Videos highlight shoddy building work
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By Bernard Orsman
Auckland Council has released two videos to highlight shoddy building work across the city where up to a third of all building inspections are being failed.
The videos show what appear to be widespread problems with block work and structural faults at one housing development and multiple issues with a new house.
The council has not said where the two videos were shot.
The council posted the videos on its Our Auckland news website.
The council's building control department general manager, Ian McCormick, said with up to a third of all building inspections currently being failed, the council was working with key industry groups on quality control issues as housing construction continues to boom.
He said the council was shutting down about two sites a week because of dangerous excavation work.
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"The problem is increasing as the city intensifies and more challenging in-fill housing sites suddenly become worth building on," he said.
Concern about shoddy building work has prompted the appointment of a full-time council investigator to lay complaints with professional licensing bodies.
The council's building inspection team is working closely with industry groups, such as Registered Master Builders and Certified Builders.
The first video has been taken at a multi-unit development and shows concrete block work with no grout, cracks through block work and blocks that do not line up.
In places, council inspectors have identified a lack of reinforcing steel and have concerns about some foundation work.
The second video is a walk through at a three-storey property and shows how a drain layer has removed the concrete footing to fit drainage pipes.
Inside the property, a building inspector identifies ledges jutting out, random nooks and crannies, a window where the stairs have gone through it, a glass barrier with gib screws holding it up and a shower door over a bath that does not line up and has gaps for water to get out. There are problems in the garage with a load bearing steel beam and the garage door motor.
