In a nutshell –

Poor design, Poor building practices and Poor products

In the UK, if you build a house you get a choice of brick or brick with a steep pitched roof and big eaves. Its been that way forever and will probably always be that way.

Here in New Zealand we are more innovative and are more willing to try new designs and products.

This had led to some great results as well as some terrible outcomes.

Poor Design: Architects love to stretch themselves and produce stunning looking buildings. Sometimes people building a new home will input all kinds of ideas into the mix too. These two things combined can create areas of weakness in a house or building in terms of the weathertightness.

Poor Building Practices: 70% of New Zealand builders have no formal qualifications. Does that matter? Well, if you are building a small deck then let’s be honest, probably not – but when you are detailing flashings and fixing exterior cladding it only takes one mistake and you have a weak point for moisture to get into the internal structure which will start to eat away at it.

Poor Products: Well, I shouldn’t really say poor products, more “inappropriate products”. Several products over the last 20 years that have been used for exterior cladding are very risky. Some are unsuitable for the job and others leave virtually no room for error in their installation to be effective