The Facilitators Newsletter.
Keeping you up to date regarding the NHBRC and building regulations that might effect you.
Dear Valued Customer
Welcome to our January Newsletter.
With most building related industries opening on the 14th we would like to welcome you back after the holiday season and we hope you will be very very successful.
"Vividly picture yourself winning, and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success. Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be"
- Harry Emerson Fosdick
NHBRC Building Rules and Regulations: Did you know?
In our December Newsletter we discussed the: Exclusions from the Warranty, but what are considered Defects?
The cause of a defect in housing units (excluding misuse and abuse by the consumer which affect strength, stability, durability and serviceability, will generally fall into one of the following generic categories:
• Undue ground movement, which may be the result of an avoidable situation such as
standing water and including heave, subsidence, settlement and slip.
• Inadequate structural strength, not occasioned by an abnormal event, which may be
attributable to under-design/inadequate specification, poor construction, overloading and
indirectly applied loads resulting from the deflection, deformation or shortening of
interconnected structural elements.
• Normal structural movement, which has not been adequately catered for including
shrinkage and creep of materials such as concrete, thermal movements, movement due to
moisture changes, deflection of structural components and moisture expansion of burnt
clay masonry units.
• The use of materials which are unsuitable as they are not in accordance with the Home
Building Manual and/or specifications; inappropriate in the circumstances in witch they are
used and/or incompatible with other materials being used.
• The effects of chemical agents which when carried in the atmosphere, or water, or being in the presence of moisture, may result in the rusting and corrosion of steel and other metals
or the deterioration and disintegration of non-metallic materials such as concrete, masonry
units, mortar, timber, etc.
• The effects of vegetation whether direct or indirect.
• Abnormal events, which cannot be foreseen, including meteorological events such as high
winds, floods, snow, hail and lightning, seismic events, fire and explosions.
• Failure to undertake necessary maintenance and repairs timeously, resulting in a defect
which could have been prevented.
In some instances more than one cause may be responsible for the defect.
Defects in housing can be minimized, if not eliminated, by ensuring that the Home Builder responsible for the design and construction of housing units:
1. Meets the requirements of the National Building Regulations.
2. Adopts design practices and specifications, which ensure satisfactory performance.
3. Uses materials, products and building systems, which are suitable for their intended purpose.
4. Carries out all work in a proper and workmanlike manner.
Observance of 1 to 4 above will ensure that defects not occasioned by abnormal events which cannot be foreseen, (failure to effect timeous maintenance and repairs, the effects of vegetation or the permitting of surface water to stand), will be minimized, if not eliminated. Failure to observe 1 to 4 above may result in defects, which implicate the Home Builder. On the other hand, defects occurring in housing units where all the above mentioned requirements have been complied with, may be regarded as being unavoidable by the NHBRC. In such circumstances the Home Builder will not be held directly responsible for the defects and such remedial work will be undertaken by the NHBRC.
The above mentioned requirements are of a "performance oriented" nature and require "deemed-to-satisfy" rules to enable valid defects to be interpreted on a non-compliancy basis i.e. design and construction guidelines and minimum standards are required to enable the validity of a defect and hence warranty cover, to be established.
Minimum standards and guidelines are also required to balance repair costs against prevention costs and to weigh up the affordability of housing units. For example, where housing is located on problem soil horizons it is often more economical to repair cracks in masonry in accordance with the expected limits rather than to adopt total preventative measures. Accordingly, rules are required to define practices which restrict defects and/or damage to within acceptable limits and in so doing provide affordable standards.
The NHBRC will not be held responsible for defects occasioned by abnormal events which cannot be foreseen; failure to effect timeous maintenance and repairs; the effects of vegetation or the permitting of surface water to pond in the vicinity of the foundations of housing units.
This Months Most Frequently Asked Question
Question (Home Builder \ Home Owner)
Do I need to register with the NHBRC even if I only operate on a small basis, building/extensions/improvements/alterations?
Answer:
You are only required to register with the NHBRC if you are in the business of building new homes, but home owners are more likely to use NHBRC registered builders to do extensions and renovations.
Please contact Rinette Herbst on 086 123 6765 for more information on how to register.
Please feel free to Ask a Question or visit our Frequently Asked Questions Page.
Notices and News
- NHBRC Cape Town (Western Cape) will be moving to a new location on the 25th of January 2008 (Read More...)
- The Facilitators' NHBRC Blog celebrates it's first birthday. We regularly update our NHBRC Blog, with the Latest NHBRC News, Case Studies and Related Topics. You can give your comments and leave some questions that we will address on the NHBRC Blog. The information is be open to the Public. We believe this feature is important to the building industry and creating an online community. Visit our Blog and feel free to leave a comment relevant to the posting.
Thank You for your Continuous Support
I Hope you find our newsletters useful. Please let us know if you have any suggestions if you think we can improve our content to add more value to you as a Subscriber.
Kind Regards
Andrea van Rooyen
The Facilitators
Tel: 086 123 6765
Email: web@the-facilitators.com
Web: www.the-facilitators.com
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