Best and Worst Housing Types in Australia
September 26th 2008 04:32
House hunters have been warned, weatherboard homes contain the most building faults according to the latest research from Archicentre's Pre-Purchase Housing Inspections.
“We found that weatherboard homes contain the greatest risk for faults involving stumps, roofs, timber rot and framing, but two of the most common and severe problems were found in solid brick houses: cracking and damp,” said Managing Director of Archicentre Robert Caulfield.
These statistics are based on over 100,000 inspections Archicentre architects have conducted nationally. The inspections are mostly pre-purchase housing inspections for home buyers.
“Weatherboard homes require the most maintenance. Keep them repainted and replace the cladding every five to ten years and they will last. Neglecting the weatherboard home and you may find significant cases of timber rot and other problems.”
Weatherboards also rate the highest in terms of illegal building detected. Mr. Caulfield says this is perhaps due to how easily they are to change compared with other construction types. Roofing problems, deteriorated stumps, timber rot, not to mention a susceptibility to illegal building and framing complications are other major faults experienced with weatherboard homes.
At 62 per cent and 61 per cent, roofing and timber rot are the most common faults in Victorian weatherboard houses, followed by stumps (55 per cent), electrical problems and illegal building (38 per cent). Cracking and roofing (58 per cent) and damp (45 per cent) are the most serious problems affecting brick homes in Victoria.
More than half the brick homes in New South Wales have a damp problem of some kind. 45 per cent suffer cracking 20 per cent more than the other two main construction types.
Damp is the worst problem New South Wales homes have to contend with, but it is a big one, as high levels of humidity breed mould and attract vermin such as cockroaches and termites. "If you think brick homes are exempt from termite attack you are wrong," says Mr. Caulfield. Forty-four per cent of the weatherboard homes in New South Wales have a timber rot problem.
In Queensland, it's mainly the weatherboard Queenslander and the biggest number of problems centre around damp, due to the tropical climate and high rate of humidity. Damp is common, as is timber rot. Pier problems are significantly more severe in timber than brick constructions.
Damp has affected 54 per cent of the brick homes in South Australia inspected by Archicentre, while, six out of ten homes have a cracking problem of some kind.
In Western Australia brick veneer faults lead five major fault categories: illegal building (29 per cent), cracking (40 per cent), electrical problems (33 per cent), roofing faults (36 per cent) and drainage problems (23 per cent).
Pros and Cons of Cladding
Cladding Trends*
Weatherboard 56.2 per cent
Brick veneer 54.3 per cent
Solid brick 26.5 per cent
High-density foam cladding 24.2 per cent
Concrete block 15.5 per cent
Reinforced concrete 1.8 per cent
*results from Archicentre Architects' Poll/ Renovation survey taken in 2008
Once brick was the material of choice in Australian homes, but now its appeal is sliding. Archicentre looks at the decline of brick and the rise of alternatives in the age of climate change.
The drought has had a dramatic effect on Australia's landscape and out of all the building materials; bricks are showing the most cracks. As a result, a lot of people are opting for lightweight alternatives that seem to be a lot more conducive to changing soil conditions. Lightweight foam cladding construction is on the rise.
Information from Archicentre
| 25 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
