Message from the Group Technical Manager

What can I get away with?

One New Zealand Certified Builder (NZCB) membership terminated and a twelve-month nightmare for the homeowner. This story does not have a happy ending...

In 2019, a NZCB member undertook a new build project which was doomed as soon as he stepped on site. Not because it was a difficult build, as it was quite the opposite. The site was a builders’ dream – a regular shaped dwelling on a sandy beach-front site, slightly off the beaten track.

The project was doomed from the start because the builder took the approach of “what can I get away with?” Unbelievably, it took quite some time before the question was asked of the builder “what the hell are you doing?”. Local council, a registered architect and an engineer had all given their approval, even though substitute materials had been used, workmanship was obviously of a poor standard and construction was not as per the consented plans.

The roof was on and the cedar cladding was being installed when the homeowner called NZCB with concerns that things did not look right.

What lessons were learnt? When I rang the builder to ask if the cladding was the only problem, he was blind to the noxious environment he had created for himself and assured me everything else was “mint” and there were no other defects.

I soon discovered that the builder’s attitude of “what can I get away with” was at times premeditated with the substitution of structural materials of a lower grade. The builder was given the opportunity to rectify these issues, however, the repairs were also doomed and described by another NZCB Builder as “as bad as it gets”. It got to the point where the mis-truths had to stop, and the council issued a ‘Notice to Fix’ to the builder, effectively shutting down the site. Don’t get me wrong, the builder was quite capable of producing a good result and had been a longstanding member of the Association with a clean record. Unfortunately, however, a good result was never going to happen on this job, because he had lost sight of several basic principles: i.e. understanding what the building contract required of the builder, the rules of being a Licensed Building Practitioner and, most of all, respecting the homeowner and the trust they placed in him to deliver a beautiful project they can be proud of.

To resolve this matter, it meant everybody had to take a loss. An outcome was negotiated, but to get there the homeowner spent every last dollar on building reports, lawyer’s advice and alternative accommodation. The builder also lost out as he dismantled the entire house back to a bare site. The homeowner, the builder and I all walked away wondering “how did it all go so wrong?”