hhuge solar panels dominate its Californian headquarters, they are true supporters of sustainable energy.

The investment falls under the company’s philanthropic arm, Google.org. US$20 million ($25.4 million) has already been committed to invest in start-up firms that research and develop solar, thermal and wind power as well as geothermal systems.

These three technologies were chosen as having the most promise of both reducing the overall cost of energy, and being capable of massive scale.

To date, the company has pledged US$10 million to eSolar [Pasadena, California-] to support research and development of solar thermal power, which concentrates heat from the sun to create steam and spin turbines.

It has also invested US$10 million in Makani Power [Alameda, California], which is developing high-altitude wind technologies.

Its particular interest in Enhanced Geothermal Systems [EGS] stem from the fact one can find find heat virtually anywhere. EGS is the ability to create power by pumping water into hot rocks in the ground rather than harvesting hot water already there.

Google.org is also looking at energy transmission and storage, both in the US and world-wide.

All good news for homeowners!

I have just finished researching and creating a couple of new sections on RemodelingRenovations

Building Green
Sustainable Homes

I found it really interesting that there is a lot of talk about what each country is going to do, or is doing, and even some good incentive programs to help those install technology to improve insulation, energy management etc

The sad things is that there are so many small things that are being overlooked.

Housing infill - where trees are being indiscriminately felled, regardless of what impact they have on neighbors. Sure, there are often guidelines about big trees or protected species, but those less significant green belts have been filtering the air, providing shade and privacy, absorbing carbon, adding oxygen, maintaining the local ecology for years - and without warning the whole environment changes. I accept that trees and shrubs need to be felled to provide for the building - and each homeowner has the right to landscape as they wish - but I feel strongly that greenery within 2 meters of boundaries should be protected, at least until neighbors have been given the opportunity to comment.

Boom Boxes and Big Bases - noise control limits are not keeping up to date with technology. So often, we get our nights disturbed by party stereos where the level of the music is acceptable but the base just thumps through the whole house until 4am - so much so we cant even drown it out with the television

Big Pipes - sure the kids love their cars - but those noisy muffler systems that rage around the streets at 3am are hideous.

I may sound intolerant - but really I am not. I just don’t understand why so many people complain in conversations with each other yet do nothing about taking formal steps to get local council policies up to date with what is happening in the community

Small voices do count, and small things add up to big problems

So don’t just sit back, do something. Your neighbors will love you for it.

Poggenpohl’s Porsche Design kitchen. Would you believe it if I told you - a Porshe Kitchen!! Yet it’s real.

Jointly designed by German furniture company Poggenpohl Möbelwerke and Porsche Design Group, the P7340 kitchen has all the hallmarks of Porshe - simplistic handle-free styling, innovative materials and lots of aluminium, glass and brushed wood. Access to the units is equally stylish - with just a gentle touch to access drawers and pullouts, and an equally gentle push to make them retract. Appliances have not been forgotten, with Miele & Cie. KG designated as teh the exclusive supplier of all appliances. Appliance operation is via sensor keys instead of buttons, with user-friendly dialogue displays.

And of course, the pure male kitchen would not be complete without a high tech audio-video system, the one in the Porsche kitchen, an anodised aluminium frame with ultra-glossy surfaces in back-painted glass. All electronics in the built-in LCD module are installed behind glass for protection, and they require no ventilation system. The plug-and-play sound system is both analog and digital.

Poggenpohl explains that their “cooperation with Porsche Design enabled us to design a kitchen whose sleek and functional design language specifically addresses male customers.”

The new kitchen will be on display as a show kitchen and sold in Poggenpohl studios around the world as of spring 2008. US availability will begin in the summer.

Website: www.poggenpohl.de

There are many misconceptions about one of the most toxic household molds, Stacybotrys. As our project leaky house is contaminated with Stachybotrys, and I personally have suffered from Stachybotrys poisoning, I think it is worth discussing before we end our section on planning.

Growth

Stacybotrys mold requires four key elements for growth:

1. Moisture - from leaky building envelopes, environmental disasters, chronic leaky pipes
2. Nourishment - high cellulose, low nitrogen building materials
3. Temperature - generally high temperature fluctuations
4. Time - takes 1-2 weeks to start growing, compared to most household molds that appear in 1-2 days

Appearance
The mold can have several appearances based on moisture content - from a thick black-green slimy appearance to a black powder. As other household molds can also share these characteristics confirmation of Stacybotrys is only possible by laboratory test.

Dispersement
The mold can spread by tendrils containing spores. Spores are only released [BUT NOT ALWAYS] when the mold has dried out and is disturbed. Spores will generally only live 24-48 hours, but can release powerful mycotoxic chemicals which cause allergic reactions in SOME people.

Symptoms of Exposure To Stacybotrys
Symptoms vary depending upon the type of duration of exposure.
Long term occupation in a mycotoxic environment can lead to symptoms such as:

MILD - anging from cold and flu symptoms to memory loss, muscle aches, sore throats, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, dermatitis.
MODERATE - intermittent local hair loss, upper respiratory infections, fungal or yeast infections, and urinary tract infections and generalized malaise.
SEVERE - suppression and destruction of the immune system, hemorrhage in the lungs, DNA damage and cancer.

Building Remediation
Fixing a leaky building containing Stacybotrys is not a difficult task but is one that should be treated with extreme caution.

• Personal protective clothing such as masks, googles, gloves and disposal overalls should be worn
• Areas being treated must be suitably contained
• Proper procedures must be floowed, both for protection of those working on the remediation and anyone occupying the building.

For more information on:
Stacybotrys House Mold
Stachybotrys Poisoning
Leaky House Syndrome
Stacybotrys Affected Building Remediation

This month I have concentrated on preparing myself for the decisions involving the engagement of a building contractor. I wanted to do this prior to detailed design work, as the type of contractor I use will most likely dictate who does the final design.

I admit that progress this month has been slow, as I have arranged finance for the rebuilding project and done a lot of background work to ensure I make the best possible decisions going forward.

During this process I have researched and documented for you:

1. Typical remodeling project tasks
2. Types of building contractors
3. How to choose a building contractor
4. A contractor screening process
5. Types of building contract agreements
6. Benefits of using your designer as project manager
7. Project management tips
8. Managing remododeling project relationships

By going through this process I am now ready to commit to using a large building company to contract for the work. I am using a relatively new construction method technology to give the best possible weathertightness to my home.

Although I have yet to complete the due diligence process, my decision to go with this type of company is based upon:

1. This company are the experts in this type of construction, most used today on commercial buildings.
2. They have their own in-house team of designers which are familiar with the construction technology and materials I plan to use
3. They have a large team of builders so I will be less likely to be left standing if my building contractor is not able to complete the task.
4. They cannot hide behind a shell corporation if they don’t complete the job satisfactorily, so have more of an invested interest in doing a good job - their brand depends upon it.
5. I was impressed with the professionalism of their initial sales person, and their style of communication suits my personality and needs

So next month - the aim is to complete the engagement process. At the end of the month I intend to have a contract signed and the building work scheduled.

How many of us expect high quality construction at a cheap price? I mean, really,
is it too much to ask for a job to be done professionally at the best possible
quality, and for a reasonable price. Well, it seems the answer is YES!

The saying ‘You can have it good. You can have it cheap. You can have it quick.
But you can only have two of the three any time’. In other words, a good and
cheap building will not be quick. A cheap and quick building will not be good.
Or a good and quick building will not be cheap.

As the owner of your home remodeling and renovation project, you need to decide
right up front which combination of these three elements you want to base your
project on. It is very easy to be very economics focused at the start out phase
of design of any remodeling project, but as construction proceeds and quality
starts to become an issue, suddenly, as building owner you are not happy with
the quality of the workmanship - but often it is too late.

So think very carefully about the cheap and crappy approach - it is what you
are asking for, and it is what you are likely to end up with. Our recent article
on ‘What Causes Building Failure‘ may give you cause for reconsideration before you start your next home remodeling or renovation project.