New laws will curtail DIY jobs
A ‘‘massive, significant change’’ in the building industry comes into effect this week, with new legislation curtailing the work that a DIYER can carry out.
From Thursday, Restricted Building Work measures are enacted, which mean that most residential design and building work will need to be done, and overseen, by a licensed building practitioner.
The six classes of practitioners are designers, foundation specialists, carpenters, external plasterers, brick and block layers and roofers. Registered architects, engineers, gasfitters and plumbers are already licensed, through their own regulatory bodies.
Department of Building and Housing (DBH) has been developing this scheme since an overhaul of its regulations was announced in 2004. It is to put more control back into the industry after the leaky homes fiasco and to ensure work crucial to the life of the building is carried out more competently.
Porirua City Council’s building compliance team manager Shane Taane says it is a huge shake up for the industry.
Tradespeople and designers knew it was coming but those who want to do their own building work, without sign-off or input from a licensed practitioner, may not be aware.
‘‘It’s a massive, significant change. It has been well-advertised but I do think there’s a lot of people out there, like Diyers, who don’t know what it means. It’s going to restrict a lot of building work that people might have just done themselves.’’
While construction of anything under 1.5m high will not need a con- sent, most other work will, especially if it is critical to the integrity of the building, and would impact on its weather tightness, according to DBH regulations.
‘‘Anything you do that will extend the envelope or the structure of the building, will need compliance,’’ Mr Taane says. Examples include design work for any residence, any construction to the structure that bears vertical or horizontal loads like foundations, floors, walls, roof framing, posts and columns and any external moisture management systems such as wall cladding and decking membrane.
Designing fire safety systems or features also falls under restricted building work.
Examples that require a building consent, but is not necessarily restricted building work, include fitting new fixtures in a kitchen, installing a wind turbine, swimming pool, smoke alarms or a lift, and putting in insulation to external walls.
Mr Taane says the new rules will not create extra work for his inspectors, who will ‘‘keep on doing what we’re doing’’. He says they often err on the side of conservatism when it comes to inspections, but it is to ensure safety.
‘‘Our staff are the first response people out there. We could issue notices [of non-compliance] but in most cases we just look to help the homeowner through the process, fines are not helpful in resolving things. Often they might need to get an architect or builder on board to rectify the issue.’’
His advice is simple. If in doubt about the work you are thinking of doing, talk to a building officer at the council or a licensed practitioner.