Repairs

With the February 22 earthquake causing so much damage, the number of houses in this category changing (more of the pre-February 22 house moving over the $100,00 cap, and an wider geographical spread of properties entering this category), and EQC changing it's procedures, the information on this page has become far less relevant than it was. It has been retained, but significant changes made be needed in some week's time. (added 21 March).


Repairs will range from fixing a few cracks to fixing roofs, walls and foundations. Over time this page will be a pointer to people and other resources that can be used to independently:

  • assess what has happened to your house, 
  • assess what options there are to fix the damage,
  • assess the fixes that fletchers/insurance company proposed to use,
  • compare the proposal with what independent specialists recommend, and
  • check what has been done.

Part 1  -  People

Members of the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors are professionals with the expertise to assess buildings (but not a geotechnical assessment of the land) and are often used for pre-purchase inspections in real estate transactions. The Institute has a website here.   The things they look at in a survey are here.

Part 2  -  Publications

The best place to start is with the Department of Building and Housing's booklet Guidance on house repairs and reconstruction following the Canterbury earthquake - A summary of geotechnical and structural engineering recommendations to guide house repairs and reconstruction. It can be downloaded from here.
Despite the lengthy title it is a relatively short summary of events, issues relating to the land and what will be involved in repairing and rebuilding houses. The contents cover a range of house types and after a while you will get the hang of the layout and be able to skip the bits that don't relate to your house. For more details of the booklet check out the blog covering it dated 29 December.
Another useful guide is Winstone Wallboards Ltd. bulletin Guidelines for Repairing Gib Plasterboard Linings in Wind or Earthquake Damaged Properties. Make sure you are looking at their Technical Bulletin - Version 2, issued November 2010. It has been available at many hardware stores but was/is out of print. A copy can be downloaded from here.
This is a 4 page bulletin which helps identify different types of damage and how the gib board should be repaired or if it should be replaced.

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