Earthquake remediation rules and Heritage Buildings

 

As part of the Wellington Heritage Festival a meeting was held at the Wellington Club, organised by Rotary to explore the problem of how heritage building owners balance preservation with earthquake strengthening and safety regulations.

The keynote speaker was Chris Penk, Minister of Building and Construction, with the intention of sharing insights on these challenges and the Ministry’s efforts to extend deadlines and review the Building Code. His goal is to create more certainty and better incentives for owners of heritage Buildings.

Several Herbert Gardens shareholders were there, including Ian and Jenny McKinnon, David Dunsheath (member of the Major Works Committee) and Sally Schoon (Chair, Internal Committee)/

Both David and Sally agreed to write comments for the readers of our Newsflash blog.

"Penk was a skilled speaker and he generated a huge amount of enthusiastic discussion in the room afterwards but his content was I thought underwhelming political speak. All questions from the floor were good but most were self interest/personal experience as you would expect rather than bigger picture stuff to hold Penk to account for equitable support throughout the country.

"The panel Penk then joined included Iona Pannet, Ian Cassels, Jamie Jacob's (Heritage), Morris Love, and Richard Sharpe." -- Sally

"As a Wellington Heritage Festival event, there was considerable attention on heritage structures.

"Minister Penk spoke mostly on principles guiding the EPB review such as "goldilocks outcomes"; pragmatism -v- purism; private & public financing; challenges & opportunities; certainty with flexibilty; environment such as remediate -v- demolish); functionality such as both modern & heritage standards.

"Most panelists favoured pragmatic solutions for the City to Sea Overbridge.  Support for its demolition from one councillor drew major audience disapproval.

"Highly respected seismic engineer panelist, Richard Sharpe, was adamant the insurance sector is focused on hazards, contrary to claimed focus on risks.

"Penk's and panelists' responses to my question, indicated vague familiarity with the AS/NZ Risk Management Standard that guides reliable outcomes from assessment of consequences & likelihoods. 

"There was no opportunity to raise HG-specific issues but afterwards, Penk acknowledged his awareness of HG's pertinent situation. Our proposed December submission might be very well received." -- David

Test work in apartment 6C

Yesterday a team from Aoraki arrived to take out a part of block wall where the exterior panel is fixed, to assess the scope of the work.

Robina and the Smythe family kindly offered the use of apartment 6C for this.

Naturally, it was a bit noisy, a hint of what is to come, but it was not nearly as intrusive as expected.  It involved chipping out the blocks to see what lies behind, and this is what they found:

   The panel looks dry and clean -- well, it should be dry, as for some reason the word DRY is upside down on the panel itself, and must have been there since instalment.

There was not the huge amount of reinforcing steel that could have proved a problem.  As you can see, the reinforcing rod is only on the right hand vertical row of blocks. 

There is another one across the top of the section, as you can see from the area immediately below the ceiling slab.  This is where stronger, better brackets will be needed.  Part of the ceiling had already been stripped, to make this view possible.

All good work.  I was very impressed with the courtesy and efficiency of the team.  A good augury of what is to come.

NEWSFLASH October 30, 2024:

 

That drilling noise:

As planned, the test is proceeding on the south wall of the bedroom in apartment 6C, which Robina and the Smythe family have very kindly offered for preliminary investigations.

 I was surprised at the level of noise in 7D, when the work is proceeding on the apartment below, and on a different wall. But it is not too bad, a relief when it is a foretaste of what it will be like when the project begins.

 The tradies with Aoraki are upbeat about what they are finding.  The fear was that there might be steel and concrete in the block wall, making it hard to take the blocks down. But not so. The only steel reinforcing is in the final righthand vertical tier of blocks.  All the rest are fine.

 The back of the panel is in surprisingly good shape, but definitely needs new brackets. 

 Morning get-together: The first Wednesday trial was attended by just five.  Hopefully more next Wednesday.

 Elevators.  A lot more news to come. With Brigid in person, and hopefully Damien and Mike Underhill online, we will be talking with Otis rep Murray about lift replacement this afternoon. We are very grateful to the Otis team who work so hard for us. But, of course, we are taking quotes from other firms.

 

NEWSFLASH October 29, 2024:

Elevators.  As those who were in the building over the long weekend may have noticed, we had trouble with the lifts, yet again. The afterhours team came several times, doing their utter best to keep the lifts running. Currently, the northern one is stuck on level 12, while the other is running, though subject to occasional glitches, such as the one last night that was fixed at 10.50. We are very grateful to the Otis team who work so hard for us.

 

Back door.  This gave trouble, too, with the drive belt snapping. The Dormakaba techie arrived yesterday morning, and to his great relief (and mine) he was able to find a replacement drive belt in his truck. I see that a representative was back today, to check the doors and make sure that problem does not happen again.

Morning get-together: The morning get-together, which Valerie Rhodes originally organized, has been very successful, an informal meeting in the foyer where the troubles of the world are solved, and those who attend get news about our building that they can pass on to others. As much of the news comes from Joan Druett, as Chair of the Major Works Committee, a change of date has been suggested.  Up until now, the meeting has been on Tuesdays, from 10.30 to sometime before lunch, but Joan is attending meetings at TBIG then, so, experimentally, the day has been changed to Wednesdays.  Tomorrow, at 10.30, both Joan and Jane Fuller will be there in the foyer, ready to chat with anyone who comes along.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEWSFLASH October 27, 2024:

 

 Elevators.  Otis have been monitoring the lifts 24/7, as when one is down the other can act erratically. This is because they are governed by the same electrical system.  Meantime, do try to remember these three tips:

 

·       Do not jab the buttons – one long press works best.

·       Do not overload the lift.

·       Carry your phone, just in case.

 

Fire Safety. Sometime in the next week or so we will be visited by husky fire fighters on a mission.  The Thorndon Fire Brigade want to practise on a tall building that is readily available, and Herbert Gardens is perfect for that.  So a very interesting team exercise is planned, with ladders, hoses, the lot.

 

Vale.  An agent of this development company was interviewed by two of our directors. A long and informative meeting, but the message was essentially the same.  They are keen on acquiring Herbert Gardens, as their aim is to take advantage of “sought-after locations” and this building fits that bill. Like us, they understand that once the earthquake prone notice is removed, the value of the apartments will return to their previous commercial level.  The amount they offer will be their estimate of the current commercial asking price, with a discount for risk. The apartments would have to be rated as unit title (not company share, as we have now), and they would manage the strengthening. Then they would sell at a very good profit.

The start of the story of Herbert Gardens

 

GLIMPSES INTO THE PAST

What preceded our building?  It’s a question that has led to a fascinating story. 

The first house on the piece of land where Herbert Gardens stands today was built for the artist and pharmacist Charles Decimus Barraud.  He wanted to be a surgeon, but the family could not afford it, so he became an apothecary and practised in Southhampton.

When he was twenty-six he married Sarah Maria Style, whose cousin was Judge H. S. Chapman, who lived in Wellington, New Zealand. Chapman urged them to migrate here. Then, after they arrived in August 1849, he loaned them his cottage in Karori while their house was being built on the Terrace. It was called Fern Glen, evidently because the gully behind the house was thick with foliage.

Though there are no records of its appearance, the house may have looked like this lovely little painting, made by Barraud himself:

As yes, Barraud became a noted watercolour artist, though it was only a hobby.  He set up his apothecary shop on Lambton Quay, but his heart was in his art. As time went on he set up quite a flourishing business in pharmaceuticals, making enough money to travel about New Zealand to paint local scenes and buildings, and even getting as far as England.

He and Sarah Maria had six sons and three daughters, all born at Fern Glen, at 186 the Terrace.  Charles Decimus Barraud died on 26 December 1897, and was buried in the Bolton Street Cemetery, after a service in Old St. Pauls -- the church for which he had painted the illuminated texts in the nave.

So what happened to Fern Glen after that?  Watch for the next episode of Glimpses into the Past ...

Asbestos etc.

 NEWSFLASH October 25, 2024:

It has been a busy week, with five asbestos (ACM) removal and encapsulation teams looking at the scope of work, and then issuing their quotes.

Aoraki are comparing them, and there will be a lot of discussion going on at a meeting at TBIG on Tuesday. After a quick scan of the scopes, I was pleased to see that they have listed the apartments that do not need any encapsulation or removal. There is a wide variation from apartment to apartment, with some having loose or cracked ceilings, and others already enclosed with gib. There is the reservation, of course, that encapsulation means that the ACM is still there, and may present a problem in the future, but right now if it is cost- and time-effective, that is the way to go.

On Tuesday, we are having a special meeting at TBIG to discuss this.

Other costings – weather tightness, construction – will be coming in the next few days.  On November 5 the Board will hold a workshop with Martin (TBIG) and Jurgen (QS Quintons) to discuss costings, costings, costings. We are anxious to get these settled, so that hopefully the special levies can be calculated, and papers handed out to all shareholders ten working days before the EGM on December 9. We shouldn’t count our chickens before they hatch, as the old wives used to say, but personally I feel upbeat.

Aoraki Kirk discussing the site plan with David Dunsheath

Newsflash 24 October

 

 

Yesterday involved an exploration of the area that will be used by the construction teams.

 With Kirk of the Aoraki Construction Group and Damien, we walked around the upper car parking area,, discussing options.

 The site office will be next to the upper driveway, for optimim security. The whole of the parking area facing the Terrace will be fenced off, taking away seven parking spaces and four garages, plus the visitor car parks on that level, and the park used by the Building Manager.  This means that the owners of the garages will not be able to access them. They may choose to rent them to Aoraki for storage of gear, and find a park elsewhere – perhaps one of the empty garages or carports on the lower level.  That is a matter for negotiation.

The six garages down the upper ramp will be out of reach by vehicle, too, so the owners may choose to store furniture in them.  Kirk promised that access by foot could be possible.  This, too, has to be worked out.

 Then we walked down to the lower driveway level, which will be confined to resident use. There could be some scaffolding, and the plan is also to have a hoist, which would be reached by a pedestrian bridge from the upper deck. This would provide access to the building for workers and materials, without using our elevators. An excellent solution.  The hoist will be sited where the spare rubbish and recycling bins are currently kept, so they will be shifted elsewhere. The bins up the steps, by the back door, will remain as usual. All very exciting.  Such a lot to be planned – but thanks to Kirk, we came away must wiser.

 

A brand-new building, 1966

 

Meetings at the TBIG offices

 

Every Tuesday at 10am Joan and David and Damien (MWC) meet up with the design and construction team at the office in the Grant Thornton building.

 

This is an intensive session, usually starting with reports from Spectrum Engineers, who are designing the strengthening elements of the project.  I find this fascinating. I have a life-long association with construction – my grandfather was an architect, my father a builder, and my husband, Ron, built electricity substations. From the age of 8, I was taught to read floor plans, and my father used me as a hammer hand!  One of my sons, Alastair, is quantity surveyor and project manager in Hamilton.  But seismic strengthening is totally new to me.  It has been a learning experience.

 

The task is to tie the core of the building, which holds the lift shaft and fire stairs, to the concrete slabs that make the floors and ceilings of our homes. It was a very new and original form of construction back in the mid 1960s. People used to gather in the street to watch it happening.  The National Library holds 22 photos of the process, and the Wellington Library has more.

 

Getting to the slabs from the fire stairs is relatively simple, though the idea is to make the disruption as minimal as possible, and also to minimize the visual impact of the brackets that will be placed under a number of apartment ceilings. The other side, where the elevators run, is tricky. For a while it was proposed that one of the lifts should be taken out, and the shaft scaffolded, which was a really unattractive prospect. Instead, a system of brackets and anchors has been devised.  The mental agility of these engineers is really impressive.

 

NEWSFLASH October 21, 2024:

 

Investigations and consultations. Damien, Ken, David and Joan are currently asking residents about garages, including those that are rented out.

 

This is because it looks as if the Aoraki worksite will be on the upper deck, taking up seven parking spaces and four garages.  Accordingly, we want to make sure that we are ready if that, indeed, does happen.  The owners of these four garages are being consulted about how available they could be for Aoraki use, and also to talk about alternative parking.

 

It is also very likely that the six garages below the upper ramp will be out of reach for resident vehicles, too, as the upper driveway will be Aoraki access only.  However, they can be used for storage of furniture, and can be reached by foot, via the steps, by residents who want to check their belongings.

 

As well as this, the leases for rented apartments have to be checked, as the shareholders who own them will have to be prepared to tell their tenants to vacate when the project reaches their level. Some tenants may have to remove their furniture, too.

 

Vale Property

 

Many of us have received a form letter from this Christchurch firm of developers.  When enquiries were made their representative was open and informative.

 

They are contacting all the apartment buildings in Wellington that have earthquake prone notices, taking names and addresses from the company registers.  Like us, they understand that while the apartments are very hard to sell right now, once enough strengthening has been done to have the earthquake prone notice removed, the prices will return to their previous commercial level.

 

So they will buy cheap, and then do all the work. The amount they offer will be what they reckon is a fair current price, with a discount for risk. The apartments would have to be rated as unit title (not company share, as we have now), and they would manage the strengthening.

 

Then they would sell, expecting a very good profit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~