Inquiry call into ‘shonky’ steel
Hundred-plus sign up to class action. Amanda Saxton reports.
More than 100 home-owners have joined a class action against steel building mesh suppliers, as a Sunday Star-Times investigation reveals widespread concern about builders’ cost-cutting.
Adina Thorn, the lawyer heading the court case, is this weekend calling for a government inquiry into dodgy mesh. ’’Experts suggest a new testing regime be introduced for steel – perhaps changes to the standards, perhaps government audits on steel manufacturers and suppliers.’’
The 10-week investigation has identified three key problems:
Unqualified tradesmen who can’t count: they under-quote to get the job, measure badly, cut corners;
Cheap, substandard steel mesh for reinforcing concrete slabs, most imported from China;
Materials being bought on overseas websites like Ali Baba for a fraction of their price at New Zealand hardware wholesalers and retailers – and without any of the quality certification. Jackie, a lower North Island teacher and mother-of-two who has joined Thorn’s class action, is infuriated her $700,000 dream home no longer feels like hers because she has ‘‘no idea’’ what it’s really made of. ’’Our whole life savings are tied up in this house.’’
Thorn says ductile steel reinforcing mesh, sometimes referred to as welded wire fabric, is typically used as reinforcement in concrete floor slabs. Two months ago, the Government announced it would toughen up the Building Code on 500E mesh testing requirements in response to quality issues
Thorn has received no response yet from Steel & Tube and other mesh suppliers.
But in a leaked letter, Steel & Tube chief executive Dave Taylor expresses confidence to shareholders that the company can stare down the court action. ‘‘We believe Steel & Tube’s seismic mesh is compliant, and therefore there can be no claim.’’
He says the company has talked to the Insurance Council: any home-owners with sub-standard mesh from the past four years shouldn’t be unduly concerned about their insurance coverage.
Building Minister Nick Smith says he’s not convinced of a significant problem in the building sector, ‘‘but we must be vigilant and I keep an ear to the ground,’’