Leaky homes are houses that, due to poor design or incorrect installation of building materials, allow water to penetrate the building. The water is soaked up by the framing and due to the lack of a cavity system there is no air flow to dry the timber out. This in turn allows mould to grow on the timber which then rots. Houses that leak are most commonly built from the early 90s onwards. They are usually houses built using monolithic cladding systems and designs that include parapets, no eaves and cantilevered decks.

Though it can sometimes be hard to tell with an untrained eye whether your house leaks, there are a few tell-tail signs to look out for. These could be:

• Wet discoloured carpet
• Swollen skirting boards
• Cracks in the gib board
• Swollen gib board
• Soft and spongy window jambs

• Rotting timber can have a serious effect on the structural integrity of the building, with a special cause for concern with cantilevered decks.
• The other is the health risk imposed on the occupants living in the house. The mould growing in your leaky home produces a substance called mycotoxins, these mycotoxins attach to the mould spores and can be inhaled, ingested or transferred by skin contact causing mucus membrane irritation, skin rashes, nausea and a dry, hacking cough. For more information on the health risks imposed refer: www.moh.govt.nz

If you think your house leaks and it was built in the last 10 years you need to:

• Contact WHRS (Weathertight Homes Resolution Services) for a claims form that can be downloaded from their website. www.dbh.govt.nz/bringing-a-whrs-claim
• If your claim meets all the requirements then an assessor will come to your house and make a report.
• This report is then given to WHRS who will make a decision as to the eligibility of the claim.
• If found eligible, the claimant can then start the repairs and claim the cost at the end of the project, or proceed to resolution (via the weathertight homes tribunal for adjudication).
• Once you have decided to repair your leaky home you should get in contact with an architect to have plans drawn and submitted to the council for consent. When consent is granted contact us here at Forme Reclad for a price.

Depending on the size of the repair, you will usually move out of the house. A standard, the stand-alone house will on average take 10-12 weeks from start to finish to repair and re-clad.

• Scaffolding is first erected around the entire house and tarpaulins are used to keep the house watertight.
• Then the windows are removed and stored ready to be fitted with new jambs for the new cavity system.
• Next the old cladding is removed and disposed of.
• A timber certifier will come and assess the framing timber marking all the timber that is to be replaced.
• Repairs are then done and a timber preservative is painted on both new and existing framework and then wrapped in building paper.
• On completion of the job, Forme Reclad will issue you with a CCC (Code Compliance Certificate).
• A cavity is then constructed and the new cladding is fitted over.