Plasterboard stress ‘terrible’

A Southland builder says the Gib board shortage is causing him endless worry.

Kennedy Building owner Will Kennedy has no Gib board for four new homes under construction and two houses needing repair after fire damage.

‘‘[The Gib shortage] is doing our heads in ... the stress has been terrible,’’ Kennedy, of Riverton, said.

‘‘We’ve ordered it, but we don’t know when we’re going to see it.’’

A supplier told him that the Gib board he ordered in February could arrive in August.

Yesterday, Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods announced a ministerial taskforce had been set up with key construction, building consent and supply chain experts to look at what more can be done to ease plasterboard shortages.

Winstone Wallboards, a subsidiary of Fletcher Building, with its Gib brand of plasterboard, currently makes up about 95% of the New Zealand market and has not been able to keep up with demand.

Woods said Gib was wellknown but it was not the only plasterboard available, and the taskforce would work fast to remove any unnecessary barriers to the use of other products. She would convene its first meeting next week.

Kennedy said the taskforce was a great idea, but he questioned how long it would take to make decisions.

Having a choice of plasterboard products would be huge, given the enormous frustrations around what was such a simple product, he said.

Other builders in other parts of Southland were also struggling to get product.

Owners of a Te Anau house under construction hope to enter it in the house-of-the-year competition, and it will soon be ready for Gib board.

Te Anau Homes Ltd owner Doug Robbie said it had been ordered, but he was unsure when it would arrive.

‘‘I’ve got a little bit [of Gib board] in the workshop but not a lot ... got enough to do a bathroom and that’s about it.’’

Barry Stewart of Invercargill said his company, Barry Stewart Builders, had been fortunate to get a couple of huge orders in a week before the cut-off hit.

Some building companies were being badly affected by the

‘‘There are guys out there that are screaming they can’t finish the job.’’ Barry Stewart Building company owner

shortage, he said.

‘‘There are guys out there that are screaming they can’t finish the job. There will be guys that will struggle to keep going, it’s serious.’’

Aaron Stevenson, co-owner of Quality Building Services Gore, said the shortage was also interrupting the workflow at his business.

‘‘You get to a stage in a job that you stop, down tools, pack up and move on . . . it’s costing money,’’ he said.