FAQ
What Are Leaky Homes?
New Zealand's leaky-home problem explained — and how it's fixed.
"Leaky homes" refers to a wave of New Zealand houses — mostly built from the mid-1990s through the 2000s — that let water into the building structure, causing rot, mould and structural damage. It's one of the country's biggest building problems, and it's fixable.
Why it happened
A combination of building methods, materials, monolithic cladding systems and detailing of that era let water past the cladding and into untreated framing, where it couldn't dry out. The result was hidden rot.
Warning signs
- Damp or musty smells inside
- Staining or swelling around windows and doors
- Soft or spongy linings, skirtings or framing
- High moisture readings
How it's fixed
The fix is recladding — stripping the failed cladding, repairing the damage underneath, and re-cladding with a modern, properly detailed system that keeps water out for good. We've turned plenty of damp, unhealthy homes back into warm, dry ones.