Leaky homes given clean bill of health

After 11 years of litigation and negotiation, the first repair job on a leaky housing development has been signed off.

CoveKinloch, the company managing remedial work on the Sacramento apartments on the corner of Chapel Road and Armoy Drive in Dannemora, has been awarded a code of compliance for units 47 to 93.

Out of the nine stages of the pro-ject, occupants from seven stages have returned to their homes while 17 apartments still have to be repaired.

Codes of compliance were first issued by independent certifiers in 2000 for the 153 units, a pool house and gymnasium.

But defects to external cladding were discovered in early 2002, with reports of cracking and failure of cement stopping of joints.

In 2003, property owners of the complex filed a $20 million lawsuit against developer Taradale and nine other defendants.

Residents won $11m in 2008 from some companies involved in the construction. This was after the Court of Appeal ruled the owners were not entitled to pursue a claim against local or central government for their contribution to the problems.

An estimate of $17.7m was put on the repair job, so owners were expected to provide a top-up between the funds received in the 2008 settlement and the total repair cost.

A loan agreement with an overseas financier was put in place.

It provided owners with the opportunity to have their units repaired.

When completed, they could refinance on the basis of updated valuations for the fully remediated complex or could sell their apartment at maximum value at that time.

However, no funds were drawn down. The Sacramento body corporate carried the costs internally for occupants unable to finance the balance, says Craig Leishman, the body corporate’s secretary.

A contract to repair the apartments was let to Canam Construction and work started in January last year.

Martyn Cleary, project manager for CoveKinloch, says savings have made it possible to do extra work, such as new roofs and cladding for the carports and garages, and an upgrade of the pool complex fencing.

While a code of compliance has been issued for units 47-93, certification is awaited for units 104-143.

Construction work on units 6-46 is expected to be completed in August, as are the pool house and garage/carport repairs.

“The project has gone fantastically,” Mr Leishman says.

“It’s great to be on time and under budget. That’s all we ever ask for and it doesn’t often happen. The end product looks fantastic.”

Remedial work has included removing roof and wall claddings, decks and windows.

This was done so decayed timber could be identified.

Timber being used is in some instances higher than code requirements and remaining timber is being treated with preservative.

New cavity cladding systems include painted weatherboard and STO exterior plaster cladding.

Also, roof lines have been modified to allow for soffits to replace the original parapets, which were found to be defective.

Mr Cleary says this was a complex job because they had to be aligned with adjoining apartments while making sure fire and structural issues were complied with.

New long-run corrugated steel roofs were installed on all units along with new decks, balustrades and tiling. Concrete tiles from the apartment roofs were salvaged and sold to a roofing company for reuse instead of being sent to landfill.

Structural steel and concrete stair access ways have replaced the decayed timber stairs.

As a result, multiple underground services had to be relocated, Mr Cleary says.

Ground levels have been lowered with pavement and drains relayed, and a structural and geotechnical engineer was engaged to report on one apartment’s structural foundations.

It was found the roots from a palm tree had caused the foundations to move. Consequently, the tree and its root system were removed and engineered fill used to stabilise the ground.

New roofs and claddings have been installed on garages and carports, while many of the apartments’ front doors were replaced as the timber was severely decayed.

As works progress, Mr Cleary says leaking water mains have been fixed. Also some of the previously used halogen lighting to the units was found to be a possible fire hazard. They are being replaced with new compliant light fittings.

Ongoing issues include ensuring health and safety is maintained for occupants who remain in units still to be started and those who have returned to completed units.

High winds over the past year affected some of the project’s scaffold and weather protection systems. Also, early in the project, some electrical cabling was stolen from open units being rebuilt but extra security measures “seem to have eliminated this issue”.