BANK NUMBER AND CARPETS, CARPETS, CARPETS

 

Bank number.  Like many, I was confused by the messages about the bank number we use to pay the special levy.  None of us want our hardearned (or hard-saved) money to finish up in Manila or Mexico!  Shane Browning of Munro Benge informs me that it is easy -- just use the same number that you use to pay your regular levy. If you do it online, that number is most probably there in your payees list, filed as HG levy or something similar.  At Munro Benge they will sort out what money goes where, though it might be a good idea to write "special" in the reference column next to your apartment number.

Damien has a birthday on Saturday!  Don't ask me which year, as I do not know his age.  But I know we all wish him well.  Bernadette has already given him a cake. 

Carpets. Ken is working on a schedule of decant and resettlement of apartments vs the weather remediation timeline. Some coincide well, while other apartments will have to wait to have their weather tightness fixed, which means that it might not be a good idea to put in new carpet right away.  Who wants stains on their lovely new flooring?  But living on a bare concrete floor is not appealing, even if just for a short time. As I suggested before, mats or rugs could help cover the bare concrete floor. 

Those who are keeping their carpets fulltime might want to cut away the stained portions (with a Stanley knife, not with scissors, and perhaps better done professionally). Then something could be laid in the gap after the edge has been trimmed and made secure with some kind of transition strip. Ceramic tiles are great. That is what we did with the stained portion of the hall carpet in our old house.  It looked great, was easily wiped clean, but was expensive.  There are also carpet tiles, which can be bought from Bunnings. The 50 x 50cm tiles, either brown or charcoal, cost about $7.50 each, are easy to lay, can be wiped clean, and are easily taken up and replaced if they get damaged.   

If the carpet you are having replaced is still in reasonable condition, you might want to consider donating it to a charity.  Sally Schoon will help you with this if you are interested. As she writes, it is also possible to give curtains to deserving people, via a group that mends and insulates them.

Curtains can often be re-usable when a shareholder is planning to replace them with state of the art window coverings. Charities especially one like the Sustainability Trust's Curtain Bank insulate donated curtains to give to low-income families towards a healthy home throughout the greater Wellington catchment. 

Their website has extensive and excellent information: 
www.sustaintrust.org.nz                      

The Sustainability Trust address together with a recycle depot for  donation is 2 Forresters Lane, off Tory Street (opposite Bunnings).                   

 Leaving your apartment to the construction team.  A few tips for this.  Empty your fridge and freezer completely.  The power will be turned off.  

Do not cover or try to protect precious surfaces such as an induction hob.  If you do cover it, the builders will think it is okay to stand on it. If they can see what it is, they will take care of it themselves. 

And remember that the removal company will not take away food. Put your dried herbs and spices in clipit boxes, and put those boxes in a carton, then seal it and label it "kitchen."  Then it will be fine for the company to remove and store. Glass bottles of sauces, vinegars, oils etc. should be given away, or taken away with you.  Use up your cereals, flour, sugar, condiments, or take them away, or give them to a neighbour or friend. And as for wine, beer and spirits, think!!

UPDATES AND NEWER DATES

 

Damien is back!  A welcome return of a popular presence. Both Brigid and I are so glad to be rejoined by the third in the domestic management of the big remediation. 

 Furniture and chattels.  A phone call from Fiona Conroy yesterday was also very welcome. Damien is going to organise a face-to-face meeting once the contract is signed (very soon).  Fiona will come down from the BOP and inspect level 13 in particular, to look at the challenge and talk about times.

Boxes. I was able  to ask about the book boxes and dish boxes that Campbell delivered last week. They are simply for our own use.  Fiona assured me that the removers will be packing your books and dinner sets. It is still recommended that we pack cherished ornaments and artwork ourselves, but as for books, we can relax. People who are not being fully decanted, but will be moving furniture etc. into rooms that are not being worked on, and which will be secured, will be very glad of those boxes. They are now in Damien's office.  If you need some, phone or email him, and he will bring what you want up to your apartment.  How is that for service!

Newer dates.  These look somewhat more secure, though they might shift about as the work descends the building.  But this is how they shape up now. 

Aoraki plan to come on site on March 10. This means that cars will have to be moved from the main deck and the four garages that will be used by Aoraki need to be cleared by then. Damien will consult with all, and Brigid will look after the keys of cars people are leaving if they will be flying off somewhere in the meantime. She will shift them as needed.

First decant is scheduled for 31 March.  This, of course, is level 13.  The estimate for return is 7 July.

Level 12. Out by 3 April, back 11 July.

Level 11. Out by 29 April, back 25 July.

Level 10. Out by 16 May, back 18 August

Level 9. Out by 6 June, back 26 August

Level 8. Out by 23 June, back 10 September

Level 7. Out by 9 July, back 26 September

Level 6. Out by 21 July, back 6 October

Level 5. Out by 6 August, back 30 October

Level 4. Out by 26 August, back 19 November

Level 3. Out by 11 September, back 11 December

Level 2. Out by 7 October, back 28 January 2026

Level 1. Out by 28 October, back 16 February 2026

Ground floor. Out by 13 November, back 20 February 2026

Garden apartment. out by 28 November, back 21 January 2026. 

Remember that weather and other circumstances beyond control could affect this timeline.

CURTAINS AND MORE ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION

 

Curtain update.  We have not had a lot of luck with this.  The firm that we felt quite confident about doing the job of taking down, storing, and re-hanging curtains and venetian blinds did not, on consideration, feel confident of managing the job at all!  So a lot of phoning and emailing around town followed.  Just one fellow replied, and when he took one look at the size of our building, he fled!!

Meantime, Fiona Conroy has offered mattress bags to hold rolled up curtains, that being safer for the fabric than folding them, apparently.  We still need to find out if Conroy Removals will take away the filled mattress bags and store them, but hope to talk to Fiona in the week. Meantime, Camille Dentice has offered to help take down the curtains and blinds out of the goodness of her heart, as long as it is not too complicated. She is also willing to help people pack, which is amazing. Watch this space!

Someone has purloined our car washing hose! Why?  Who knows?  My own theory is that someone's car ran over it and broke it and it was tossed into the skip, but there are other speculations.  So, please be patient until a new one is bought.

Graffiti,  On amusing note, the affable fellow who came to paint out the bit of graffiti on our boundary fence (between the lower visitor carpark and the little park before Everton Terrace) said that he was employed by the WCC to paint out graffiti on the other side of the fence all the time.  And we did not have a notion that the graffiti was regularly there.  So, as the tagging on our side of the fence was so minor, and he was coming here anyway, he charged just a fraction over forty bucks.

Alternative accommodation. People are busily checking their contents insurance policies, and several have received their payout already. This is more than HGL can offer, so do take advantage of the insurance if you have it. This will pay for the removal, storage, and return of your furniture and chattels, too. But, if you have no insurance, perhaps because you were not at HG when the earthquake happened, HGL will help out.  The offer is $150 per day for the actual time that your apartment is out of reach, the construction team being at work in it, and a flat fee of $600 to help residents who can stow furniture etc. in secure rooms while the work is going on in the rest of the apartment. The cost of total decant will also be covered.

Century Hotel. Camille has searched out another source of alternative accommodation. An owner at the Century Hotel at 72 Tory Street offers the rent of an apartment for $670 a week for a year, which would mean that it could be rolled over from one shareholder to another as the work descends the building.  This is considerably less than $150 per day, so there would be money left over for other things.  Do remember, though, that it is a long walk -- or bus ride -- to Herbert Gardens, so your car (if any) and mailbox will be somewhat out of reach. Interested?  Ask Camille for details. 021 328 049

CURTAINS AND DECANTING

                                   

 

 Curtains.  When you leave your apartment, your curtains and blinds will have to be taken down.  Any masonry dust or asbestos dust would cling to them, which would be dangerous.

Conroys, our chosen removals firm, does not take down curtains or replace them, and blinds are a problem, too.  So we are working on avenues for this, as our original contact unfortunately let us down, and should have some kind of answer shortly. Now that we know it is an HGL problem we know where we stand, and can do something about it.

Project update. The building consent is very close. The structural elements have already been approved, and we have had the fire and ventilation consents for quite some time. The costing process is also nearly there. The trades tenders are close to expectation, and the budget is looking comfortable, too. On Thursday there will be a group project meeting to look at the numbers, and then the contract will be finalised. Everything is very close to ticking off the final boxes and getting the project underway. 

Decant policy. Questions are still coming in about this, so the policy bears repeating.
First, look at your insurance contents policy. You may be eligible for a payment for alternative accommodation and removal, storage and replacement of your furniture.  This is generally quite a bit more than HGL can offer, so it is well worth a look.

But, if you have no contents insurance, or if you did not live in Herbert Gardens in 2016, when the big quake happened, you are eligible for a payment from HGL

Alternative accommodation.  HGL will pay $150 per day for the time you do not have access to your apartment because it is being worked on at that time.  This is a payment per apartment, not per person. And it is only for the time the contractors need your apartment.  If the time is longer than the contractors have estimated, the additional costs will be paid, on application.

Your own choice of alternative accommodation.  You choose it yourself.  You might decide to stay with friends or family, or live in your beach house.  It doesn't matter.  Wherever you stay, the $150 a day will be paid, because it is to make up for not having any access to your apartment. Fill in the application, and once HGL knows what the contractors have scheduled, that amount will be credited to your bank account. How you use it is up to you, but I advise you not to splurge it unthinkingly, because you might be stuck with finding a studio to rent.

Storage. First, internal storage. Where possible, chattels should be stored in rooms that are not being worked on. HGL will make sure those rooms are secure, by installing a temporary lock on the door of each one, and screening where necessary.  Conroy are willing to arrange the movement of heavy furniture into those rooms, and then moving the furniture back when the construction work is finished. To help with this, a single payment ot $600 will be credited to your account.

Second, external storage.  Many apartments have to be completely decanted. Our moving company of choice for this is Conroy. They will pack everything securely into cartons, and those cartons will be freighted down to containers via the hoist (which Aoraki is kindly making available), and then the packed containers will be taken to their holding rooms at Petone. The contents of each apartment will be insured in storage at up to a limit of $45,000. Residents can get greater insurance at their own cost. Where the shareholders have been paid by their insurance company, they will pay for this decant and storage themselves.  Otherwise, HGL will cover the cost.

Packing tips. It is highly recommended that residents pack fragile, cherished, or valuable items such as china or glassware themselves.  Put them in small boxes with soft packaging, and put the small boxes in bigger boxes.  

Dresser and bureau drawers.  Do not leave them empty or half empty!  Fill them with clothes, linen, towels, and such right to the top. It makes it easier for the movers, as well as yourselves.  The same with cupboards in cabinets that are going to be taken away.  And if you have empty suitcases, fill them! 

Boxes. Campbell of Conroys is delivering 100 book cartons and 100 dish cartons tomorrow. Please note how many of each you take on the provided list.  This will make it easier for Conroys, too.

Things to think about

 

Carpet replacement.  Quite a few apartment owners have opted to have their carpets removed by Aoraki during the project, either just where the project team is working, or the whole room or even the whole apartment.

This is usually because the existing carpet has been stained by lack of water tightness.  This attention to water tightness is part of the project, but in most cases it is happening later than the rest of the remediation in your level. 

If you look back at previous newsflashes, you might remember one that laid out the probable schedule or scaffolding -- the scaffolding that is necessary to get at your window frames and attach the metal flashings.  Here is the link to it.

First, the hoist goes up. Then the B apartments will be scaffolded, so that windows in all the B apartments will be attended to first, including the all-important bed 3 window, which will provide the entry to that level, and be replaced by a fire-compliant spandrel.  

Then the northern face will be scaffolded, encompassing the A apartments.  Please note that by the time this goes up, the interior work in the top levels will have been finished.  

Then the C apartments and finally the D apartments. In many cases this will be well after many levels have been remediated.

This means that it is not a good idea to recarpet before the scaffolding has gone up around your windows, and the weather tightness attended to. You don't want leaks that have not yet been fixed staining your beautiful new carpet.

So, think about rugs.  In the top banner, you can see a room before the carpet has been removed, and then, next to it, a rug replacing the carpet.

This can be a permanent measure, or just temporary. If you want a big rug for just until your weather tightness has been fixed, there are very cheap options.  Online carpet retailers are rugs.nz (which is actually in North Carolina!) and Singapore-based Temu. The rugs are not high quality, being made of polypropeline or similar, but the shipping is free and also quite fast.  And if your leak isn't fixed yet, you won't need to shed tears.

And this seems a good time to introduce Ryan, who will be in charge of our facade:

 

YET ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY

                                                                    

I can't believe this gorgeous weather.  Lizard folk might like it hotter, but it is so good to see the sun shining and go outside without roasting. It's a sunny countdown to a very busy year.

Fuse Boards. This has become urgent.  If you want your fuse board replaced at the same time as others, you must get in your application by the end of next week.  Email property@munrobenge.co.nz, or leave a letter in the building manager's mailbox.  Once the deadline of 21 February has passed, you are out of luck for getting the subsidy and bulk price.

Fire alarm survey.  As Damien had to delay his return (to repair hurricane damage), and will not be here until the 24th, the fire alarm survey is not to happen until March 6, so that he will be here to let the Argus techies into the apartments.  Perhaps a good time to think of that lovely late summer lunch somewhere nice. 

Door codes and tabs.  These needed updating for security reasons. Some codes were out of date, and others had become random.  So, if your code does not work, see Brigid.  If your tab is faulty, or you need a new one, see Brigid. The idea is to make us all feel safer, and comply with insurance clauses.  Carers such as Nurse Maud have the same code, as does CourierPost, Munro Benge and the ambulance. Please be patient until the updated system works for us all.

Headphones and earmuffs.  Those of us with bedrooms facing the motorway have been disturbed by very odd noises at night, while the motorway is being upgraded.  It reminded me that it is going to get very noisy during the big project, so I trotted off to Noel Leeming, and explored what they had for sale.  Headphones can be remarkably cheap.  I opted for one that will play music via my phone (and also accept phone calls) and got a Sony version for $137.  Others (no music) were much less than a hundred bucks.

Board meeting.  We had a board meeting last night, which made a busy time for Ken, as he accompanied Chris to a costing workshop at TBIG in the morning, and then hosted a small meeting in the afternoon, with Martin updating Joan and Tim, as well as our chairman.  Everything is progressing well.  There are so many elements in this big remediation -- garages, decant schedules, scaffolding, site setup, you name it.  But all the threads are being knitted together.  The boatd meeting, with Ken, Tim, Steve Cantwell, Camille, Sally, Shane Browning and his new administrator, Sarah, was a busy couple of hours, with much to update and discuss.  Again, it ended very satisfactorily indeed.

Garages. This lovely weather makes it easy to clear out your garage -- something else that is getting urgent.  The third skip is there for decluttering, and if you have items for the charity truck do tell Sally Schoon, who organised the last truck so well.

Readying your apartment for remediation

 

Decluttering.  The rapid filling of the skips is amazing, and very good to see.  The second one is totally full, but another will be coming on Monday.  Do please remember to break down cartons by flattening them - unless, of course, the carton is full of stuff to throw away.  Try to stack large items towards one end of the skip, to make room for smaller items to tumble to the bottom.  And no dumpster diving!  It is dangerous! Once the items are in the skip, they must not be taken out. Perhaps you think that whatever you have tossed could be used by someone else.  Well, there is a facility at the tip that takes care of this.

Charity truck.  The men who came with the Mary Potter Hospice truck were super helpful with heavy items, even heavy items that were not acceptable donations and had to be put in the skip. Another request has been made by a resident, so another truck is being ordered. 

Heavy items. Do not try to handle these yourself, and please do not ask Brigid to do it. If there are large items such as old bookcases that need to be taken apart to get into the skip, tell Brigid.  She will organise expert breaking up of old desks, tables, or dressers.

Quitting your apartment.  The time when your level must be vacated is getting precariously close for those in the top three floors.  Please do not ask us for exact dates, as the contract with Aoraki is still being worked through, clause by clause, and nothing can be finally decided until that is done. It is the same with quitting your garage or parking space. We will tell you the minute we know the exact dates ourselves.

As our chair, Ken Geard, says, Dates already distributed should be treated as indicative only. But in the meantime plan to get out smoothly and easily, by decluttering what you do not need to keep, and organising what you do.

Packing. It is strongly advised that fragile and valuable ornaments and artwork, precious chinaware, and so forth should be packed by yourselves. In museums, where valuable artifacts were being shipped to other venues, the rule was to pack small items in small boxes with soft material like shredded paper around them, and then put the small boxes into a big box. It is double security.  Conroy movers are going to do the same.  They will bring containers, and pack furniture plus cartons into the containers, then take the containers to their big building in Petone.  Thus, your possessions will be doubly protected from the weather. It means you can't get at them until they come back, of course, but it is a great measure.

Boxes. While shoeboxes are great for packing many precious items, it can be hard to find big boxes to take all the little boxes. If you get Hello Fresh or Wonky Box, save the cartons, as they are ideal.  Wine boxes are great, too. Conroy will deliver cartons, to help us out with this.

Refrigerator and freezer.  When the work force moves into your level, the power will be cut.  So please do not leave any food in your refrigerator or freezer or you will come home to a mess and a very nasty smell.  I am on level 7, but am emptying my freezer already. While it is nice to have space for that extra bread or container of icecream, it is also good to know that there will be the minimum to eat or give away when the time comes for my apartment to get its share of the remediation.

So declutter and enjoy your well deserved sense of accomplishing something that will help when the time comes to leave your apartment to the workforce.

ANOTHER INTRODUCTION TO AORAKI

 

What is great about the Aoraki approach to the remediation of Herbert Gardens is that they recognise that we are not just another tall apartment building, but we are a community -- a community of people who know each other, call out hello in the foyer, who gather to share chat and coffee, who give extra baking or vegetables to their neighbours, and who keep an eye out for those who need a little help.

It is a tradition that goes 'way back to when the site really was Herbert Gardens, and the residents held parties in the lower garden (click on the massive gathering in the picture to bring it up!) just like our own happy gathering for a sausage sizzle just a couple of Sundays ago.

The team at Aoraki are vividly conscious of this.  They write: "Over the next 12 months or so we'll get to know a lot more Herbert Gardens residents and during that time our team will be working hard to achieve your building improvement whilst all the while respecting that this is your home as well as your investment."

And who can ask for more than that?

Another face that has become familiar is that of Nitin (rhymes with Kitten) Patel, the Aoraki Quantity Surveyor who has been taking subcontractors around to size up the job. Nitin (surprise, surprise) is a big cricket fan, as well as having the most amazing smile.

A man who soon will not be a stranger is Lance Wallis, the big fellow in charge of the site. He will be managing a host of subcontractors, and keeping them up to scratch.   He has a ton of experience spanning more than two decades, which he will wield to our benefit over the next busy months.

Another site manager, to assist Lance in getting the site into shape each day is Caroline Anderson. I love it when the girls shoulder their way into what were traditionally men's jobs -- Caroline is a qualified Civil Engineer.  She's also not afraid of enclosed spaces -- she will be managing the structural works and bracket installations that will improve our earthquake rating.

THE TENDER AND THE TEAM

 

The Tender

Today we received Aoraki's tender for the project.  Tim, Mike, Ken and I met with Martin this morning for the first discussion , and evaluation of the offer is now well underway.  The dialogue with them, and with Aoraki, is really great.  It is terrific to see the project moving so smoothly ahead.

What is really neat is the file they sent with it, with their take on what the Herbert Gardens Project involves.  I love their three basic points:

1. To minimise costs and maximise return for apartment owners.

2. To prioritise residents' wellbeing.

3. To implement effective planning, clear communication, robust construction management and strong project governance to ensure that (1) and (2) are achieved.

While the dates are certainly not set in stone as yet, they have developed a programme.

First will be setting up a site office on the top parking deck.  That is where the management team will be based, and where updates will be issued. It is out of bounds for residents, and please do not interrupt hard workers with your questions (come to Damien or a director instead), but it is great that you should know who they are.

The Team

Many of us have already met the onsite project manager, Gazelle Moinfar, and she is the first to be introduced.  More to follow ... and do please read this online, if you can.  Type hgnewsflash,blogspot,com into your browser bar, or simply google for HGNewsflash.