Christchurch earthquake repairs tipped to cost $1 billion

Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald, Sunday, 7 April 2019, 10:25a.m.

Fixing poorly done earthquake repairs is likely to cost $1 billion, says a structural engineer involved in more than 100 cases.

John Scarry said he is yet to see a competent repair in 140 Christchurch jobs he has assessed.

Scarry, who lives in Auckland but has given expert advice to homeowners affected by the Christchurch earthquakes, said EQC repairs and those done via other insurers were cosmetic.

A common example was the failure to properly relevel timber floors, said Scarry, who has campaigned for years against poor building standards.

He cited one example where 22 piles needed to be replaced to relevel the floor, but only six were.

"I haven't seen a suspended timber floor that has been properly relevelled," said Scarry. "Everything that has been done is a cosmetic repair."

Read the full article here: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/the-sunday-session/audio/john-scarry-christchurch-earthquake-repairs-tipped-to-cost-1-billion/