Before you start renovating

by Trevor Pringle (BRANZ Senior Technical Writer)

So you plan to renovate that charming old villa?
Unfortunately many charming old, and not so old, houses hide some not-so-charming features.

There are a large number of items which must be considered when tackling a restoration project. As with any building project, forward planning is essential, as is obtaining specialist advice.

One of the key early decisions is about the type and extent of renovation work. Options are:

• faithful restoration to the original
• replanning and upgrading to better suit the orientation of the spaces to the sun and/or views
• restoration, but adding modern features in some areas, such as the kitchen and bathroom

redecoration and repair only, with little change to the plan

Repair checklist

An essential part of the planning process is to identify what actually needs repairing or replacing. Some items will be immediately obvious such as:

• rot in timber weatherboards or windows
• rusting metal roofing or flashings
• damp stains on the ceiling from a leaking pipe or roof
• peeling paint or lifting wallpaper
• lack of subfloor ventilation
• floors which are out of level
• serious borer attack to finishing timbers

Detailed inspections of the subfloor and roof space are essential to identify problems such as:

• Disconnected waste pipes emptying into the subfloor
• no insulation in the ceiling
• borer damage to floor joists, flooring and rafters
• rot in roof framing
• damaged or cracked framing timbers
• rotted timber foundations
• floor and framing too close to the ground
• foundation settlement
• insufficient lateral support (bracing) in the subfloor structure.

Potentially hidden problems

The above are all fairly obvious, but there are other potential problem areas which are not. Old brick fireplaces, while often attractive, can be the cause of a number of potential problems. To give an example, the author found the following when removing an old brick fireplace and chimney from a 1926 bungalow:

• the heavy ceramic chimney pot was simply sitting on top of the chimney and just lifted off
• the chimney was detached from the fireplace - in fact it could be rocked when levered with a crowbar
• chimney bricks were not bonded together - chimneys of houses built before 1930 usually have lime-based mortar and it is likely that the bond between the mortar and the bricks have deteriorated
• there were soot deposits on the wall framing where smoke had leaked through joints where no mortar remained
• all framing around the base of the fireplace was severely rotted - bricks absorb moisture and it is common for wall and floor framing timbers adjacent to the lower portion brick chimneys to be rotten.

Old electrical wiring is likely to be in poor condition and in need of immediate replacement, particularly any wiring in black or white rubber like sheathing (pre-1960 houses), steel conduit (pre-1940 houses) or timber conduit (pre-1950 houses).

Other problems which may oly become obvious when demolition commences are:

• rotted timber wall framing - it was common some years ago to stucco over existing claddings and in many cases repairs to damaged framing and timber
• weatherboards were not properly undertaken before the stucco was applied
• corrosion of in-wall water pipes, particularly old galvanised pipes
• corrosion under flashings, under the bottom edge and of the laps of galvanised steel roofing.

Basic rules

When deciding on the plan of attack, there are some basic rules:

• determine what you want to achieve and plan for all work to be undertaken. I have seen too many instances where the renovation was not properly planned in the first instance and resulted in early work being damaged or having to be redone as a consequence of later work
• always waterproof the roof and walls before undertaking any other work
• level the floor (if required) before carrying out repair or alteration work - failure to do this can result in damage to work carried out before levelling
• set easily achievable goals, such as progressively working through the house room by room. It can be a daunting task to tackle all of the renovation at once, particularly if the house is being lived in through the process.

Once the overall plan has been worked out, the renovation work can be tackled in a way that will suit budgets, time and family situations.

Renovations insurance -
beware the gaps

by Brent Michie, Manager, MOMENTUM COVER CONTRACT
Works Insurance, QBE Insurance (Int) Ltd.

During renovations, builders and owners should look closely at their building insurance as there may be gaps in the cover.

A fundamental point about insurance that is often overlooked is that policies only ever respond to specified risks, not every risk. What those risks are and how wide the insurance cover extends will depend on a number of factors and varies from insurer to insurer. In the case of contract works insurance, the fact that you may have a policy does not necessarily provide you with cover for everything that can go wrong on site.

Recent research by QBE Insurance to develop new policies has shown that most contract works insurance in the New Zealand marketplace do not provide identical cover on the existing structure and the contract works when the contract works are either renovations or extensions. And the building owner's insurance may not respond either, particularly if they have not been properly notified of the scope of the renovations.

Contract works insurance
Builders carrying out renovations or extensions are often required to provide insurance cover for the existing buildings. Occasionally this leads to the building owner deciding not to worry about having a separate cover for the existing building. This can lead to disaster if the existing structure is damaged by an event not associated with the contract works.

For example, if a fire starts in the existing structure from a cause unrelated to the construction (e.g. rodent damage to wiring), and then spreads to destroy the extension, the damage to the existing structure is not covered by contract works insurance.

Owner's insurance
Even if the owner has insurance, there may still be a gap as a recent case in Whangarei highlighted. According to a media report, a home that was being extensively renovated caught fire, causing nearly $100,000 damage. The home-owner's insurer did not pay out because they had not been notified of the renovation work.

Making certain that the building owner's insurer is properly notified of the scope of the works should ensure there is no gap between the existing building insurance and the renovation works insurance. But even that is not a complete solution because you still need to establish where and how any loss was caused and the extent of indemnity provided by both covers.

The process of establishing the 'where and how' of an event, like a fire, can be difficult and time consuming, and can add up to lengthy delays. And delays are everybody's enemy, particularly if you're working under fixed price contracts or the prospect of penalties for late completion.

Do your homework
Another aspect to look out for is that most contract works policies do not cover the loss of materials off-site, including in transit. Virtually every contractor in the country will have some exposure for materials either bought or assembled and stored off-site until required.

There are lots of sayings about the dangers of making assumptions and they all apply to contract works insurance. You simply have to work through your risks and establish what you're covered for and what you're not. While there are some policies specifically tailored for these situations, it is important to study them in detail and to get the right advice.