600 square metres of leaks
We’ve discovered that full building shrink wraps are a game-changer in winter. Currently, we’re working on a leaky home recladding project in Christchurch, protected from the wind and rain by the wrap. The team is loving it!
The classic leaker is a flat butynol roofed house with internal gutters and a direct fixed cladding. In our experience, windows are the main culprit, with leaks developing between the jam and sills. Other junction areas like parapet flashings also cause their fair share of leaks. You’ll find houses like this dotted all over Christchurch, and over the years we’ve worked on plenty of them, but this one is something special.
A new lease of life for a grand Christchurch home
Our latest project is a grand old home with nearly 600 square metres of floor area over four levels. It was built in the 90s using the ‘concrete over chicken mesh’ cladding that was so popular, and such a disaster for so many homeowners all over New Zealand.
We began by removing the old cladding and all the windows, which took about two weeks because of the sheer scale of the house. Then once we got down to the plywood substrate, we identified where water had ingressed and deteriorated the structure. After replacing and treating all affected areas, we installed new windows throughout, reinstalled or renewed the ply, and replaced the old cladding with a beautiful new Resene Integra lightweight concrete cavity cladding system, accented with horizontal cedar cladding.
Despite this being one of the larger single-dwelling leaky home restoration jobs you’re ever likely to see, we finished the exterior work well ahead of schedule. Needless to say, our client appreciated that – as well as the fact that we’re obsessively tidy. In our book, there’s nothing that lets a job down more than a messy work site.
Specialists in leaky home recladding
Reclads on leaky homes are expensive jobs that involve multiple trades, draughtspeople, architects, and council consents. Due to their complexity, leaky home reclads are definitely not for every builder. It’s a specialist job that requires a particular set of skills – both to do the job and manage all the moving parts. But we’ve found that because we’re a one-stop-shop with a focus on meticulous craftsmanship, clear processes, and fantastic relationships, we’re able to deliver great results for our reclad clients.
If you have a leaky home or are thinking about buying one, these are the steps we go through to evaluate the scope and cost of doing the job.
- Get in touch to arrange a site visit to make an initial assessment. In most cases, this is a free visit.
- If you decide to engage us and accept our fee for scoping the job, we’ll return to do a more detailed inspection and take moisture readings.
- Then, based on those findings, our Quantity Surveyor will calculate a cost estimate for the project for you to consider.
We’re bringing new life to houses all over Christchurch
We’re constantly bringing leaky or earthquake-damaged houses back to life in Christchurch. If you’re interested in renovating a house as a new home for your family, or as a new investment property, we’d love to talk to you about the possibilities.
I’m Callum Francis, please either give me a call on 027 932 4158 or use our contact us below. I’m looking forward to working with you.