ACOR—Setting the standards in the Remedial Industry
2019 may be remembered as a turning point for the NSW Construction industry with the advent of longanticipated building reforms, released in October, creating a new registration system from which developers will be forced to comply with "declared" building designs. However, the reforms apply only to buildings yet to be constructed whilst the scale of issues affecting existing building stock remains to be seen. NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler went as far as suggesting that owners could “spend more time” seeking out issues before they purchase a home but there remain numerous aggrieved situations where property owners, occupiers and investors have been left out of pocket. Rife with claims of building misconduct Strata corporations across Sydney are having to come to terms with a plethora of issues to remediate apartment stock. Below we discuss some of the most common ‘defects’ facing bodies corporate and what to look out for.
Magnesite floors As governments and the building industry focus on managing combustible cladding issues, another crisis is looming over the use of a flooring material known as magnesite. Peter Johnsson, Associate Principal at ACOR Consultants was interviewed by the AFR for an article published on 23 October 2019 stating, "The cost to fix this issue can range from $30,000 for an apartment on the low side to over $100,000 today… You could argue that magnesite is similar to faulty materials like flammable cladding, but because it's not a new building there's no current pressure for the government" Magnesite, which was commonly used as a floor topping or levelling product in the past, contains a binder. When magnesite absorbs water, the glue can leach into concrete floors and corrode steel reinforcement bars. The City Futures Research Centre at University of NSW said that in NSW alone there were more than 14,000 strata schemes containing more than 186,000 lots or units registered between 1961 and 1979.
Magnesite floor that has not been properly remediated
Magnesite floor remediation in action
ACOR has assisted hundreds of apartment owners over its 21-year history, including properties across Sydney. Typical costs to fix a complete block containing say 20 units could quickly escalate to over $1m in repairs. 1 Magnesite induced corrosion can be tricky to diagnose because it does not necessarily induce immediate spalling, whilst it is often hidden by floor covering. However, the repair work cannot be ignored as the corrosive effects may cause structural collapse. Unfortunately, it is often the case that even when identified as a problem the repair is handled incorrectly, with ill-qualified builders incorrectly ‘repairing’, resulting in early failure and usually needing repair of the failed repair within 3-5 years.
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SOURCE: BCRC, CITY FUTURES RESEARCH CENTRE UNSW
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