Skip to Content »

Where are Wellington mayors on building gold platers?

  • January 24th, 2008

The Northland mayors standing up for their region in this morning’s Herald should be joined by the mayors of Wellington region. We’d then see whether Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones is genuinely concerned about affordability, or just jumping to meet the protesting mayors because they come from his rohe.

There is ample reason for the Wellington mayors to join the protest.  Northlanders are is complaining about the stupidity of forcing double glazing into their houses. It’s just as stupid here.

I’ve had to replace two complete sets of double glazed front windows at 10 year intervals. They fail because the seals can not withstand the flexing and pressures of Wellington winds. After a few years  it looked as if we’d chosen to block our harbour views with smoked toilet window glass. Our warranties were useless. Both times  the manufacturers had gone broke.

I complained to representatives of the joinery manufacturer association. “Bad luck” they said “no one can be sure that double glazing seals will last in Wellington exposed conditions. That’s why people go broke.”

Perhaps H Clark gave Jones his new ministry to keep her only right wing Maori MP small enough to fit his boots. Clayton Cosgrove has bequeathed him a hopeless position. Labour’s hysterical reaction to leaky homes has helped lock NZ’s poor out of getting homes, with the most expensive housing in the world.

Yet it has also created a new protected industry. Builders who have not exited in disgust at the stupid rules that now dominate their working days get the barriers-to-entry benefit of those same rules.

The sensible thing would be to scrap most of the changes of the last 5 years, ensuring instead that our court system worked cheaply and speedily to hold dud builders to account, and to enforce judgments against fly-by-nights.

But now Jones would face howls and dire warnings from those who want to enjoy Cosgrove’s new protections from competition.

Comments

Gravatar

my boss would love the idea of compulsory doubleglazing!!!

Gravatar

Maybe the new pilkington energi Kare glass would help the life span of your double glazing in that climate. Its low iron glass on the out side, argon gass filled with the internal pane be Pilkingto K. This quality of glazing should do the trick.

Gravatar

That is terrible with what is happening in Wellington. It is typical of the authoraties to make something compulsury without thinking about the long term impact on the residents within the area. I’m also guessing that the cost of the seals and the double glazing for replacements can run into the tens of thousands at times, which just adds to the financial struggle that people are trying to manage already.

I hope the changes that you mentioned can be recognised…and perhaps in time implemented into NZ system.

Gravatar

The whole situation sounds like a total mess.  On the one hand you have builders not being held to account and on the other some back room deals being done between politicians and building firms scooping up all the extra work left behind.  I think the real solution is to improve the required quality manufacturing standards for double glazing and maybe force building firms to hold bonds in the event of going bust.  That way customers like yourself on not left to pick up the tab.

Leave your comments:

* Required fields. Your e-mail address will not be published on this site

You can use the following HTML tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>