Construction experts warn leaky buildings that have been constructed with improper waterproofing are reaching 'pandemic proportions' in what some fear could take a catastrophic building collapse before the government improves building practices.
"It was soaking. It wasn't just wet," Jenna Alexander said.
The report also showed damage to the waterproofing membrane between the door connecting the terrace to the lounge room."He rang us and said, 'get out of the room, shut it up, rip the carpet out'," Mrs Alexander said. The bulk of that — more than $87,000 — would go towards repairing terraces and damage to external doors.Mr and Mrs Alexander bought the apartment in Melbourne's north off the plan, and moved in in late 2018.
The couple said they settled "under protest" and filed a case against the construction company in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in early 2019 and their hearing is set for later this year. Byron Landeryou has been in the waterproofing business for more than two decades and says the problem of leaky buildings has reached "pandemic proportions"."A lot of builders, designers, waterproofing contractors, even tradies that have to do work around waterproofing really aren't aware of the mistakes that they're making."
The membrane under these tiles in an apartment in Melbourne's east was not installed correctly, Mr Landeryou says. Insulation and plasterboard lay strewn across the floor. The walls of cupboards were swollen with water. Black mould was beginning to appear on parts of the ceiling. In Victoria, anyone can call themselves a water proofer. And any tradesperson can do waterproofing works up to the value of $10,000 without proof of compliance with a specific standard.
Victorian Strata Community Association president Julie McLean said education and regulation were so poor that even rectification works were often not up to standard."We need better education for the trades that are involved, there needs to be licensing, and there needs to be minimum educational standards set."
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