During the last eight years, an array of reports by various research organisations has painted a stark picture of waterproofing defects in Australian buildings.
In 2012, the University of New South Wales conducted a study into the issues faced by strata buildings, concluding that approximately 85 per cent of multi-owned buildings built since 2000 had defects, with 40 per cent of these related to exterior water penetration.
And in 2015, the Australian Institute of Architects found that 4 per cent of properties inspected between 2010 and 2015 had a major water problem—a percentage that increases to 9 per cent in New South Wales.
The architects’ study found a further 34 per cent of properties had a minor water problem that could turn into a costly defect if not fixed.
In 2019, Deakin and Griffith universities published the report, “An Examination of Building Defects in Residential Multi-Owned Properties”, which concluded that water ingress and moisture were responsible for 29 per cent of all construction defects.
More than 33 per cent of all cladding and building fabric defects were due to water ingress and moisture.
All three reports highlight a concerning trend—waterproofing has become the most common defect in Australia, with waterproofing failures present in approximately 30 per cent of apartment buildings.
This should give property owners and industry professionals some pause, as waterproofing issues often do not manifest until well into a building’s life—and when they do, they can be extremely difficult and costly to remediate.
In Australia, while there have been several reports as to the extent of waterproofing issues in buildings across the country, an investigation into the causes of the crisis is yet to be conducted.
However, in Canada and New Zealand, several key factors have been identified over the years.
For Canada, blame has been directed at significant building envelope failures since the 1980s, with a 1998 inquiry finding that several factors led to the so-called “leaky condo crisis” including designs that were inappropriate for the climate, reliance on face-sealed wall systems, lack of build quality, and a regulatory system that was unable to understand that failures were occurring—and failed to address them.
In New Zealand, the “leaky building” had several contributing factors. In 1995, the New Zealand Standard for Timber Treatment allowed for the use of untreated pine for wall framing—a timber susceptible to rotting when wet.
Six other factors included:
inadequate flashings, eaves and parapets;
poorly-designed cladding systems that allowed continuous moisture ingress into the framing;
the use of sealants that had a propensity to fail or degrade in lieu of opting to use flashings; and
problematic balconies that abetted significant wind-transported water penetration.
While the specific factors that caused Australia’s current crisis are to be determined, both the Canadian and New Zealand experience are instructive.
Although it isn’t specific to waterproofing, the Shergold Weir Building Confidence report highlighted systemic failures in Australian construction.
The following key areas identified in the report mirror some of the factors discussed earlier, including:
regulatory failure;
inappropriate design; and
lack of quality in building products, materials and final build.
Designers, specifiers and builders need to understand how the failure areas highlighted above can help guide them in creating waterproof and compliant façades in the future.
Leaking buildings are non-compliant, extremely common and very expensive: if the project or building insurance includes a non-compliant cladding exclusion, a leaky façade will not be covered.
It is imperative that all involved in façade design understand the relevant building code requirements, design and testing considerations and how to address concerns with build quality.
Fairview supply cladding products that demonstrate proven performance, energy efficiency and minimal maintenance – products that are built for the future.
Importantly, Fairview cladding products meet the requirements of AS/NZS 4284:2008 with test results demonstrating industry-leading performance. Test results are readily available for analysis of both serviceable and ultimate wind load pressures.
The Fairview weather-tested cladding range includes:
● Vitracore G2 – bonded aluminium panel;
● Vitradual – non-combustible cassette cladding;
● Stryüm – interlocking solid aluminium panels; and
● Equitone – pre-finished high density fibre cement.
Under independent testing in NATA-approved testing laboratories, Fairview products—namely Stryüm, Vitracore G2 and Vitradual—exceeded the minimum testing requirements and outperformed key competitors.
Waterproof testing, which measures the cladding system’s ability to prevent leakages under skyscraper-high wind pressures, proved that Fairview products performed above and beyond the 2.5kPA performance target set out in Verification Method FV1.1 of the NCC.
Available in a range of profiles and customisable options, Fairview cladding combines its reliable and proven performance with limitless design flexibility to deliver modern sustainable cladding solutions ideal for Australian buildings.
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