Published September 2013, Business North – By Sue Russell
There is nothing like a bit of fire in your belly on an issue that you’re passionate about to give you the drive to speak out about it, even though your point of view may run counter to mainstream thinking.
Such is the case with architect Haydn Sawyer, founder of HSArchitects based in Murrays Bay on Auckland’s North Shore when it comes to the vexed and complex issues surrounding management of the leaky homes crisis.
Sawyer is angry about the unwieldy, costly, complex and often soul-destroying processes home-owners find themselves trapped in once their homes are deemed to have weathertight issues. One smart ‘tool’, a moisture-reading permanent probe he says, would change management processes and subsequent outcomes for owners.
“We’ve become really interested in helping owners of leaky homes deal with the implications associated with ownership of these buildings. It has been accepted that buildings have always leaked to some degree but the present environment has become very reactionary,” Sawyer says.
He’s most concerned about the governing bodies and professionals connected with the issue who have adopted, as he says “a belts and braces” approach, leaving the public under the illusion that if all the rules and compliance procedures are adopted then all will be well. “Most people in the construction industry know this is not true and what is needed instead is the ability to monitor building performance.”MDU Permanent probes, developed by Step Up Group, is as far as Sawyer knows, the only tool currently available to offer this monitoring capability. Inserted into skirting board and through into the bottom plate, the probes look like a small white button to the eye once fitted. Their job is to measure moisture and provide a source of data objectively showing change in moisture content over time. These probes will often allow for repair work to be carried out to best suit the owners situation. While it is accepted that the best solution is a total reclad, partial repairs may be more appropriate and due to this technology and more recent legislative determinations, this is now an option.
Sawyer sees several advantages flowing to home-owners “As I see it the probes offer a three pronged benefit: an impartial preliminary assessment tool, an instrument to monitor remedial works and an on-going record of the building’s well-being. The value of buildings that include this technology, will potentially increase as it can be demonstrated that problems identified can be resolved and then monitored. It is an objective assessment device, unencumbered by opinion, conjecture and emotion.Sawyer cannot understand why the probe technology hasn’t been fully adopted by all trades, professionals and governing bodies connected with the issue.
He uses the analogy of buying a car, no matter how expensive, a device to measure temperature is standard equipment because to know a car’s temperature is vital information, understood to be so by motorists and car designers alike. “Even Lamborghinis have temperature guages, so why isn’t the monitoring of the moisture in a house seen the same way I ask?”
Over the past decade HSArchitects has managed the fitout of 4 medical imaging facilities for Ascot Radiology [including 4 MRI units & a PET facility] and the most recent was at Millennium Institute of Sport & Health. Designing for the health sector has become a speciality of the company, involving high levels of interface between all parties involved. Last year the practise also completed a $4mill community centre in Albany for The Salvation Army. Typically the company designs anything from large rural homes to modest alterations for the residential market.