Thousands of SI homes hit by timber error
By MIKE STEERE - The Press | Saturday, 7 April 2007
Thousands of South Island homes may have been built using poor quality timber after Carter Holt Harvey executives misled the public by mislabelling timber.
The mislabelling occurred between July 2000 and December 2002, and could result in sagging roofs and unstable squeaky floors in homes built using the lower-grade timber, the Commerce Commission says.
The timber involved was labelled as MGP10 – a high-strength building wood used for trusses and framing – despite knowledge the timber was not consistently reaching MGP10 quality.
Carter Holt Harvey was fined $900,000 in October last year, and the Commerce Commission is now prosecuting individuals involved in the mislabelling.
Retired Carter Holt Harvey executive Maurice Reid was on Thursday fined $20,000 in the Auckland District Court for his part in the false labelling. Reid is one of six executives to be charged for their involvement in the Fair Trading Act breach.
Commerce Commission spokeswoman Kate Camp said it was estimated about 20,000 New Zealand homes were built with the timber during the period it was available.
"That would have been nationwide, but we don't have anything specific," she said yesterday.
The timber was processed in Carter Holt Harvey's three mills in Nelson and Putaruru and Thames in the North Island.
Camp said the commission had no specific advice for people who were concerned their homes may have been built with the lower-grade timber.
"There's no safety implications – it's not like leaky building scenario," she said.
However, the commission was aware many homes were designed using computer-assisted software, which developed building specifications based on the grade of timber used.
"The design depends on the grade of timber being used, so that will have affected things like deflection in the roof and squeaky floors," she said.
Christchurch builder Jason Dalziel felt it was unlikely there would be too many issues with the lower-grade timber.
"In a lot of these circumstances the materials are still structurally OK," Dalziel said. "Nine times out of 10 they would do the same job."
He said the careful approach taken to building houses now meant any overall effect of the lower grade timber would likely be minor.
Commerce Commission chairwoman Paula Rebstock said the case was "one of the most important and most serious" it had dealt with.
"Mr Reid knew that customers were not getting what they were promised, and what they were paying for."
By MIKE STEERE - The Press | Saturday, 7 April 2007
Thousands of South Island homes may have been built using poor quality timber after Carter Holt Harvey executives misled the public by mislabelling timber.
The mislabelling occurred between July 2000 and December 2002, and could result in sagging roofs and unstable squeaky floors in homes built using the lower-grade timber, the Commerce Commission says.
The timber involved was labelled as MGP10 – a high-strength building wood used for trusses and framing – despite knowledge the timber was not consistently reaching MGP10 quality.
Carter Holt Harvey was fined $900,000 in October last year, and the Commerce Commission is now prosecuting individuals involved in the mislabelling.
Retired Carter Holt Harvey executive Maurice Reid was on Thursday fined $20,000 in the Auckland District Court for his part in the false labelling. Reid is one of six executives to be charged for their involvement in the Fair Trading Act breach.
Commerce Commission spokeswoman Kate Camp said it was estimated about 20,000 New Zealand homes were built with the timber during the period it was available.
"That would have been nationwide, but we don't have anything specific," she said yesterday.
The timber was processed in Carter Holt Harvey's three mills in Nelson and Putaruru and Thames in the North Island.
Camp said the commission had no specific advice for people who were concerned their homes may have been built with the lower-grade timber.
"There's no safety implications – it's not like leaky building scenario," she said.
However, the commission was aware many homes were designed using computer-assisted software, which developed building specifications based on the grade of timber used.
"The design depends on the grade of timber being used, so that will have affected things like deflection in the roof and squeaky floors," she said.
Christchurch builder Jason Dalziel felt it was unlikely there would be too many issues with the lower-grade timber.
"In a lot of these circumstances the materials are still structurally OK," Dalziel said. "Nine times out of 10 they would do the same job."
He said the careful approach taken to building houses now meant any overall effect of the lower grade timber would likely be minor.
Commerce Commission chairwoman Paula Rebstock said the case was "one of the most important and most serious" it had dealt with.
"Mr Reid knew that customers were not getting what they were promised, and what they were paying for."