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September 7, 2024 100 mins

This week on the show, ZB's Resident Builder Pete Wolfkamp discusses the latest issues impacting the world of construction- and answers questions!

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Resident build Up podcast with Peter
Wolfcamp from News Talks at Bay.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
The house is a hole even when it's dark, even
when the grass is overgrown in the yard, even when
the dog is too old to borrow, and when you're
sitting at the table trying not to start and scissor

(00:38):
home even when we are band gone, even when you're
there alone. The house is a home, even when those goes,

(01:01):
even when.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
You got around from the world you love your most.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Screams bulding plans, being in fund the world locals vesta
when they're gone, leaving them house, even when Wilbane eating
when you're elone.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
Well, a very good morning and welcome along to the
Resident Builder on Sunday you with peterwolf Camp Resident Builder,
and this is a show well really exactly for you.

Speaker 5 (01:41):
If you are.

Speaker 4 (01:42):
Renovating, altering, maintaining, building planning, thinking, musing around any sort
of building project that you would like to discuss, well,
this is the show for you. Oh, eight hundred and
eighty ten eighty is the number to call. If you'd
like to text, You're more than welcome to do that
as well. That's nine two nine two is ZBZB from
the mobile phone and if you'd like to email me

(02:03):
by all means Pete at newstalksb dot co dot in seed.
Trust that you've had a really good week. If you've
been involved in a project of any size or scale,
then I hope that it's been successful for you. I
hope that it's been there's been some progress, some real
progress on a project that you might be undertaking. And
maybe if it's not so much progress and you want

(02:25):
to talk about that, then the lines are open, the
number to call eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. Kind
of been a busy old week for me. I've actually
spent a bit of time and bumped into a whole
bunch of people that listen to the show at the
Home Show, which is currently on at the Auckland show
Grounds at the moments. I've been hanging out with a
couple of companies that I do some work with, so

(02:45):
Ryobi and Bailey Tanks and the good people at Retrofit DG,
so Metro Performance Glass, and sort of spent a bit
of time and went on Thursday just to kind of
just go and catch up with because over the years,
I guess you get to know a bunch of people,
So an opportunity to catch up with actually someone that
we interviewed on show a little while ago, the head

(03:08):
of the Master Plumbers Association for New Zealand's a bit
of a catch up with them, caught up with the
actually the newly installed head of Master Plumbers in Auckland,
who's actually a plumber that I knew from sort of
ten twelve years ago, Ben Maine, who's taken on that role.
So interesting just to connect with people in a lot
of discussion, of course, about what the state of the

(03:29):
industry is, how busy people are or how quiet people are.
We're getting people's take on some of the political side
of construction at the moment. And I may have made
this comment before, but I think it's still relevant. Is
that I genuinely can't think of a time in the
last ten years, certainly since I've been doing the show,

(03:50):
but possibly even a little bit longer we're building and
building issues have been as political as they are right now,
in terms of governments proposing changes to building legislation, looking
at the way that we fund infrastructure, these sorts of things.
It's a fairly hot topic in terms of politics and

(04:11):
the construction sector. Right now. But it's and in terms
of sort of taking the pulse or the sense of
the community, the building community out and about in the
last couple of days, there's a there's not a rush
to say, don't worry, it'll get better soon. I think

(04:33):
there's still a real sense of caution, and I think
some of the optimism that might have been there back
in January that kind of by now we would have
seen some green shoots, we would have seen some improvement.
That horizon keeps being pushed out. You talk to almost
any and I've probably had on a fifteen twenty discussions

(04:54):
with people involved in either construction or in plumbing, electrical, sales, marketing,
anything related to the construction sector, anyone who's running their
own business moment, and there is still a sense that
we've got a ways to go, that maybe maybe sort
of you know, initially it was like first quarter of

(05:15):
twenty twenty five, that whole survive to twenty five. Well,
I think it feels like you might have to survive
just a little bit further into twenty five. And there
is and I say this with the greatest respect, a
number of conversations. So I have these conversations with younger
business owners and contractors who are going, this is really tough,
you know, and it is. And then I have the

(05:37):
same conversation with older ones, maybe some of my own generation,
and similar gray hair, and there's a sense of well,
we've been through it before. We had it in two
thousand and seven, we had it in the mid nineties.
I started building in nine eighty seven during the stock
market crash. You know, there's lessons to be learnt out
of this too, around how you manage your business and

(05:58):
how you make sure that you're always ready for that
rainy day, because sure as beans, it's coming. Oh, eight
hundred eighty ten eighty, let's rip into it. Anything to
do with building, construction, regulation, rules, requirements, product selection. Actually,
I spent a couple of minutes yesterday. I saw this
new tool, a tool that I don't have, which is

(06:19):
a little bit unusual, online the other day and now
I won't tell you what it is yet, but I've
been fossicking around and then it struck me. I was
looking at it's quite a simple sort of thing. I thought, actually,
maybe I can just make one. I found one in
the States, and I found one in Australia. Of course,
you find it on TMU and that sort of thing,
and I'm like, I could make that, which I might

(06:41):
do this week, made some other things. We'll talk about
that too. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty, let's
get into it. Good morning, Welcome to the show. In
the next hour, Jay, our painting expert from Razine Paints,
will be with us as well, So seven twenty five,
Jail join us. If you've got any specific painting questions,
text them through to me now, we'll line them up
and we'll we'll have a go with Jay at seven

(07:04):
twenty five this morning, and of course, as always we're
into the garden with red claim pass. Come eight thirty
this morning. Welcome, Welcome, welcome, looking forward to chatting with
you this morning. It is time for your calls. Oh,
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty the number Aaron, Good morning, Good.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
Morning, Pete. How are you a friend?

Speaker 4 (07:20):
Well, I'm not too bad. What about yourself?

Speaker 5 (07:24):
Oh made a little bit a little bit grumpy on
the apes. The staff has played well, you know, so
we've got to give it to them.

Speaker 4 (07:33):
I don't often give it to them, but I happened
to be up at halftime and check the Herald website
and saw AB's a leading I was like, Okay, well
I better go back to bed now. But now, well
maybe I should have stayed up. Yeah, anyway, what can
we do? What are we talking about?

Speaker 5 (07:49):
Very very quickly, you may remember I had a conversation
with him a few weeks ago.

Speaker 4 (07:52):
We got a batch your family.

Speaker 5 (07:55):
Yeah, and the obviously cyclelled. Gabriel came through and jib
and and all that sort of stuff. We're ripping out
and we're putting back and like for life can I
sort of said to you, then, what do we need
to do contenting or is it anything we need to do.
When we had a bit of a chat, we pretty
much assumed you and I that that we're pretty sweet.

(08:15):
Remember my little barrister brother that's getting.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
A bit, Yeah, he's on the whole thing, on the
whole thing.

Speaker 5 (08:20):
Yeah. Anyway, when I hung up, no, No, I heard
your next caller talking about waterproofing, waterproofing the shower somewhere
where it was, and you made the point anything yet,
I'll have to get a consent on that. And then
I was just like, hang on, we're doing do we
have to get a consent for the waterproofing of the

(08:41):
shower that's being replaced to the shower that's been ripped out.

Speaker 4 (08:46):
If what Now, let's just be very very clear. The
shower that's there currently is a tile shower over a substrate,
so over five a cement board or something like that,
and it's it's all been formed, it's been waterproofed, and
then it's been tiled over the top. Right, what's there, No.

Speaker 5 (09:07):
It's just it's been ripped out. Now, what's sitting there
is basically, you know, a space for your tray to
go in and do what it needs to do, and
but some pieces and yeah it's not even a tiled area.

Speaker 4 (09:18):
No, but what was there? What was the originally what
was the original shower?

Speaker 5 (09:24):
I'm just thinking it was out and sleep out. You
just face it was a brand new step into a job,
you know sort of PBC bottom okay, glass, you know
all that sort of.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
So this is where it gets interesting. So that type
of shower, which effects will call a pre formed shower. Right,
So it's a shower unit. It's got a tray, it's
got a liner, it's got some doors which are part
of the kits sett and it's got some instructions. Right,
So that's considered low risk. Right, they typically are fairly robust,
they don't tend to leak if you install them correctly,

(09:58):
and so they can be installed without triggering the requirement
for a building consent. But if you were to go, actually,
i want it to be a bit flash, So I'm
going to create some fall on the floor and I'm
going to do a waterproof membrane. I'm going to tile
over that. Then that triggers the requirement for a building
consent because there is a there is more complexity in that,

(10:20):
and there is more potential for failure, and typically the
failures are not as obvious until you have, you know,
significant damage in the wall. So for those reasons, that
triggers the requirement for building consent. So if you know
and put another pre made shower in, just go ahead.

Speaker 5 (10:37):
Yeah any fine, Yeah, I think we're heating down the
child route and making a nice wet area and all
that sort of stuff.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
You know that will require a consent. Yeap, tick one
to the brother in law. Yeah great, all the best,
take care all the Then eight hundred eighty ten eighty
is the number to call. I'm just going to have

(11:03):
a quick look at this text before we go to
the break. There was a report on z B the
other day that looked at earnings across the trades till
the age of forty five. Builders actually earned the least overall,
with digger drivers earning the most. Interesting times from Tony, Tony,
we could have a lot of discussion around the relative

(11:25):
rates of pay for the responsibility. I'm going to add
that in there for trade various trades. And look, if
you ever get a bunch of you know, smoko on
a site with a sparky and a plumber and a
drain layer and a chippy, this will come up and

(11:47):
in a nutshell. The argument has always been that carpenters
or the lead contractor is underpaid given the responsibility that
they have for the site. So I was looking at
some pricing for a job the other day. Sort of
leading hand on a project would be paid between sixty

(12:07):
five and seventy five dollars an hour. Carpentry now plumbers
rates with respect probably anywhere between ninety and one hundred
and ten dollars per hour. Sparky probably about the same,
and I suppose they. I guess what's interesting is Sparky's

(12:27):
obviously are a registered trade in the sense that they
can issue a certificate of compliance to COC at the
end of it. Plumbers obviously are registered as well, but
plumbers still need to have their work inspected by counsel,
although that might change. That was a bit of an
insight after having a discussion with a couple of people
at the home show this week, and then drain layers,

(12:49):
for example, are self certified, or gas fitters rather are
self certifying. So but the argument has always been look
typically the carpentry people on site or the head carpenter
on a job, is the one who often ends up
kind of project managing and having response ability for the
other trades, ensuring not necessarily ensuring their compliance, but ensuring

(13:13):
that their works up to standard, monitoring their work, programming
their work, et cetera, et cetera, and their rate is
fifteen twenty thirty dollars less. Anyway, someone might have picked
on a scab that is obviously not quite healed. In
my life, it is eighteen nineteen minutes after six. If
you've got a question of a building nature, oh, eight

(13:33):
hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. Take
a break. We've got some spear lines, so jump in now.
And remember if you've got any specific painting questions, please
text them through nine two ninety two. J Our painting
expert from Razine will join us at seven twenty five
this morning. I have to say too, it was nice
catching up with the people from Life Force Solar who

(13:54):
sponsor this program. They're at the Home Show as well,
and just an opportunity to catch up and chat and
talk about solar and where it's heading and what's attractive
about it at the moment and the technology that's coming.
So that was good fun as well. Lots of people
to talk to at the Home Show. Like I said,
I went to do work there on Friday and then

(14:16):
but I ended up stopping by on Thursday, kind of
mooching around and just catching up with a bunch of
people Nano Clear for example, who have been on the
show once or twice over the years, the people from
a Sea of Fires, and we've talked to them over
the years as well, So a bit of a catch
up there and looking at new fireplaces that they're developing.
And they're also involved in that Fire for Life project.

(14:40):
Look that up. Actually, Fire for Life is a fantastic
initiative out of the Sea factory in Dunedin providing essentially
safe and practical cooking solutions for people that are displaced
and we're thinking refugee camps and that sort of thing.

(15:01):
It's worth having a look at. So yeah, great opportunity
to mooch around and catch up with people. I also
did my album VP Renewal this week talking about trades
and what trades have to do. So I'm a licensed
building practitioner and have been since twoenty twelve, I think
is when I first got licensed. And then the requirement
is that every year have to renew your license. In

(15:23):
every two years you have to fulfill some obligations in
terms of learning professional development effectively. And I'll run you
through what that is because it's probably a bit of
an insight as to how do people get to be
an LBP and then how do they stay in LBP.
We'll talk about that in the moment. Clayton, good morning
to you.

Speaker 6 (15:44):
Yes, good morning Peter Bone. Justus ringing because I was
quite amazed. I have a house which was built in
two thousand and three, Yes, and it does have double
glazed windows.

Speaker 7 (15:56):
Yes.

Speaker 6 (15:57):
However, when I I've got the windows that are obviously
failing now when I looked up on Google, I saw
that double glazed windows only have a lifespan of something
around fifteen to twenty years, and then like they fail

(16:19):
at that stage, And that is what's happened with a
couple of windows which are on the north side of
my house. But when I say they've failed, you can see,
no matter how much I clean them inside and outside,
the dirt is obviously on the inside there's a big
round mark that looks like it may be a sucker.

Speaker 4 (16:44):
On the inside. Yes, okay, when the go ahead.

Speaker 6 (16:49):
And when they've numbered the glass, they've obviously had a
pean of some sort and they've numbered the glass, and
you can still they've cleaned it off, but it's itched
into the glass on the inside. I can tell it
one seven five and one seven six, right. And I

(17:13):
was actually quite amazed because I felt that double glazed
windows would have been sort of a lifetime thing rather
than only having a lifespan of fifteen to twenty years.

Speaker 4 (17:26):
Okay, let's step through a whole bunch of things here,
because you raised some really interesting points. Look, I think
in terms of seeing a sucker mark, and that's that's
those justice that they use to move glass around, right,
if there's a remnant of that on the inside of
the glass, then that's an issue with quality control in
the factory, right, and that's inexcusable, right. But I also

(17:50):
understand that back then, and while it doesn't seem like
a long time ago to you and I, it's you know,
it's twenty one years ago, how double glazed units in
general were and were manufactured is quite different to what
I've seen today. So and I'll step you through that
in a moment, and things like pen marks and that
sort of thing that's all about quality control the other

(18:13):
thing that has changed quite dramatically. And I've seen this
even in the time that I've been involved with I
do quite a bit of work with Metro Performance Glass,
who make double glazing units, right, and so having been
out to the factory probably seven eight years ago, the
way in which they assemble the double glazed units is

(18:35):
quite different today than even back then, and that it
would have been radically different to twenty one years ago,
where it would have been a much more manual process.
So that spacer that goes between the two double glazed
units would typically have been in a role it would
have been hand fastened you know, with a bead of
sealant and so on embedded on there and cut individually,

(18:59):
there's lots of touching and movement and so on. The
modern day systems, or the systems that are in the
factory today, the ones i've seen, anyway, it is completely automated.
So it's a hands free process. And that's an automated
process where the glass comes along, it's going along on
a conveyor. It's not touched by human hands in anyway.

(19:21):
The bead is applied as a continuous motion by in
a robotic sense, and then it goes into a cleansing process.
The air that's in it is dumped out, replaced with
the gas, and then the two pieces are fastened together
and then they come out of the system. So I
think the way in which units are manufactured today is
far better than what they would have been in two

(19:43):
thousand and three. And I think sometimes when you have
those manual processes, you will get a failure there in
double glazed units. It's not terribly common, but I have
seen it myself. Right what you're describing.

Speaker 6 (19:57):
Though.

Speaker 4 (19:57):
If I was to say a double glazed unit has failed,
what I would say is I've seen condensation on the inside.

Speaker 7 (20:04):
So the.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
Inside the double glaze unit, back in the day, you
just fill it with air, right the air that we breathe,
and that works. Today it's filled with gas, so it's
an argonne gas or other types of gases which help
with the insulation, but also they help with the longevity
of the double glaze unit. And also there's what they

(20:28):
call a desiccant inside the double glaze unit, and that
helps control moisture. So if there's any moisture present inside
the double glaze unit, you'll see condensation develop inside the unit.
And like I would say, that's the failure of a
unit is when you see condensation in it. The other
thing too, is that in terms of requirement with the

(20:48):
building code, many of these sorts of things have what
they call a minimum warranty period. Right, So for example,
your roof is only required by law to last for
fifteen years, in the same way that you're cladding is
only required to last fifteen years. Systems within a house
are only required to last five years as a mandatory

(21:11):
minimum requirement. What we've got to be careful about doing
is saying that somehow we regard that is as long
as it's going to last, and so in the same
way that you'll find double glaze units that might fail
after fifteen or twenty years. It's a rarity, but it
does happen. What we will find as we go forward
is that we might see double glaze units that are

(21:32):
thirty and forty years old that are still functioning. Okay,
but their requirement in terms of the building code and
the durability requirements in the building code is often they
are expected to perform for fifteen years, like a concrete
tile roof or an iron roof or something like that,
or an exterior cladding structures, for example, are required to

(21:54):
perform for fifty years. So you're timber framing, lintels, all
of those sorts of things, floor slabs, they're expected to
last fifty years. Other things not so much. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (22:04):
So if I replace these this glass paneling and the doors, yeah,
I can expect it to last a bit longer today.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
Yeah, and I think too. I mean, funnily enough, I
was actually with Metro Performance Glass on their stand and
so we've we've got this little display with these heat boxes, right,
So you put a different types of double glazing in
a panel and then you have a heat lamp underneath it,
and you can feel the difference below them. And so

(22:33):
you know, when we're talking to people about double glazing,
you kind of go, well, look, here's some of the differences.
So having been to the factory, or at least to
the Metro Glass factory, seeing it and seeing the I
guess the standard of the manufacture. I think it's reasonable
to expect that the double glaze units will last longer
simply because the way that we put them together is

(22:55):
better than we used to better. Okay, but certainly if
you are yeah, great, nice talking with you as well.

Speaker 6 (23:04):
You explained it all.

Speaker 4 (23:05):
It's a pleasure you take care all of this. Blah
blah blah. Eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. The number
coll just quickly. So as an LBP, so I'm a
licensed building practitioner and my license classes are carpentry and
site one and there's slight different requirements to be licensed

(23:26):
in each of those And initially when you apply for
your LBP license, you have to prove competency in those
particular areas, and then that's investigated and then you're granted
your license, and thereafter, every couple of years you have
to renew your license. It used to be every two years.
Now you have to renew every year one hundred and

(23:47):
thirty nine bucks and every two years you have to renew,
or every alternate year you renew, and you have to
prove learning. So you log into your into the website
and then typically this is the process, right. So when
I went on, I hadn't kept up with my skills maintenance.
That's my problem, and so I had twenty articles that

(24:11):
I had to read. They often come out of the
Build magazine. You have to read the article and you
have to answer a multi choice question three of them
or four of them on each of those articles, and
then as you pass those, it updates your skills register
and once you've completed that, that's good. So I went through,
read the articles, answered the questions, done, put that aside.

(24:35):
Then it asks you for two pieces of on site learning.
So you have to cite an example of a project
that you've been involved with and what you learned from it.
So I had to go back look at a building consent.
Go look, this was a new type of cladding. I
hadn't been involved with it before. Here's the code or

(24:56):
the sectors of the code that it refers to here's
the evidence that I've completed, et cetera. So I did
that two examples of that. That's fine. And then and
I have to prove fifteen hours of learning. So you
have to provide evidence that you've been engaged in either
online seminars or attending seminar. So you know, if they

(25:19):
do a trade breakfast, for example, and there's some product
suppliers there and you can learn about new products, you
need to record all of that, provide evidence and go along. Now,
in my instance, I'm in a fortunate position where I'm
often attending conferences. So been to the New Zealand Suit
of Building Survey, as I've been to construct. I went
to the New Zealand Green Building Council, Housing sit all

(25:42):
of these sorts of things, so I can add that
in and say, look, this is what I've been involved in,
this is my learning. To their credit, I actually put
it in, paid my money and I got an email
about an hour later saying here's your new LBP license.
They don't actually send you out of plastic license anymore.
It's basically a digital download, which helpfully enough has a

(26:02):
QR code on it, so that if I was to
go to one's house and say Hi, I'm Pete. I'm
the LBP coming to do some work at your place.
They could say can I see your license please, and
then you could show them the license, show them the
QR code and they could scan it to check whether
you were actually licensed. Because all of this is on
a public register. If you don't license, for example, or

(26:25):
you let your license lapse, that stays on the public
register as well. Also, if you end up having a
complaint against you, that is, you've been found to have
not complied with the regulations and you've gone to the
disciplinary board and a complaint has been upheld, that will
also stay on your license. Is either three or seven years.

(26:47):
I think it's three years. Stays on your license as
well on the public register.

Speaker 8 (26:51):
So there you go.

Speaker 4 (26:52):
That's a bit of an insight into being an LBP.
To be fair, I'm pleased I had sort of half
a day free to go through it. Anyway, I have
done it, So there we go. BP number one two
zero zero nine eight is all up today. Oh, eight
hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. We'll
take short break actually, and then we'll come to Allison.
If you'd like to join US eight hundred eighty ten

(27:13):
eighty is the number your news talks there'd be Allison
A very good morning, Oh good morning.

Speaker 9 (27:19):
Thank you very much for answering my questions today. I
did actually ask you on the twenty fifth of August,
and I tried to get to listen to your replies
again on the podcast, but it didn't come through. So
I've just spoken to your producer, yes technician, and he

(27:41):
suggested I ask again, go for it. How do your
test to smoke damage to paint, carpets, linen, et cetera.
You said to me that time that visual wasn't enough.
Is there a test?

Speaker 4 (27:56):
Yeah, but I don't think it's a test. That's a
kind of DIY thing. I think what you'd need to
do is either through your insurer or through a building
consultant finds building scientists. There are, for example, there's quite
a lot of remediation companies around now who specialize in
flood and fire repair, and they will either have themselves

(28:21):
in house or they will have consultants that they can
use to do that sort of assessment. Right, So it's
a proper technical process, it's a scientific process. There should
be a testing regime and there should be an evidence
based finding.

Speaker 9 (28:37):
I had a house fire and the smoke damage was
pretty bad, very bad, and it's been cleaned, but I
can still smell smoke, and so can other people.

Speaker 7 (28:50):
It's not just me.

Speaker 9 (28:52):
Do I have any rights of done under insurance guarantees?

Speaker 8 (28:56):
Can you?

Speaker 4 (28:58):
Oh, that's a really good one. Look, I think I'm
just trying to think which piece of legislation this might
come down to. I mean, in some ways it's around
consumer guarantees, isn't it. You know, you have a contract
with your insurer to provide insurance cover for your house,

(29:23):
and if, for example, in that insurance cover as it
relates to fire there, you know you'd have to go
through and look at the fine print of your contract
there and does that include complete remediation of fire damage?
And does it define what is fire damage? So is

(29:45):
fire damage only charring like where the fire actually incinerated
an object? Or does fire Can the definition of fire
damage be extended to smoke damage for example? Like it
would be clear so if the fibrigade come in and
they pour a bunch of water through your property and
it damages things, that's related to the fire. So I

(30:07):
would have thought that smoke and the effect of smoke.
I either lingering smell is should be part of the remediation.
And again I haven't I'm not firsthand involved in this,
but I am involved with a project at the moment
where we did have a fire in a building and
then the remediation team that came provided a professional, science

(30:32):
based assessment of the fire, not just the fire damage
but the smoke damage, and then provided a essentially a
template for the remediation of that. So, for example, we
are going to do this in this particular room which
didn't have any fire damage, but it was full of smoke.
And you could tell, you know, five six, seven days afterwards,

(30:55):
that this room had been full of smoke. And that's
probably what you're describing, isn't it.

Speaker 9 (31:00):
Yes, you can very much see the evidence stayed right
through the house of the rooms, and that was very
obvious to see.

Speaker 4 (31:10):
It's for you, Allison. In the first instance, I'd probably
go back to the insurance company. They'll probably put you
onto the assessor and say to the assessor, look, I've
got these concerns about the outcome of the remediation and
ask them to provide you with to send someone who

(31:30):
will do testing inside your house.

Speaker 9 (31:33):
It's the insurance company to that.

Speaker 4 (31:35):
Go to the insurance company and make that request. Now,
if the insurance company don't respond or the assessor takes
a well, look, if I delay this long enough, they'll
stop asking me type of reproach and let's be blunt
that happens. Then I would suggest that you have a
look around maybe for a building consultant, so possibly someone

(31:56):
who's a member of the New Zealand Institute of Building
Surveys for example. So a company that I don't have
any engagement with them, but Prendos for example in Auckland, right,
they're building surveyors. They have the ability to send in
teams that will do the fire remediation and do they'll
contract in the testing. So you're looking for it, yep,

(32:20):
that's what I would do.

Speaker 9 (32:21):
And then New Zealand what was the name of that?

Speaker 4 (32:24):
So if you have a look on the website for
the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveys, so just Building
Surveyors dot org dot nz there will be consultants there
who specialize in fire remediation. You could you could seek
some advice there. But certainly I know that it is
possible to have a professional come in test your property

(32:48):
and give you a science based outcome that says this
is the extent of the smoke damage, which then you
could hand back to the insurer and go. Actually, as
part of your remediation, I've got insurance cover. You need
to come in and there's either specialist ways of cleaning
it or in fact, you might have to strip out

(33:08):
another room that wasn't fire damage but is smoke damaged
and that's the only way to remove that smell. But
you know, I know it requires a bit of pushing
back against the insurer, but I think it's worth doing.

Speaker 9 (33:22):
Yes, So I'm not happy with how things are. That's
why I've asked for your game. And as to cover
smoke damage, the ceilings.

Speaker 10 (33:31):
Were black and gray.

Speaker 9 (33:33):
Yeah, they put on a ceiler and two top poats.
Is that enough to stop it?

Speaker 4 (33:39):
It might be depending on the extent of the smoke damage, right,
So you know, if for example, they came in did
a really thorough clean, there's like there's special equipment in
terms of oxygenating spaces that will help remove that odor
from the smoke. And then they've applied very very specific
types of paint that will encapsulate that smoke damage. But

(34:01):
then they should also it's not unreasonable for you to
go please provide me with the data sheets of the
paint and a statement from the contractor has explained to
me what they've done, right, that's not unreasonable. So the
data sheet and you know, just request a statement from
the contractor explaining what they've done. And then you know,

(34:23):
like what guarantees are involved in that work? What's the warranty?
So you've put on a paint that says that it
will do this, what about if it doesn't do that?

Speaker 6 (34:31):
You know?

Speaker 4 (34:32):
So, yeah, some of these things push back, but it once.
I think if you don't get a reasonable response from
your insurer or their assessor, then you may well need
to contract a professional to argue on your behalf because
it does get quite technical and they will probably be
able to argue at a more technical level than you

(34:53):
will be able to do. With the greatest respect, Oh,
thank you very much. Let us know how you get
on it.

Speaker 11 (34:58):
I can.

Speaker 9 (35:00):
I'm going to be New Zealand and Stute.

Speaker 4 (35:04):
Building Surveys have a look through there. There will be
specialists in that area. But you know, in the first instance,
before you end up spending your own money. I think
it's not unreasonable to go back to your insurer and go, hey, look,
I'd like you to provide me with some evidence that
the remediation that you've done is of a suitable standard and.

Speaker 9 (35:24):
Your signs off. The certificate of compliance you spoke of.

Speaker 4 (35:27):
That would only be if any restricted building work was done,
so you know, if for example, you had to get
a consent, then you'll have a certificate compliance at the
end of it, code compliance. If for any electrical work.

Speaker 9 (35:42):
This time around, you that I was entitled to ask
for a certificate of compliance.

Speaker 4 (35:48):
I think that's more in terms of saying, look, I
want a statement a little bit in the same way
that I mentioned about the paint right, if they've said
this paint system is going to work, then it's not
unreasonable to ask for the data sheet and the warranty
on that and get some evidence from the contractor that
they've done what they said they were going to do
and provide you with a letter stating that, and that

(36:09):
effectively becomes a warranty on your part.

Speaker 9 (36:12):
Oh yeah, thank you, good luck.

Speaker 4 (36:15):
All right, take care, Alison, all the very best. We
need to, yes, we do. We need to take short
break and then we'll be talking to Gail in just
a moment. Just quickly, just following on from Ellison's comments,
I just typed into good old Google smoke damage assessor
and it brought up a whole bunch of contractors. Now,
some of them are the people that will do the work.

(36:35):
Others are the assessors who can do the testing. So Allison,
I don't think it's going to be terribly difficult to
find a contractor to do that work or an assessor
to come and do that work. Gail, A very good
morning to you.

Speaker 12 (36:50):
Yes, hello, Gail. We've just comes back from our son's
house and he said, quite nice you innovations. His new
aluminium windows have condensation on the outside.

Speaker 4 (37:00):
Is that usual outside? Yes, that's perfect.

Speaker 12 (37:06):
Okay, that's good.

Speaker 4 (37:07):
That's exactly who we want our cold part of the
window to be, right, We want it to be on
the outside. So all of the talk at the moment
around better insulating properties and so on is to make
sure that the cold stays on the outside. If we've
got a house that's at twenty degrees and it's ten

(37:29):
degrees outside, for example, or fourteen degrees like it was
in Auckland overnight. We want that to be on the outside.
And so in that sense, that's exactly correct.

Speaker 12 (37:41):
Okay, all I wanted it spoils the view, that's all.

Speaker 4 (37:45):
Well, can I say? And I had a delightful conversation
with a family while I was on the stand yesterday
or the day before, rather about for years and years
and years they lived in a house where every morning
when they opened the window or open the blinds to
look out at the view, they had the condensation on
the inside. Right, So each time they had one of

(38:08):
those little window back things and they suck up the condensation,
that sort of thing. So I think having my view
spoiled by the condensation being on the outside of the
glass is far more desirable than having it on the
inside of the glass.

Speaker 12 (38:22):
Located on the inside. Price for the renovation, right, And
now they've put.

Speaker 4 (38:26):
In the DG and they've got it on the outside,
then it's working. Then it's working, which is awesome, lovely,
lovely to talk. Take care by then, Aaron, greetings to you.

Speaker 13 (38:42):
You could think, good God, we have a driveway or
a long driveway property that's got a lot of paining.
Now the retaining wall was put in A sixty six
nineteen ninety six around there and just sort of down
down the whole driveway, which is a long slope to
driveway that the post of concrete did in yep, down

(39:05):
the retainer. Well, now there's a lot of never starting
to be cut off flat at the top. Yeah, starting
to show age now, and some of them are starting
to rock out on the top, and I'm thinking, right,
it's not good.

Speaker 14 (39:19):
No, no, I want to.

Speaker 13 (39:20):
Start ceiling off the top to stop the rain getting
into them.

Speaker 15 (39:23):
How can I do that?

Speaker 4 (39:24):
Okay, funny. I did this job, oh jeesz, ten fifteen
years ago, working on a property, big long retaining wall,
same thing right now, there's probably all sorts of seilents
and that sort of thing that you can poke in there.
I took a really pragmatic approach. I went and got
some galvanized sheet. I cut it into some squares, I
put it on top of the post. I scribed round

(39:46):
it with a marker, and then I cut little slots
into it and I bent them down. So you imagine
like making a bottle cap, right, a cap, And I
made caps for each one individually, and I pinned them
on and then rain hits the top and it drains off.
Problem solved.

Speaker 13 (40:02):
I've only got about one hundred and sixty to do that.

Speaker 4 (40:05):
Start today. Then look, you can get the post will
already be treated, right. But you know the fact is
the water sits on the top of the post, right,
and so it's going to constantly be getting in there.
So I would take a belt embraces approach and go, Actually,

(40:25):
if you put a cap on it, water is not
going to get in there. Do the treatment, but put
a cap on it. That'd be the way to go.
I've got to go to news, which is just a
couple of seconds away. Here we go seven o'clock news.
You always news talks. He'd be people camp with you
this morning. Remember, at around seven twenty five this morning, Jay,
our painting expert from Razine, is going to join us.

(40:45):
So if you've got any specific painting questions, including this
delightful one about trying to remove a film forming stain
from a queler deck from Paul, I will put that
to Jay from Razine at around seven twenty five this morning.
Plenty of texts about the insurance as well, most of
them saying look, I think it is you know the

(41:07):
responsibility of the insurer in undertaking the remediation work to
ensure that it's to a certain standard. And surely that
standard would include not being able to smell smoke from
the fire when you're back in the property after the remediation.
And again, plenty of contractors online that you can use
for that. Another quick one. We've got time for your

(41:30):
calls right now. We're talking building all things, building, construction products, selections, regulations,
tips and tricks. Oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty. You
can call us now. Another text that came in good morning.
We are currently using a building consultant to get consent
for putting up a wall and making an extra bedroom.

(41:51):
And while we're doing it, we are moving the toilet
into the bathroom. We're also upgrading the bathroom and using
beyond tiles. Now I had to read that twice. So
beyond tiles is actually a system. In fact, I saw
it at the home show on Friday when I was there,
and they're using this beyond tiles system. As for the

(42:12):
wall and the shower, it's a click together system, doesn't
need a consent like an acrylic shower. I Acrylic showers
don't typically require a consent either, but they are the
consultant is telling us that we need to waterproof although
the shower is closed in with a door and has
a stainless steel tray with a full maker cover. Are
they correct and making us get waterproofing? Look, a lot

(42:35):
of these things come down to what the instructions, what
the warranty or what the installation instructions, and the specification
of the product that you're using says, And in this case,
I had a quick lock online. The benefit of this
particular system is that, No, you don't need to waterproof.

(42:55):
The system itself is inherently waterproof. The way that the
junctions go together make it water proof, and so the
system the benefit of the system you don't need to waterproof.
So if the building consultant is saying you need to
waterproof that area like the shower enclosure, I would say
that's because they haven't read the instructions for that particular

(43:17):
system that you want to use. Now, you may need
to waterproof the floor, for example, if you're doing tiles,
but that's different to this, so I would say get
them to go to the In fact, the simplest solution
for the texture is get someone from the manifest the
supply of the manufacturer to speak directly to the consultant

(43:40):
to explain the fact that they don't seemingly need waterproofing
for that right. I hope that helps. Oh eight hundred
and eighty ten eighty is the number to call. Another
quick text as well. Always wondered how you check for asbestos.
Presumably you can't tell just by looking as an LBP.
Do you ie me have some kind of kit or
do people get it or do people get in? Do

(44:04):
you get people in?

Speaker 13 (44:05):
Rather?

Speaker 4 (44:05):
That's from Chris Look. I think from experience you tend
to get a sense of what types of products are
likely to contain asbestos or have ACM A specials containing
material within them. But the testing is laboratory based right now,
And I actually met some people at a building conference

(44:26):
a little while ago who do mobile testing. But this
is more for large construction sites or large projects where
they might have a need to continually test on site
to ensure that the work carries on at pace. Typically,
if I ever had a requirement to test a product
before I was going to drill through it, cut it,

(44:47):
remove it, etc. I would take a small sample and
I would take it to an industrial chemist or a
laboratory and have them test it for me looking at it,
going oh, I think there is you know, fibers in there.
I think it's asbestis. That's not reliable. It needs to
tested in a laboratory and then get proper results back

(45:10):
for that. Oh eight ten eighty the number to call Johnny,
good morning to you.

Speaker 11 (45:15):
Yeah, good morning matey. The with the consultant requiring waterproofing.
If someone's engaged a consultant to essentially design your bathroom
for you, and they're saying that they require as part
of the system waterproofing, but the tile product doesn't require waterproofing,

(45:38):
it's still up to the consultant that you have engaged
whether or not they require waterproofing. The thing is, if
anything fails there, the person who engages the consultant can
then take the consultant into court and then it's the
consultant's fault essentially, So they're just safeguarding themselves. So the

(45:59):
client could say, look, I don't want to put in
waterproofing and I'll do it at my own risk. That's
the option there, Or if you're engaging a consultant, you
kind of have to do what the consultant says.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
But in this case, the consultant's wrong, So why would
you do what the consultant's saying when they're just I mean,
they're like, on this very specific issue, the manufacturer's details,
the warranty, the speck and everything says this is a
system that doesn't require waterproofing. So I'm not suggesting that

(46:33):
not putting waterproofing in isn't beneficial, but it is absolutely
not required. So why would you have a consultant tell
you to do waterproofing when it's not required? Why would
you listen to them?

Speaker 11 (46:45):
One hundred At the same time, the clients didn't actually
need to engage a consultant to do these works on
their place from what it sounds like. And I mean,
I'm a I'm an LBP and a qualified carpenter and
a qualified construction manager, And I see this on large
jobs all the time, that the consultants go overboard with

(47:10):
their design. But they're doing it because simply there's been
so much comeback on the consultants and on the council
over the years. For example, the leaky homes, the council's
ending up paying for all that because they did the
bare minimum now then, And another one is the seismic upgrades.

(47:32):
The thirty percent rating for the commercial concrete buildings or
block buildings. The council and the consultants are so scared
that they're going well above and beyond to protect themselves.
It's simply an ass covering exercise basically, to put it bluntly.

Speaker 4 (47:54):
Yeah, I'm just thinking about and obviously all I know
is what the texter has said. So what they've said
is we're currently using a building consultant to get consent.
So possibly they've gone to someone for advice as to
how to get a building consent, although I mean arguably
typically what you would typically do is go to your designer,
your LPP designer, and go, do me a set of

(48:17):
plans that allow me to get a building consent. And
if they specify, in this case, this beyond tiles system
and that system doesn't require any additional waterproofing, then you
put that in as you spec and you do what's
on the spec.

Speaker 11 (48:35):
Yeah, I agree with you one hundred percent. And so
the beyond tiles they guarantee their product, but the designer
guarantees the whole system, like the rest of the bathroom,
so their requirement is waterproofing behind it. So you're not
just engaging beyond tiles. You're engaging another entity, and that

(48:59):
other entity needs to also safeguard themselves. So part of
the consultant system or the architects them, whoever it is,
is that they require waterproofing. And this is what I'm saying,
is that why.

Speaker 4 (49:13):
Are they requiring waterproofing when it's not required by the system.
This is this is where this is breaking down, right,
So what you're saying is that you know, in this instance,
this consultant is advising a client that you can use
the system, but you can't use it as it's specified.
You have to use it as I specify it. Well,
they're not the specifier. They're not there to make up

(49:36):
the rules. All the consultants. Isn't there to make up
the rules.

Speaker 11 (49:45):
The consultants using best practice. So best practice says, in
your water in your in your bathroom, sorry, in your
wet area, your wet area is to be waterproof.

Speaker 4 (49:57):
Yes you can water. But if the system that you're
using is then one that inherently is waterproof, and they've
got either co mark or brand's appraisal to prove that,
why would you then say in this instance, no, they're
not right. I'm right, we're going to waterproof it, which
is probably not part of the system and possibly voids

(50:20):
the warranty on the system because you've done something that's
not part of the system. I just think there's something
really broken about the logic of this particular contractor.

Speaker 11 (50:30):
Yeah, and you're preaching to the choir. Yeah, to be honestly,
because I get guys to I manage the guys that
build this, and we deal with clients that lias with
their own consultants, and we have to build to the
consultant's design. And that simply comes down to that they're

(50:53):
covering themselves.

Speaker 6 (50:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (50:56):
And best practice across the board in most building in
New Zealand says that you you must or you should
should water proof your wet areas. Just been over to
so over in other countries. I think that they're that
they're they're a bit smarter about how they do things.

(51:19):
I don't know if we always go the right way
about building in New Zealand, but the systems that we've
got are what we've got right and and and this
is why people go to consultants. And the bathroom has
always been historically risky area in terms of water leaching

(51:44):
out from your your shower or your bath and rotting
the timber out and frame them.

Speaker 4 (51:50):
But again, if if you and I go and look
at a shower that's leaking right, typically we can tell
within five minutes why it's leaked right. And it's it's
not often about the system that was used. It's always
about the installation. So for example, if you know, you
go think about an old serotone shower and someone goes, oh, look,

(52:11):
the bottom of the sheet is all bubbling, and you
pull the sheet off and you find that they didn't
put a primer on there, right, It's really clear in
the instruction manual you prime around all of the cut edges.
If you don't do that, water gets in, the product fails.
So you know, it's like it's if we did it.
Most of the systems actually work if you install them correctly.

(52:33):
So the fact that so many people don't install them
correctly then leads a consultant like this guy or girl
with the greatest respect to then add all this extra
stuff in because they're trying to accommodate the fact that
people just don't listen to the instructions. So the problem
is that when it's not. In many cases, it's not
the system, it's the installation of the system. That's where

(52:57):
we've got to get problem.

Speaker 5 (52:59):
Yeah, I mean, well, I'm not.

Speaker 4 (53:03):
Saying that we didn't have systems that were terrible. And look,
you know, I think back thirty years ago, right, I
was putting aluminium joinery onto fiber cement sheet board on
the exterior of a building, and all that was required
is that I pushed the window hard back against the
fiber cement sheet and I put a beat of silicrent
across the top and then they sprayed some stuff on

(53:23):
top of it, and that was all that was required. Right,
No head flashing, Da da da da da. Now we
know that that failed, and that was a system and
it failed. So you know, I'm not naiven saying that
some systems didn't fail. But today, generally, you know, our
systems are not bad. And I would say in ninety
nine percent of cases, if you install it as per

(53:46):
the system, it'll work.

Speaker 8 (53:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 11 (53:50):
Okay.

Speaker 7 (53:50):
So so.

Speaker 11 (53:53):
With my study, and I studied for construction for going
on with them in eleven years or something like that,
we have a really bad problem in New Zealand. And
that's that the client. So example, right as Fletcher's. Okay,

(54:13):
Fletcher's go and quote for a couple of jobs there right,
their QS is under quote. I don't know the absolute
reason of why they priced these jobs so so low,
to the tune of a couple of hundred million. They
priced it low. Who ends up bearing the responsibility for that?

(54:36):
Does the client end up bearing the responsibility for that? No,
it's Fletcher's that ends up bearing the responsibility. And what's
happened to Fletcher's now? That used to be I mean,
that's New Zealand's largest construction company. They've been going for
over one hundred years. Great company. I did a lot
of work for them. They put me through my apprenticeship

(54:58):
and in my studies it was said that, look, the
client's going to start taking on more risk for these
projects that the construction company is undertaking. That was years
ago that I studied, like two thousands. It hasn't happened,

(55:18):
you know.

Speaker 4 (55:19):
I think there are examples where you know that we're changing, Like, look,
this becomes a really big topic and we could probably
talk about it for a far too long, but look,
I think I hear what you're saying now in terms
of you know, there is a model, particularly with larger
construction projects, where there's kind of the initial the client

(55:44):
seeks a designer, who then employs a series of contractors
who then appoint a project manager who appoint a constructor, right,
and and so there's layers and layers of discussion and
engagement there, right. And then by the time the drawings
get to the constructor, the constructor looks at the drawings

(56:04):
and goes, well, hang on, you said it was to
be five hundred million dollars budget, but I've looked at
it and it's seven hundred right, So then it either
doesn't go ahead or you know, they suddenly they're over budget.
Whereas I think what we're starting to see today is
kind of an engagement where the client, the constructor, the

(56:25):
designers work collaboratively at the beginning to know engineer in
some efficiency, to protect in terms of their contracts, to
do it in with a bit of a shared risks
involved as well, you know. Like for example, one of
the best examples of this from a government point of
view recently has been the rebuilding of the slip damage

(56:48):
road on the way to the Corimandal. So I think
it's State Highway twenty five, right, So hill comes down,
knocks out the road. They looked at it and they went, Okay,
what we've got to do is we're going to build
a bridge. That's going to be the fastest way. Everyone
just went, Yep, we're going to build a bridge, and
we've got to start now, and we're going to get
it done. And we think it'll be fifty six million

(57:09):
dollars or something like that, and we want to start.
So you get the contractors in, you procure the materials
straight away, and that was done under budget and ahead
of time. So because in the end, we all know
it's going to cost something, right, so by stretching out
the procurement process and getting lots of tenders and all
the rest of it, it's not going to get the

(57:30):
damn thing built any quicker. And it the longer it
takes to build anything, is that the the you know,
the price is going to go up, right, So I
think we are starting to see some changes to that model. Hey,
I've got to move on because I've got Jay waiting
on the line. We're going to talk painting. I appreciate
your comments, Johnny, I really do quick text on this

(57:52):
as well. Pete, You're wrong consultant's decision is final. That's
what they're paid for. Admit it. We all want to
sleep at night. See, I just get a different consultant.
I don't want a consultant that tells me to do
something other than what on the specification in this instance, right,
I know you pay for a consultant, and consultants are
good and worthwhile, and professional advice is good and worthwhile.

(58:15):
I have no doubt about that. But in this instance, here,
I find it illogical to go, here's a system, here's
a manufacturer's you know, a specification, an installation guide, and
a warranty based on that design. And I haven't checked,
but let's hope that it's got either code mark or
brand's appraisal. And if it's got code mark, it's except

(58:36):
it has to be accepted by a territorial authority. So
as a consultant, you then I don't think should go, well, actually,
I'm going to use that product, but I want you
to do this with it. I don't see that as
being the consultant's role. The consultant's role should be this
is a product that I think is durable, reliable, and
so on. I recommend that you use it and you
install it as per the instructions. We can talk about

(58:58):
that in the moment. I'm going to take a breath,
calm down for a bit, and then we're going to
talk painting with Jay. Oh wait nine two ninety two.
Text us any of your painting questions. Jay from Razine
is going to join us in just a moment, right
he Oh on the line this morning, bright and early, Jay,
are very good morning, Good morning mate.

Speaker 5 (59:17):
How are you.

Speaker 4 (59:18):
I'm pretty good, Thanks, I'm pretty good.

Speaker 13 (59:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (59:22):
I have to say the Razine stand at the Old
Home Show is looking pretty flash.

Speaker 14 (59:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 15 (59:26):
I was on the Eco decorated stand on Friday. It
was looking really good.

Speaker 4 (59:30):
I must have missed you because I was just on
the corner. Actually, can I ask, just chekily in the
test pots, are they still doing the little pebbles or the.

Speaker 15 (59:40):
Eminem's gay eminems? Not in the plastic pots anymore? In
a little carbo recyclable, brilliant and people don't confuse it
as paint.

Speaker 4 (59:53):
Yes, anyway, because it's funny. You know, you've been working
on the stand. I've been working on the stand at
these sorts of shows for years, and and there are
those people that come and they grab their bag and
then they're just hoovering a around looking for pens, lollies, pads.
You know, they're not going to talk to you for
more than two minutes.

Speaker 15 (01:00:12):
Friends, kids that do that. It's like Halloween. You get
plenty of information from everybody as well.

Speaker 4 (01:00:18):
So it's good, it's great fun. You know, I really
enjoy it. I have to say, In fact, I might
head back there again today for an hour or so. Right,
let's get into it. We've got a couple of doozies
for you. Let's start with well, not really an easy one,
but here's a good one. Pete Razine. Question, our bathroom
is tiles halfway up and then wallpaper to the ceiling

(01:00:39):
that needs replacing. Would we be better to paint instead?
As far as durability goes, the bathroom's well ventilated, So
let's say that. I mean, wallpaper can be okay in
bathrooms if you get the right one. But I'm just
thinking about if you're taking wallpaper off and painting, what
are the general steps?

Speaker 15 (01:00:59):
Okay, so get like say, wallpapers some more papers are
fine in bathrooms. But to answer the question, so you
strip the paper, some papers can come off really easily,
some not so much. So best bet is to soak it,
soak it and soak it some more. And once you've
got the paper off, you have an idea of what

(01:01:20):
the plaster board is going to look like behind, so
whether you can just sure seal it and paint it
or whether you need to put shore seal and then
a high build wallboard sealawn just to build the plaster
board back up to give it a nice surface from painting.

Speaker 4 (01:01:37):
And then if you're going to paint in a bathroom
over let's say plaster board, even if it's old or
you I'd go shore seal, so Pigman deep.

Speaker 15 (01:01:47):
Sealer, so it's share seal. You've got the water born
or the solvent born options.

Speaker 7 (01:01:51):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (01:01:52):
And then over the top space cooat lochinge, kitchen and
bathroom you've got space coat flat kitchen and bathroom or
luster pril if you want semigloss all three. You can
have the kitchen and bathroom version with the added mold defense.

Speaker 4 (01:02:06):
Yes, which, to be fair, is never a bad thing
in a bathroom.

Speaker 15 (01:02:10):
No, it sounds like they mentioned it's called good ventilation.

Speaker 4 (01:02:13):
Yeah, which is great. That's really important. Now this is
a challenging one and a little bit of a prickly one.
A renovated Ponsome villa that we have to repaint the
front of the house every year. Now they have used
razine alabasta. Outdoor house paint turns yellow after twelve months
due to the road pollution. The rest of the house

(01:02:33):
is perfect and it's lasted five years. What could they
do in terms of preventing the sort of the repaint
because of the road pollution.

Speaker 15 (01:02:42):
That's I'd say it's hard. Just maybe try and clean
it more. Yeah, I know where I am, I've got
a bit of bush behind me, We just get pollen.
Just build up the surfaces of the windows and the
weather boards and just forever out cleaning it to remove that. Also,

(01:03:05):
if you're in that sort of situation with road pollution
or just general dirt and grind, build up, sea salts
the other one. Between painting, sometimes you might have to
clean down before putting a.

Speaker 4 (01:03:17):
Second coat on, right, Okay, all right, so clean down
as well and maybe more regular washing.

Speaker 15 (01:03:24):
Yeah, I would, especially if you're in that sort of
environment where you're in a very busy area.

Speaker 4 (01:03:30):
Yes, with a lot of road road grind, Yeah, absolutely, Hey,
just going back to the wallpaper for a second, Is
there a product available to help remove vinyl wallpaper? Or
if there isn't, what's the best way to remove vinyl wallpaper?

Speaker 15 (01:03:47):
Again, as far there is wallpaper strippers, there's steamers. Like
I say, some papers, some of the newer papers actually
strip off really well. Some of the older stuff it
can come off in like postage stamp size, and it's
just very Some can be really easy and some are
just paying for in a very tedious right. Like I say,

(01:04:10):
I had like soak it, so get and soak it
some more. Yeah, it does really help.

Speaker 7 (01:04:15):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:04:16):
Hey, Pete asked Jay about rust coming through on brand
new nails being put into weather boards just months after.
What's the process for preventing further rust?

Speaker 5 (01:04:27):
Now?

Speaker 4 (01:04:28):
Can I just jump in for a second and go
I'd be really concerned that in fact, the weather boards
haven't been fastened with nails that are either not galvanized
or not stainless steel, in which case they've probably got
a bigger problem. But in general, like even I've got it,
I repainted six seven years ago. It's an old house

(01:04:51):
in a couple of locations. I'm just starting to get
a little bit of rust coming through on the head
of the nail. So in that sense, what would I do?

Speaker 15 (01:04:59):
I agree with what you said sort of with Yeah,
it's chances are it's the fixings that quick Always make
sure you're using the right fixings for the right area.

Speaker 4 (01:05:09):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (01:05:10):
But GP metal primer a spot prime the areas obviously
when you're repainting. If there's rusty nails or fixing or
rusty nails, remove them if you can, or punch them
if you can't, and then spot prime those areas just
to stop that from sort of coming through so quickly. Yes,

(01:05:30):
in your situation, now, yeah, it's you can clean it.
Sometimes you can sort of clean the surface and it
can remove a fair bit of it, or it's spot
prime in the areas, like I say, with GP Metal
Primer and then repaint over the top.

Speaker 4 (01:05:43):
Yeah, brilliant. Now morning, any suggestions for removing a film
forming stain from a queler dick from Paul?

Speaker 15 (01:05:54):
Why would you put that stain on the deck in
the first place. So, filming stains when they start fell
and break down, it's similar to paint. It starts flalying
off and coming off in the sort of sharp edges
and areas, and you'd you'd be looking pretty much the
same as you would be if it was painted. So

(01:06:15):
you could use a stripper, you could stand it, scrape it,
and then use a penetrating stain once you've put it
all off.

Speaker 4 (01:06:27):
Yikes, right, so listen from that one, don't or film
forming stains are good for certain areas, but for somewhere
that's likely to require maintenance, it makes the maintenance more difficult.

Speaker 5 (01:06:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 15 (01:06:43):
It's also there's not so many film forming stains on
the market now. I think most of them are generally
penetrating stains. Yes, like the raisine woodsmen. I mean if
you once you've removed everything off the coiler deck, then
we've got a coiler stain that ends up looking really good.

Speaker 4 (01:06:57):
One could I use the coiler stain on vitings.

Speaker 15 (01:07:04):
I've used it on pine so and it ends up
looking really good.

Speaker 5 (01:07:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 15 (01:07:09):
Vtex obviously is really hard, so you've got to let
it weather for a few months before you you do
stain it, right, whether clean it down with timber and
deck quash, and then once that strive, Yes, you should
be fine. It's the same as everything else. If I'd say,
try to test area somewhere and just well, but it
shouldn't shouldn't have an issue, So asking for.

Speaker 4 (01:07:30):
A friend this particular deck that might have been withered
for four years now, you know, standing to get a
little bit of mold growth.

Speaker 5 (01:07:38):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:07:38):
It's one of those classic ones where the client goes, oh, look,
I want it to weather off and I like it
when it goes a bit gray. But now they're looking
at it going, oh, I've got mold growth on my
untreated timber decking. Now it's not going to impact necessarily
on the timber, but over time I think it'll cause
more issues. So prepping that sort of area and putting
a penetrating oil stain on it, what's my process?

Speaker 15 (01:08:00):
That was the main question I got asked on Friday
on Nico Deco the standards. Every question was around mold
growth and stains. So also we've got the razine, moss
and mold killers for treating moss, mold, algae and all
that sort of growth that you get, especially this time
of year. I'm just looking at my areas at the moment,

(01:08:22):
just finding jobs to do today. So once that's all treated,
you've then got a choice of the razine Woodsman decking stain,
or you've got the furniture and decking oil. You've got
the cooler timber stain, you've got the woodsman would all
Solvent born, all of those you can use on decks

(01:08:43):
if you're going to stain it. Okay, the best brush
for staining, honestly is the power deck Master on an
extension poll. It's so quick and easy to apply. Yeah,
just try and avoid doing it in direct sun so
the stain can and doesn't dry on your surface.

Speaker 4 (01:09:03):
Yeah, brilliant, All right, fantastic, good you'll love this one
for our lass text. It's not even a question. I
have done so many touch ups with free paint samples,
props pots. She ain't funny, says Chris. It's fantastic right, Hey,
thanks very much for your time. You're not back at
the stand today.

Speaker 15 (01:09:22):
Day off today, day off today yet around the house
all right, Rip.

Speaker 4 (01:09:26):
And to have a good day. Thank you Jay for
more advice, of course, just check out the team, go
and talk to them, super experienced, super knowledgeable at your
Razine color shops. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty.
We're back into your calls on all things building and construction.
Back after the break quick texts that came in just
after Jay went. But I'll see if I can answer
this one, Maria. What paint should we use on bricks

(01:09:48):
if there are any type of brick, Really, I would
use a shure seal, so a pigmented sealer for the
first coat. That's your primer that'll key in, and then
whatever crylics you want to use Lumberside or Sonics, et
cetera over the top of that. But that first coat
is seen. You have to get that right, and that's
got to be a pigmented seiler. Cody, A very good

(01:10:11):
morning to you.

Speaker 3 (01:10:12):
Very good mon to you as well.

Speaker 6 (01:10:14):
Peter.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
Can I ask you about a problem with the gutter?

Speaker 9 (01:10:18):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (01:10:20):
Yeah, it is a true story house and we have
a persistent problem with the gutter getting blocked. In fact,
we had to use two coming companies two weeks apart
to create it. We don't know whether the first company
did a proper job. We saw in a neighbor's house
a type of gutter guard which is a flat seat

(01:10:44):
with holes in it. At one end it goes under
the tile and the other end covers the gutter. Yes,
is it a good system to use?

Speaker 5 (01:10:57):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:10:58):
It is so you've got a concrete tile roof, and yeah, okay,
so what you need in that sense that system goes
over the first tile and then tucks underneath the row
of the tiles above. So and obviously the blockages are
being caused by debris from trees, from overhanging trees. Yeah okay, Hey, look,

(01:11:21):
it's also not wrong to suggest that you maybe trim
some of those trees back, right, which you're entitled to do.

Speaker 3 (01:11:28):
Can you the neighbors to house trees? So we have
mid sack hitting the head on a brick quid to
get them to come to the party.

Speaker 4 (01:11:36):
But are the branches that impact your roof hanging over
your boundary?

Speaker 3 (01:11:42):
No, it is by the leaves getting brawn by the ride.

Speaker 4 (01:11:45):
Okay, all right, because anything that hangs over the boundary,
you as the homeowner, as the property owner, are entitled
to remove, right.

Speaker 14 (01:11:53):
So.

Speaker 4 (01:11:55):
Just pointing that out. But yeah, systems like that, So
that's like a screen. So what happens is the debris
lands on the roof, the leaf debris lands on the
roof gets pushed down by the rain or gravity, and
then rather than sitting in the spouting, it goes over.
But as the rain comes down, it percolates through those
holes and drops into your spouting. So yes, all of

(01:12:17):
those systems like that will solve your problem, because this
is one of the challenges.

Speaker 3 (01:12:23):
Isn't hanging on to our property?

Speaker 4 (01:12:25):
Yep?

Speaker 3 (01:12:26):
We are to get the permission the all of the
tree to No, No, you.

Speaker 4 (01:12:33):
Don't so anything that's only over your boundary, right. You
have to be very clear. You can't trim back onto
their property. But anything take a line straight up from
your boundary. Anything that's overhanging you can remove. Interestingly enough,
you also have to put the branches back on the
neighbor's property because I think otherwise it could be considered

(01:12:57):
theft that you're stealing their branches. Right, so you put
it back, and you don't as best I understand it,
you don't have to ask permission of that, right. Okay,
my pleasure. You have a great day, Take care all.

Speaker 6 (01:13:14):
Right, bye.

Speaker 4 (01:13:14):
By then your news talks, there'd be Pete wolf camp
with you this morning, oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty
talking all things building, construction and every now and then
a little bit of neighborly advice. I'm on pretty solid ground.
So if there are branches that are hanging over from
the neighbor. You're entitled as the homeowner property owner to
remove those branches. But I understand that it is quite
clear in the legislation you are to return those to

(01:13:38):
the person from whence they came. They are, after all,
your neighbors branches, so give them back to be fair.
It happened to me a couple of years ago, and
I was a little bit surprised.

Speaker 9 (01:13:48):
I was.

Speaker 4 (01:13:49):
I just kind of felt, gosh, that's a bit cheeky.
You know, you've you've trimmed some branches and then you're
throwing them back on my side. But apparently that's the rules.
Eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call
take short break back in a moment. Calls or lines
are free right now, so give us a call. Oh,
eight hundred eighty ten eighty. Happy to talk a little
bit more about the old consultant thing that was a

(01:14:09):
big topic about half an hour ago, as well anything
to do with building construction, product selection regulation. We'll talk
about all things building here on the show. Eight hundred
eighty ten eighty number, your news talks. He'd be ten
minutes away from eight o'clock. Remember, in the next hour
rud climb passed were into the garden with RUDD eight

(01:14:29):
hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. During
the break, I was having a look. I've been captivated
by this story during the week about the Wellington City
Council spending five hundred and sixty two, nine hundred and
forty two dollars on the cycle rack. Well, it wasn't
just the cycle rack or the shelter for the bikes.

(01:14:50):
That included some civil works as well in terms of
roadway realignment and the installation of a cycle path. And
then it's got the Contracting Limited who charged three hundred thousand,
Ara Shell who the design and supply so eighty five
thousand dollars, the civil design and construction monitoring thirty six

(01:15:18):
thousand dollars, their internal labor thirty four thousand dollars, Wellington
Electricity twenty seven thousand dollars. The bi cracks themselves were
twenty six thousand. So I wonder whether the shelter is
one part of it, and then the bike rack is
another part of it. Then there's the CCTV cameras nineteen
thousand dollars. Then there's the lighting assessment and supply six

(01:15:39):
thousand dollars. There's a rubbishment two four hundred dollars for
a rubbishment, and then a building consent exemption fee that
they had to pay themselves nine hundred and twenty one.
That's the cheapest bit of the whole project, not having
to get a building consent for it. I'll tell you
what on the old CCTV camera thing, I got some

(01:16:03):
cameras and stalls, it's twelve hundred bucks. Yeah, exactly right, Kim,
Good morning.

Speaker 7 (01:16:14):
You, Good morning hey. I was just picking up on
your conversation around trees and then when the limb is
over your boundary, there is technically the adjoining owners.

Speaker 5 (01:16:27):
He owns it.

Speaker 7 (01:16:28):
But we're in a situation where we're quite a large
tree and branch fell and damaged his each on his house.
So does it techniqually your.

Speaker 4 (01:16:37):
True Yes, your tree and it fell and damaged your
neighbour's property.

Speaker 7 (01:16:43):
Yep, just a branch, not the tree. It's the branch
in a storm. So I'm just wondering, you know, and
I'm just curious, and you may not have the answer,
but if that the limb of the tree that was
on his side hit his outr each, does that mean
that the responsibility to appear those ease would sit on

(01:17:04):
the adjoining owner.

Speaker 4 (01:17:08):
But it's your tree that fell and caused the damage,
So I would have thought the owner would likely knock
on your door and go, hey, Sunshine, you've got to
at least chip in for some of the costs.

Speaker 7 (01:17:20):
Well, there's things that you did say that technically they own.
It's over the boundary that they technically own that particular.

Speaker 4 (01:17:27):
No, no, no, sorry, I think that what I was
trying to say is that the apparently what you're supposed
to do is return the branches that you've cut off
back to the owner, right, so basically throw them back
over the fence into the neighbour's yard. And in that sense,
that's because it's their tree and you've removed a section

(01:17:50):
of their tree and you take it back. That wouldn't
extend to the fact that because your branch hangs over
that suddenly your neighbor owns that branch. They don't you
still own it, and something that you owned has caused
damage to a neighbor. I think of it if it
happened to me, And I know we've got a large
Bodkawa tree on the front of our property now that

(01:18:11):
actually overhangs my neighbor. But they're quite happy with the tree.
It adds, you know, the birds are in it and
all the rest of it. Right, we both like it,
and so I've recently had the canopy reduced. But still
there's one limb that does extend over to my neighbor's property.
I'm cognizant of it, and I know that they accept it.
But if it fell and damaged I don't know, a

(01:18:32):
garden ornament or something like that, I would feel that
I had some responsibility to replace it.

Speaker 7 (01:18:39):
Yeah. Yeah, Well it's interesting because you know the theory
of if it's landa on his side and he owns it,
then I can't I can't take it back.

Speaker 5 (01:18:47):
It's it's well no, no.

Speaker 4 (01:18:50):
No, it's it's because it's your tree, right, it's attached
to your tree, and it left your tree and damaged
his spouting or facia. I would say that the responsibility
is yours.

Speaker 7 (01:19:04):
Yeah, I would say, yeah, I don't doubt that. I
was just curious picking up on your comment.

Speaker 4 (01:19:12):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I'm just it's very much just
into like I was a bit surprised when another instance
branches ended up back on my property right, and I'm like, oh,
I wonder what that's about. And then I have understood
from years of experience that that is the requirement is
that you hand them back. But I would say that
if it's your tree that's fallen and cause damage to

(01:19:34):
your neighbor or broken off, you would be responsible because
you own it in the same way. Just quickly before
we go the break, There's often been that discussion about
what happens when my neighbors trees grow up and impede
my view. For example, so you move into a house
and ten years later the trees blocked your view of
the water. Through the property law or the Property Act,

(01:19:55):
you can seek redress through that to have your neighbor
reduce the size of the tree so that you can
enjoy the view which was inherent in you purchasing that property.
But that's a whole separate thing. It is on my
list of experts to get into the studio or to
get on the line is to go, let's do fencing
Act and Property Act as it relates to trees, to

(01:20:17):
get some advice. So I'll put that on my list.
Thank you very much for you call Kim. Speaking of
things that were on my list. I mentioned some time
ago that I had reached out to the new or
not so new now Minister for Housing and Construction, that
is the honorable Chris Pink, and through his office, we've

(01:20:37):
arranged to do an interview this coming week, which I
don't think i'll have time to put on next Sunday,
but the following Sunday will broadcast that interview. So really
looking forward to meeting him. I've met at a couple
of conferences and in fact, yeah, so we'll do that
with Chris Pink soon. Righty, oh, good morning, Welcome back
to the program. My name's Pete wolf Camp at the

(01:20:57):
Resident Builder and I'm here till nine o'clock. We're talking
building until eight thirty this morning, which is I don't know,
a bear twenty two minutes away thereabouts, and then we
are into the garden with red kline past. We could
be talking trees with Rudd, because that is his specialty
as it happens, but this is more around the legal stuff.

(01:21:17):
I seem to have started a firestorm, to be fair,
in terms of the text messages, which is really intriguing.
Just my comment about you know, trimming a neighbor's tree
so my understanding is that if it overhangs your property,
you as the property owner, have the right to remove
those branches. You then return those branches to neighbor because

(01:21:42):
they are their branches. That's the thinking behind that. I
kind of get that. And then we got onto talking
with Kim before the break about well, what happens if
one of a branch from a tree that's on my
property falls and damages my neighbor's property and someone has
text through and said, hey, look now where is it.
I've lost the text. Here we go. As far as

(01:22:04):
insurance is concerned, I believe we'll have to check this out.
If a branch of my tree damages my neighbor's property,
it is not my responsibility, as it was an act
of God. Interesting. That's going to be really interesting in
terms of there was a case about, I don't know

(01:22:26):
sometime in the last six months, let's say, where a
large eucalyptus tree which is on a council reserve blew
over and crashed through the car port and damage to
car of the adjoining property. Interestingly enough, the owners of
that property had said to counsel, I think for the
last almost two years, there's a problem with the tree,

(01:22:46):
you should come and remove it. They had been out, No,
there's not a problem with the tree. Then they'd come
back and apparently council mysteriously had just decided to remove
it in the week before the tree fell over and
did all of that damage. Now, would ensurers consider that
an act of God and not go to council and go, actually,
we're going to seek a contribution from you the damage
to the tree or not. That would be an interesting one. Yes, Pete,

(01:23:11):
says another Texter. Let's talk neighbors in their trees. I've
got a landlord next a landlord next door destroying my
life with his tree roots breaking up the boundary fence
and the block wall. Very stressful. I can imagine that
is the case. I have to say I'd take a
fairly mercenary approach to that, and just any branch or

(01:23:32):
root that extended onto my property, I'd be quite happy
to take that out to be fair. Um, where's another one. Ah,
here we go.

Speaker 10 (01:23:42):
Ah.

Speaker 4 (01:23:43):
If a limb from the tree overhangs, then am I
legally allowed to enter my neighbor's property to remove it
without any consultation to eliminate the possibility that it will
fall and cause further damage. I don't think so as
it's clear cut. I don't think it's as clear cut
as you say. I don't think you're allowed to enter
your neighbor's property to remove the branch. You can only
remove what hangs over the boundary, and you need to

(01:24:05):
do that from your own property, because I mean, if
you enter without permission, isn't that just trespass. So I
think it's what you can reach from your property and
only what hangs over the boundary, So you can't lean
in and trim more than you're entitled to. It's strictly
on the boundary. An arborist has text as well and said, hey, look,

(01:24:29):
just heads up. He said, good advice on the tree,
always touch on the key. Well, this is a separate one.
Always touch a key message, talk to your neighbors. Not
always easy, I know, but it's important from the start.
Thank you Jonathan for that. And yes, the arborist said, hey, look,
there's also a requirement where if you do remove some branches,

(01:24:50):
and they're the ones that you're legally entitled to do
because they're on your property, then you also need to
do it in such a way that it doesn't cause
damage to the tree, so if you then end up
killing the tree by removing all of those branches, you
might be held liable for that. I am on the
hunt for a lawyer who could speak to us from

(01:25:10):
a professional point of view, and I've done a little
bit of digging around. But to be fair, if you
know someone, feel free to take the number. A suggestion
for someone who would be good to talk to on
this oh eight is that number to call tom A
very good morning, Good morning, sir.

Speaker 8 (01:25:29):
I just picked up when you mentioned this tree. Yes,
about thirty five years ago I planted a eucalyptus green
gun and a while back it fellow joined right away,
a fellow that took two lines out yep and banged
part of the neighbor's house. The state insurance would pay

(01:25:50):
for half the fence.

Speaker 7 (01:25:53):
And not the.

Speaker 8 (01:25:57):
The damage to the roof on next door, which still
hasn't been fixed in two years. They said it was
next to God, so it's exactly like you said. But
that's the insurance companies. But how the hell can they
prove that God did it, because I don't think he's

(01:26:18):
working now because look at Putin and Russia and.

Speaker 4 (01:26:22):
Yeah, it is an intriguing sort of hangover in our
language that if that's still in insurance documents today, you know,
given that we are increasingly a secular society, that we
still include in that, don't they call it all the
nature resulted or something like that. I'm intrigued by your

(01:26:43):
situation though, where you know, if a tree that's on
your property falls damages your neighbor, Okay, we can call
that an act of God if that's what's written in
the insurance policy.

Speaker 8 (01:26:54):
Anything to blame anybody else?

Speaker 4 (01:26:59):
Oh, that's fantastic. I mean those eucalypse are notorious for
just sort of shedding branches and high winds and that
sort of thing. Let's stick to planting natives, I think
is the answer there. Hey, nice of you to call
Tom all the very best to you, eight hundred and
eighty ten eighty the number to call Chris, Good morning
to you.

Speaker 10 (01:27:20):
Yeah, good morning, Pete. Kind of playing Givil's advocate about
right order another angle to this whole tree over the boundary. Yes,
so my tree over the boundary breaks off, damages neighbors property. Yes,
I couldn't make it the argument that it was actually
his fault, right he can? He can maintain it, he can.

Speaker 8 (01:27:47):
Come it back.

Speaker 10 (01:27:47):
Yes, make sure I can't. I'm not an as to
his property without asking.

Speaker 4 (01:27:53):
Yes, yeah, no, that's argument very much my tree.

Speaker 10 (01:28:00):
But it's on his property. If it's like to the
damage his house, it is responsibility. And can I have
the back pleasing you?

Speaker 6 (01:28:07):
Bum?

Speaker 10 (01:28:10):
Yeah, so I could, you know, I can kind of
see both sides. I think the best thing here has
talked to you. Make sure you both know what's going.
Don't worry about insurance company.

Speaker 4 (01:28:26):
I'll tell you what the good users. Thanks very much
for that, Chris. We've got Graham who has some fifty
years insurance experience, and you want to comment about this
Act of God legalities. Good morning, Graham, Good morning.

Speaker 14 (01:28:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (01:28:40):
I've said just over fifty years, and I can honestly say,
and none of the policies have ever found the words
Act of God.

Speaker 4 (01:28:48):
Right, yeah, I mean, look at it was there in
a text. So what would they generally be regarded as
just nature related or natural.

Speaker 16 (01:28:59):
We're quite lucky in museum and our policies are much
easier to understand than some of the overseas ones. Sure
there may be in some of the overseas policies in
active God, but I've never found it in all the
policies I've dealt with them fifty years.

Speaker 4 (01:29:13):
Well, I'll take your word for it, because it sounds like.

Speaker 16 (01:29:16):
The policy covers things blowing, over falling, over wind damage.

Speaker 5 (01:29:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:29:23):
Would you offer up an opinion then, about the situation
where you know, we've talked about the situation where you know,
let's say I've got a tree on my property and
it's overhanging my neighbors and we don't seem to have
a problem with that. Wind blows, it falls over, and
it crashes through the corner of the verandah, let's say.

Speaker 16 (01:29:43):
Most policies, yea, most policies would cover ather, removal of
the tree from the damaged area, and the repair of
the damaged property. The insurance company may choose to bring
an action against the owner of the tree, but the

(01:30:04):
owners of proof would be such a they probably wouldn't
bother right.

Speaker 4 (01:30:08):
So typically, would let's say I'm the owner of the
tree and it's caused damage. Would my insurance policy pay
out for my neighbour's damage or would the insurance policy
held by my neighbor cover that damage? And I wouldn't
be held responsible at all?

Speaker 16 (01:30:24):
Okay, So there's two aspects. The damage to the property
is covered by the property owner whose property is damaged,
and this is the big If the tree owner has
been negligent, and that's the keyword, has to have been negligent,

(01:30:45):
their policy would cover the illegal liability for damage to
other people's property. But proving that negligence is very, very difficult.

Speaker 4 (01:30:56):
So you're saying that if they've been negligent, I you know,
I look out at my tree. I can see that
all of the leaves have fallen off, the branches rotten,
and I don't do anything about it. Wind comes blows
it over, it damages my neighbor's property. Now I could
be seen as being negligent in that instance. You're saying
that only if I'm negligent would the insurance policy cover that.

(01:31:19):
If I'm not negligent, it wouldn't cover it. Am I
getting that right?

Speaker 7 (01:31:23):
No?

Speaker 15 (01:31:23):
No.

Speaker 16 (01:31:24):
In fact, if you weren't by law, if you weren't negligent,
there is no legal liability on you. So it's a
bit like running into the back of someone's car. You
were legally liable because you're a negligent. The same thing
happens with house insurance. You have to have done something wrong.

Speaker 4 (01:31:42):
Or no one yes, going to prove that.

Speaker 16 (01:31:47):
Fascinating And that's where the insurance companies in trying to
bring an action against the neighbor. How do you prove that? Hmm,
this is where it becomes difficult.

Speaker 4 (01:32:02):
Right, how fascinating?

Speaker 5 (01:32:04):
Yeah?

Speaker 16 (01:32:05):
And finally ye, good stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:32:12):
Actually for people that are unsure what that is translated,
that means fight the good fight, which is the motto
of De Lacel College, which I presume you're an old
boy of.

Speaker 9 (01:32:23):
And so.

Speaker 4 (01:32:26):
Right, yes, and I was hoping, but I don't think
I'm going to make it. There is a mass at
ten o'clock in the chapel at de Larcell today to
mark the beginning of a new Old Boys Association, and
I thought I could get there, but I can't. But
I'm I've signed up for the New Old Boys Association
and Graham, maybe you'd like to do the same.

Speaker 16 (01:32:47):
Yeah, Wellington, So I'm not coming to the mess No fair.

Speaker 4 (01:32:50):
Enough to a hey, lovely to talk to you. Take
care by then, yes, you can imagine what was like
going to a Catholic secondary school with a bottom certain
cinema as the as the fight the good fight. We
have to say times took that quite literally. It is

(01:33:10):
eighteen let's call it nineteen minutes after eight we'll take
a short break. We'll try and squeeze in a couple
more calls before we jump into the garden with a
rod climb pasta at eight point thirty this morning, I
will put in a quick plug for my old school then.
So I went to De Lasal College which is in
Magari in South Auckland, and in fact I left there
in jeep as nineteen eighty four was my last year

(01:33:33):
at school. So any old boys that might be listening,
go to social media and have a bit of a
search and if you're inclined, there's sort of a rejuvenated
Old Boys Association which is being structured at the moment.
So like I say, there was a there's going to
be mess in the chapel which I can remember being built.
I was there at the time, and then morning tea

(01:33:56):
and a get together in a bit of an organization.
But you can sign up online like I did this
week to be part of the Old Boys Association for
Dela Salts and Margli. Let's a couple of last minute calls.
Hannah a very good morning.

Speaker 17 (01:34:11):
Oh, good morning. How are you going?

Speaker 4 (01:34:13):
Very well? Thank you and you good.

Speaker 9 (01:34:15):
Thanks.

Speaker 17 (01:34:16):
I could give a question about our garage. So we
put our house last year. We live on a hill
and we've got a garage that technically the house in
front of us our neighbor. They're in between our house
and our garage. Our garage is a separate title, which
is kind of Yeah, it looks like our garage.

Speaker 5 (01:34:37):
Is on their property.

Speaker 17 (01:34:38):
It is unusual that our house was bold and I
guess that they configure it. So the house in front
has just been bought, so it was empty when we
bought our house. And the garage that we've got there
lawn is kind of like it's ended up over the years,
pushing into our garage and it's like they're using our

(01:34:58):
garage as a retaining wall. Yes, but it's not a
retaining wall. It's just a garage and it's pushing in
all the walls of the garage with it, and so
we just want to know if it's like our I
guess whose responsibility it is to.

Speaker 9 (01:35:13):
Move that dirt?

Speaker 4 (01:35:15):
Okay. I would imagine that it goes down to where
the boundary is, so and I would have thought that
unless the garage had a retaining wall designed in it
because it's on the boundary, so in terms of fire
rating and those sorts of things, you know, I would go,

(01:35:35):
if you know where the boundary pigs are now, and
my assumption would be that the boundary would be at
least a meter away from the edge of the gag
is true.

Speaker 17 (01:35:45):
We've seen on the plans that there's actually meant to
be a meter around it because there's an old door,
so there used to be able to walk into the
garage from the side. Okay, but obviously over time someone
surely said, oh, this is okay for you to your.

Speaker 4 (01:35:57):
Dirty Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 17 (01:35:59):
I mean, you know, because it's one hundred and twenty
years old, obviously there's a lot of history that we
don't know about.

Speaker 4 (01:36:04):
Yep. Yeah, I think it comes down to the boundary.
And then once you've established the boundaries, either by finding
the existing legal boundary markers that will either be a
boundary peg or a marker in the ground, then you
could establish a stringline and say this is where the
boundary is. And what you might find is that you

(01:36:25):
then just say to the neighbor, I'm going to remove
the soil and return it, or maybe you don't even
want to have the argument. Just remove the soil, right,
and then you look, it sounds like it's probably a
wise idea to then talk to the neighbor about getting
a fence built and possibly the.

Speaker 17 (01:36:42):
Bottom when we came to us and they did say
where you want to build a fence around it? And
they didn't even say would you consider selling us?

Speaker 7 (01:36:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 17 (01:36:51):
Yeah, that's why we kind of just wanted to know,
you know, whose responsibility things are. If we did want
to build a retaining war would that be our responsibility
because it's protecting our garage or their responsibility because it's
retaining the ad dirt.

Speaker 4 (01:37:06):
Well, chances are you could argue that when the garage
was built, the dirt wasn't as high as it was,
because then you couldn't have built the garage, right, So
the arrival of the dirt is after the arrival of
the garage, and it was probably put there by the neighbor,
but it wouldn't have been put there by this neighbor.
So again it becomes a discussion thing, doesn't it where
you go? Actually, I tell you what, let's both contribute

(01:37:28):
to the cost of the fence, and you probably have
to do so through the Fencing Act anyway. Then there's
going to be some work involved in retaining which you know,
again would be reasonable to share that cost between both
and maybe you cover the cost of removal of that
soil because that's purely for your benefit. It's going to
be a discussion. Yeah, yeah, all right, yeah, have a

(01:37:49):
great day all of this. You take care all the best,
by Bayh. We're going to try and squeeze in one
really quick call from you, Gwin super quick. Sorry mate, yep.

Speaker 14 (01:38:03):
I was reading an article the other day that was
talking about rich fitted insulation and obviously if that insulations
either in celling or under.

Speaker 6 (01:38:12):
Floor, you don't need a building permit, correct.

Speaker 14 (01:38:16):
But if it's in walls you do. And then the
issue where if you're putting in sort of like foams
or blowing in things into the wall cavity, that insulation
may end up either completely filling up what was previously
an air.

Speaker 15 (01:38:36):
Cavity, which would obviously help keep it dry.

Speaker 14 (01:38:40):
And then the issue that may cause absorption or retention
of moisture in that cavity space and actually perhaps cause
more of a problem than what you're actually trying to
resolve in that you've got water moisture being whipped from
the outside clanning through to inside walls and you could

(01:39:04):
end up with moisture and so wolves mold all that.

Speaker 5 (01:39:08):
Then, Yes, I just.

Speaker 14 (01:39:10):
Thought it was a very interesting article.

Speaker 4 (01:39:12):
And this wasn't the article and stuff this week. Yeah, yeah,
I tell you what. I had a look at that,
and I actually sent it on to some people for
review because some of the claims there are mischievous at
best and misleading. So I think you've got to really
drill down into the information about that, and particularly some

(01:39:34):
of the comments and claims made in that particular article.
I saw it this week as well, and I'll tell
you what the because it mentioned SIPs panels, right, So
if I don't know if you're in LinkedIn, go to LinkedIn,
go to either Nick Hubbard's page or Formance's page, and
they've produced a response to that. If you want to
look at it. Maybe we'll pick it up next week

(01:39:56):
on the show. Let's do that, Gwen, thanks very much
for your call. We are going to jump into the garden,
where it is always peaceful and pleasant. Nothing bad happens
in a garden room.

Speaker 7 (01:40:10):
Ever.

Speaker 4 (01:40:11):
Never nobody eats each other. It takes each other.

Speaker 14 (01:40:14):
That's right to entry.

Speaker 4 (01:40:16):
But I love the best comment was talk to your neighbors.

Speaker 2 (01:40:21):
It's so important to.

Speaker 4 (01:40:22):
Make that so easy. Well, right now, I think we
need to take a break and then we'll talk to you.
All right, let's do it now.

Speaker 1 (01:40:31):
For more from the Resident Builder with Peter Wolfcamp, listen
live to news talks that'd be on Sunday mornings from six,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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