From the ground up

Our apprentice column provides an opportunity for PAC members to share their views, experiences and ideas, while providing insight for builders who employ them. This month’s question is:

 

Q. Have the H1 changes impacted your learning?

 

Name: Troy
Location: Taranaki

I haven’t really been told much about the changes to clause H1. My bosses on site haven’t talked about it with me directly, and we haven’t gone over it during my classroom sessions either. I do know that changes are in place though.

I remember that we had one talk about what the changes mean and how they’ll impact us. I know it’ll change how houses are built in New Zealand, but I haven’t looked any further into it if I’m honest. 

For now, I’m just thinking about getting my head down and becoming a qualified builder, but I know that once I am I’ll probably have to freshen up on the regulation and make sure I’m fully across that. I might even have to learn a few different skills to make sure I comply with the new standards – but that’s all part of the challenge of being a builder!

 

Name: Candice
Location: Waikato

What I know about the H1 updates, I’ve read from industry magazines or heard from sources like that. My bosses haven’t said too much about it to be honest.

I’m doing my apprenticeship with BCITO and we don’t have any classroom sessions, so what we learn is from our onsite apprenticeship. Because of that way of learning, I think sometimes important regulation changes can fall through the cracks. I know regulators are trying to get people up to speed, but I don’t know how they can get the word out to all builders better.

From what I understand, when it comes to insulating buildings, it does sound like we’ll have to change a few methods or techniques with what we’re doing – although the industry goes through changes all the time and that’s just a part of the job you need to accept and embrace.  

If I’m honest, I don’t think that, as apprentices, we think about regulation changes enough. It’s an important part of the job but it can be really hard to keep on top without searching each law change individually. I even see experienced builders struggling with it – we’ve had inspectors out on site, who point out aspects of a build that need to be changed to reflect Building Code updates. Sometimes I wonder how often things I do aren’t up to the latest Code.

 

Name: Brodie
Location: Wellington

The H1 changes haven’t had much of an impact on my day-to-day job. I’m newly qualified, so I was going through my final year when the changes were proposed. It came up in a smoko chat one day, and then I went and researched it myself, but apart from that I haven’t had much official comms about it from
my bosses.

If anything, people who talk about it are a bit unsure of what it all means – and I think that’s because the implementation date was pushed back to 1 May. I think if there could be more official seminars or toolbox lunches about it, that would help a lot more, especially if someone who knows all the answers can be there to talk us through the most important bits.

Saying that, regulation changes are normally pretty easy to find. I normally just google whatever I don’t know and I can usually find it. I reckon the H1 changes will be for the best, even if it adds cost to the price of the project.

One thing that I think will change is some design. Every now and then, trusses might need a heel on them but that won’t add an extra layer of complexity to jobs for us.