Council identifies 'several problems' in self-insulated Christchurch flat
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
A council housing tenant could have the insulation she installed herself removed after 'several problems' were discovered during a compliance test.
But nearly a week after the five-minute inspection at her Pickering Courts, St Albans flat, Lynda McKenzie is yet to be contacted by either the Christchurch City Council or Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust with an outcome.
Council and the Housing Trust staff members first visited McKenzie's unit four weeks ago with the intention of assessing the insulation they originally said was impossible to install.
Six people from the two organisations got to her door before telling an advocate for the 67-year-old they would first need to test for a newly-discovered asbestos risk.
**READ MORE:
* 'Impossible' insulation at council flat to be assessed after asbestos risk cleared
* She insulated her flat - now she'll be asked to remove it when she goes
* Christchurch council said it couldn't insulate its flat - so Lynda McKenzie got it done herself**
McKenzie was allowed to remain living in the flat for the week after the risk was first identified. A man wearing an oxygen mask and jumpsuit tested the property before results eventually came back negative.
'I feel absolutely exhausted. I'm just about buckling at the knees,' McKenzie said as council staff arrived to finally test the insulation's compliance on Thursday last week.
On Friday, council corporate services general manager Anne Columbus said the inspection showed 'several problems' with the installation. It had been installed over existing insulation, despite no roof access hatch and reports from 2016 claiming 'no cavity' in the roof.
'We will need to discuss these matters directly with the tenant and it is inappropriate for us to have these discussions through the media,' Columbus said.
She said the 'key findings' from the inspection for other units was that existing insulation was in place.
'Additionally, the inspection provides evidence of the problems of maintaining the required gaps between insulation and roofing where there is limited space in the ceiling cavity.
'The gap is necessary to prevent the insulation absorbing moisture, affecting its performance and potentially causing other issues.'
When contacted on Wednesday, McKenzie said she was surprised to learn there were problems with the insulation as she had not been contacted by the council or the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust since the inspection.
'I don't think there's any chance that I'll ever hear,' she said.
'I just think it's the same thing [they've done in the past]. It's just the bullying tactics and, you know, being very vague. It was put in by a certified contractor, so I really don't think they've got a leg to stand on.'
During the inspection, council head of facilities, property and planning Bruce Rendall conceded an initial statement to Stuff, that the property could not be insulated, was 'a stuff-up'.
'We have to live with what we said but our intention is to come back with all the exempt ones and re-look at them and see what can be done. But let's get the volume done,' he said.
'Our work in social housing is actually only funded from what the tenants pay, so we'll essentially go through and get as many tenants as possible right, then come back and do the harder ones. Ones where we might have to do … building work to actually do the insulation.'
Rendall said the council was 'mostly concerned' the work had been done without council approval. He said he was working in Australia during its $2.8 billion home insulation programme in 2009, where four men died and 224 fire incidents were linked to homes being poorly insulated.
'Thankfully the product they used there, which was causing that, is banned and not in this programme, but that's always the first thing that comes to mind.'