BRANZ endorses foundation repair report

Housing minister expects findings to speed up Christchurch rebuild.

The series of devastating earthquakes that struck Canterbury, beginning on 4 September 2010, provided a unique opportunity for New Zealand engineers to develop new and innovative methods to repair damaged houses.

To help determine the options for damaged homes on TC2 and TC3 land, Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC), the MBIE engineering advisory group, BRANZ, Southern Response and other companies engaged geotechnical and structural engineers to conduct trials and identify the different house types required, as well as the different land categories.

The emphasis was on finding economic and viable solutions for either concrete perimeter foundations with timber floors or concrete floor slab foundations.

The final Technical Report on the results of foundation repair trials conducted following the Canterbury Earthquakes was published mid-February and explains the process, methods and results trialled at 19 different HNZC-owned houses in Christchurch. It has been peer reviewed by BRANZ, which gave the technical endorsement required for it to be used as part of MBIE’s building and construction guidelines.

Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith is confident the new resource will help lift the pace of  Christchurch’s housing recovery.

“The problem of what to do with the tens of thousands of homes with damaged foundations has been difficult, expensive and hugely frustrating for homeowners. This technical report is
a major step forward in determining what can be fixed, at what cost and with what method,” said Dr Smith, who has a PhD in geotechnical engineering.

If the information does speed up the rebuild process, it will likely be welcomed by frustrated Cantabrians tired of waiting for their homes to be repaired. In mid-January, reports of angry homeowners holding earthquake repair contractors hostage and threatening them with knives reiterated the importance of increasing the pace of the recovery process.