Looking at a home in Dunedin.
Very few leaky homes here.
Noticed that a window sill was wrinkled and the paint in the window surround has bubbles on the paint.
No staining on the outside.
Unsure who we should get to look at it.
Trouble is it's also been very dry for ages so even if it is a leaky one, there won't be any wet wood .
Any advice on what else to look for, who to get to check it out would be appreciated.

bernie184 - 2021-03-07 20:27:00

Leaky homes are generally plaster, no cavity, overhangs and internal gutting built between 92 and 04. Hope that helps

jeffqv - 2021-03-07 20:30:00

jeffqv wrote:

Leaky homes are generally plaster, no cavity, overhangs and internal gutting built between 92 and 04. Hope that helps

Time wise it should be ok.
But this is Dunedin and we are a bit behind the times RE wise.
REA has sent off our questions to the seller so will see what he says.
Thanks Jeffqv.

bernie184 - 2021-03-07 22:08:00

A lot of houses are still going up that are going to be potentially leaky
Houses in a few years.

rodeorunch - 2021-03-08 06:47:00

So that wrinkling as you see is probably from condensation on the inside of the house, very common on newer houses because they are so airtight, yes get checked out buy a builder inspection and good to go.

msigg - 2021-03-08 07:10:00

What year is the house? What is the cladding? What is the joinery? Are there roof overhangs?

Also get a moisture test done.

lakeview3 - 2021-03-08 07:33:00

On a wooden framed window it might be a rotten windowsill or been painted while damp, and nothing other than that. Builder can cut out/replace the affected pieces and a good painter will fix the bubbled paint.

OP the age of the house is important. Leaky homes are quite different from the results of deferred maintenance or the results of a bad paint job.

Perhaps read up about the different styles and types of houses and their likely problems, and the background to the leaky home saga.

Perhaps Dunedin is having landlords selling up, like the rest of NZ and the house you are looking at was formerly rented. It is not uncommon for there to be deferred maintenance on former rental properties.

Edited by shanreagh at 8:44 am, Mon 8 Mar

shanreagh - 2021-03-08 08:42:00

msigg wrote:

So that wrinkling as you see is probably from condensation on the inside of the house, very common on newer houses because they are so airtight, yes get checked out buy a builder inspection and good to go.

Thanks for that.

bernie184 - 2021-03-08 10:10:00

shanreagh wrote:

On a wooden framed window it might be a rotten windowsill or been painted while damp, and nothing other than that. Builder can cut out/replace the affected pieces and a good painter will fix the bubbled paint.

OP the age of the house is important. Leaky homes are quite different from the results of deferred maintenance or the results of a bad paint job.

Perhaps read up about the different styles and types of houses and their likely problems, and the background to the leaky home saga.

Perhaps Dunedin is having landlords selling up, like the rest of NZ and the house you are looking at was formerly rented. It is not uncommon for there to be deferred maintenance on former rental properties.

Privately owned and 11 years old.
And been well maintained on the whole.
I nearly missed this.
It wasnt hidden, just not obviouse.
Hopefully he will be able to answer the REA questions from us.

bernie184 - 2021-03-08 10:12:00

bernie184 wrote:

Privately owned and 11 years old.
And been well maintained on the whole.
I nearly missed this.
It wasnt hidden, just not obviouse.
Hopefully he will be able to answer the REA questions from us.

what is the cladding?

If it’s 11 years old I would be concerned actually. That’s not very old. What does this say about the quality of construction??

lakeview3 - 2021-03-08 10:22:00

lakeview3 wrote:

what is the cladding?

If it’s 11 years old I would be concerned actually. That’s not very old. What does this say about the quality of construction??

Wooden windows in a 11 year old home unusual !!

martin11 - 2021-03-08 11:23:00

martin11 wrote:

Wooden windows in a 11 year old home unusual !!

I missed the bit where she said they were wooden????

If the house is only 11 years old I would suspect the problem is possibly one of several things:

1/second storey or dormer window, with inadequate eaves above
2/fibrous plaster cladding or
3/Hardy’s type fibrous cement cladding
4/poorly fixed/sealed/joined weatherboard cladding
5/insufficient head flashing on the window unit

Or a combination of several of the above.

Either way, get a moisture test done but again on such a ‘young’ house this isn’t what I would call normal.

Chances are it may be easily remedied but you will still need to identify what is causing this.

Obviously get a building report done.

lakeview3 - 2021-03-08 14:57:00

martin11 wrote:

Wooden windows in a 11 year old home unusual !!

Possibly meant the wooden frame around the windows inside the house.

inatiz - 2021-03-08 15:57:00

inatiz wrote:

Possibly meant the wooden frame around the windows inside the house.

The Revels ,if they are wet its usually condensation lack of details what the windows actually are .

Edited by martin11 at 4:26 pm, Mon 8 Mar

martin11 - 2021-03-08 16:25:00

msigg wrote:

So that wrinkling as you see is probably from condensation on the inside of the house, very common on newer houses because they are so airtight, yes get checked out buy a builder inspection and good to go.

most likely its from condensation.
however have a look on the wall under the windows, especially near the sides for any signs of water stains. that may indicate the window is leaking, or problem with flashing, and the water control system is not working allowing water to go into the house instead of outside.

btw condensation is not from "tight houses", its from lack of ventilation. to lazy to open windows (lack of house management) or get a ventilation system installed. all homes require ventilation and its not just for condensation.

tweake - 2021-03-08 18:16:00