01 October 2024
By Building Business
The high court ordered a Christchurch builder and his company to pay more than $430,000 for a renovation project that went off the rails due to multiple blunders, cost overruns and a blown-out schedule for an 8-week project that went on for 16 months.
Christchurch homeowners commissioned the Christchurch LBP builder and his company to undertake renovations on their house, a 347m3 dwelling of timber-framed construction on a concrete slab, built in 1985.
The house was clad with red bricks and horizontal kahikatea weatherboards, with long-run roofing and butynol above aluminium dormer windows. The owners signed a certified builders contract with the building company to carry out work that included:
What went wrong?
In initial discussions with the homeowners, the builder said that building consent was not required because it was a renovation project that did not involve major structural work. Expert witnesses disagreed, and the council confirmed a consent should have been sought before building work began.
In his summary, the judge said the builder and his company should pay $400,852.75 to the homeowners for remedial work, including removing and replacing the cladding, a further $30,000 in compensation, and legal costs.
He wrote in his judgement that “a builder has a personal duty of care to a building owner to meet the standards of a reasonable builder when engaging in building work. That is so whether they are an employee, a director of a company or are self-employed.”
Christchurch homeowners commissioned the Christchurch LBP builder and his company to undertake renovations on their house, a 347m3 dwelling of timber-framed construction on a concrete slab, built in 1985.
The house was clad with red bricks and horizontal kahikatea weatherboards, with long-run roofing and butynol above aluminium dormer windows. The owners signed a certified builders contract with the building company to carry out work that included:
- Replacing timber cladding
- Replacing all exterior windows
- Lifting roofing iron, removing roofing nails and replacing them with screws
- Placing spray foam insulation into all exterior walls where the cladding is being replaced and around dormer windows
- Replacing all butynol roofing
What went wrong?
- The 8-week project ended up taking 16 months
- Fixed price exceeded
- The builder installed new 200 mm horizontal weatherboard directly to existing framing without a cavity system, ignoring the manufacturer’s guidelines, voiding the manufacturer’s warranty and in breach of NZBC requirements
- Sub-contractors were not paid on time, leading to walk-offs
- Holes for external cladding drilled through cladding joints instead of the middle of the boards
- Failed to install pans/trays when installing windows resulting in leaks
- Kitchen windows were installed out of square and would not open
“a builder has a personal duty of care to a building owner to meet the standards of a reasonable builder when engaging in building work."
In his summary, the judge said the builder and his company should pay $400,852.75 to the homeowners for remedial work, including removing and replacing the cladding, a further $30,000 in compensation, and legal costs.
He wrote in his judgement that “a builder has a personal duty of care to a building owner to meet the standards of a reasonable builder when engaging in building work. That is so whether they are an employee, a director of a company or are self-employed.”