The Department of Building and Housing has released the latest set of foundation guidelines for homes zoned 'green-blue' in Christchurch.
The guidelines will come as a relief for residents and builders in the city, after they were delayed from their original release date in February. There are an estimated 28,000 homes in 'green-blue,' or TC3, zones.
The general manager of Kaiapoi-based Fraemohs homes, which builds timber houses, Keith Love, told interest.co.nz earlier this month that it was having to turn customers away because the release of these guidelines had been delayed.
The construction community is eagerly waiting to see how much extra cost may stem from more stringent building regulations. The Reserve Bank is also closely watching inflation pressures stemming from the Christchurch rebuild as it tries to figure out when to raise the Official Cash Rate.
See the announcement from DBH below:
The Department has today published technical guidance for repairing and rebuilding foundations in Technical Category 3 (TC3) areas of Canterbury.
The guidance provides information and criteria that will help engineers, building control officials and insurance assessors determine if foundations can be repaired or need to be replaced, and provides options for repair and replacement.
For properties where new or replacement foundations are required, three foundation types are outlined. These are: deep piles, site ground improvements, and surface structures with shallow foundations.
Each of these foundation types have different capabilities to accommodate various levels of vertical settlement and lateral spreading, and place different constraints on the type of dwelling that the foundation can support.
Chartered Professional Geotechnical Engineers (CPEng) will be able to determine what foundation type is appropriate for each property based on information obtained from site-specific geotechnical assessments.
The guidance is an appendix to the Department's November 2011 Revised guidance on repairing and rebuilding houses affected by the Canterbury earthquake sequence.
It is anticipated that this guidance will be updated overtime to reflect new innovations, knowledge and practical experience.
- View the guidance document
- Read the Department's media statement and Q&A material about the guidance
For online services, and previous versions of Building Controls Update, visit our website www.dbh.govt.nz. To ask a question or get more information, call us on 0800 242 243 or email info@dbh.govt.nz.
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