Monday update

 

The TBIG team

Martin Hubbard is already a familiar face.  An Englishman, his qualification is the complicated-sounding one of Higher National Certificate in Building Studies Business & Technical Education Council, UK. The New Zealand equivalent is NZQA NZ Certificate in Building. After experience in four UK firms he came to New Zealand, and after working for Fletchers in New Zealand from 2001 to 2005, he moved to the Building Intelligence Group, where he has been ever since.

Rachel Pattison, who has become a friend to many here at HGL this year after moving here from Christchurch, has a degree in Building Science from Victoria University.

The reason this introduction is so belated is that a new member of our team is Angus Bridge.  This is because Martin is heading home to the UK for three weeks or so, and Angus will be taking his place.  Angus has a Bachelor of Engineering, and has been in charge of big jobs in New Zealand, priding himself on the level of trust he establishes with his clients.  He has also overseen construction sites in Abu Dubai and London, so must have some interesting stories under his belt.

Scaffolding is going up around the C apartments and the workers are moving onto the western side.  Soon we will all be barred in, but it is not like prison, as I am told that the mesh webbing cuts down a lot of noise.  That will be very welcome for those in D, A and C apartments with bedrooms facing the motorway, as there seems to be a hoon who drives around late at night having fun making his vehicle backfire.  Honestly, some people!  

Decanting is going well, with level 10 smoothly emptied out.  We are now planning for the removal of level 9 (around 9 June) and held the level 8 meeting with shareholders today. Payments for those leaving their apartments should start on the day of departure.  There has been the usual hitch with our spreadsheets, as so many people have not indicated whether they have insurance payments or not, but everyone is doing their best to get the money out there.  And you may have noticed that the garage/parking space payments came in a lump sum for the whole period of remediation.  Don't spend it all at once!

 Damien is away at the moment with conjunctivitis, poor man, but as usual Brigid is standing in for him. Any queries should go to her, meantime.  We wish Damien a speedy recovery.

Elevators. Though you may not have noticed, work with planning and getting ready for the arrival of the elevator parts is going on in the background.  Today, there was a site meeting with the engineers and Aoraki, the focus being engineering. I spoke to Murray, their friendly representative, and he is very upbeat.  As everyone says, we can't wait for those new lifts.

Our new elevators

 

People have been asking ...  and so here is an approximate idea of what our new elevators will be like.

The image to the right shows the interior, but our lifts will not be as square. The dimensions will be 1600 x 1400, so not quite as roomy as our old ones, but there is excellent headroom at 2500 high, meaning that a queen size mattress could fit. The reason for the right-left 1600 size is because there had to be space in the lift shaft for lifting beams.

The walls are hairline stainless steel.  Anything we add, such as frames for notices and a mirror, are our choice.  We are also supplying (and applying) carpet tiles for the floor, as that is by far the cheapest option.  The lighting is LED, so will be much brighter.  There is also a switch for forced cab ventilation if necessary,

You will love the controls. The buttons are white in standby, so easily found, then go blue when pressed.  They are marked with Braille for those who need it.  What I like is that on every floor you will be able to see where the elevators are. There is also an engraved "Do not use lifts if there is a fire" on the face plate.  And, if the lift should break down, it will auto-notify Otis, as it has sensors that can tell if there are occupants in the car. So, while there is a yellow alarm button, there should be no need to press it.

Parking/garage repayments.  There has been a glitch, for which we apologise.  Somehow during the change of administrators at Munro Benge the spreadsheet was lost.  It is somewhere in the system but no one can find it.  So Brigid created a new spreadsheet, and the back pay for the unpaid weeks will be in your bank accounts soon. 

And now for a lighter touch -- three happy owners of C apartments inspecting one of their homes from the scaffolding.

Photo courtesy of Damien, but evidently taken by someone else.

Activity update

Inside level 12.

Gazelle's update from Aoraki:

Something that the Apartment A and Apartment B shareholders may have noticed over the last couple of days is green masking tape and brown paper starting to cover parts of their windows. This is being done in preparation of the window painting, with the undercoats to be applied with a spray gun, and will protect the glass from being splattered with paint.  It’s important to get paint on these window frames as soon as we can, so the stripped back timber work isn’t exposed to the weather for too long without paint protection. Important to keep the windows closed when the painters are on or near your level! 

 Today, the painting of the window frames commenced on Levels 13 and 12, and this will continue into next week down the building . I am not sure yet how long the green tape and brown paper will be in place for but I will have a better idea of this next week and will report back. 

 Asbestos removal - good news! on Monday we received our final clearances for Level 12 asbestos removal, so our asbestos team have moved down to Level 11 and will be making a start on asbestos removal from tomorrow . With the asbestos gone from Level 12, our demolition team have moved in and started to demolish the block wall in front of the pre-cast panels. 

 The remainder of the East Elevation and South Elevation scaffolding is complete now, installation went very smoothly, quicker than expected . 

 The remainder of the North Elevation scaffolding started on Wednesday and they have gone from Ground Floor to Level 6 already - we expect this to be complete by the end of next week. 

And from Rachel TBIG a plan:

The pale green areas show where blockwork is being demolished and new gib installed and painted the white of your choice. 

Breaking News.

Gazelle Aoraki has informed us that while some D apartments have gib ceilings and do not need acm removal, it is important that the team have full access. They need to run new fire alarm cabling through the ceilings, and install new smoke/heat detectors and sounders.  And they need internal access to all windows, as the new flashings will require some removal of gib-linings.  Accordingly, it has now been decided that all apartments have to be fully decanted. The shareholders who have apartments that were originally designated partial decant will be personally contacted. 

Red bins.

Someone has stolen our two red bins!  These will be replaced, but it has been decided to relocate all of them to a place that can't be accessed so easily from the street.  Notices will be in the lifts.

Exterior paint and the watery foyer

 

Proposed colours for the exterior

The refurbishment of the outside of the building is going to look so good from the street (and the motorway).  Max of Studio Pacific has sent samples of suggested colours, which all look good to me. The pre-cast panels will be given a coat of Half Tapa, while the aprons and columns (and soffits, I hope!) will be Half Thorndon Cream, a warmish shade of white. The window frames will be Alabaster white, and the back-painted glass panels Quarter Lemon Grass.  The aluminium flashings and the aluminium frames of the new windows in the B third bedrooms will be as white as the Alabaster, but a different kind of paint.  How true these colours are to reality is open to question, but this display gives a good idea.

Water in the foyer.  

A big surprise was to be called down to the foyer on Friday morning early, to find the scaffold column exposed, and the blower drying up a big water mark on the carpet. Apparently, the flood had been discovered by Lance Aoraki, who (surprise, surprise) had turned up to work at 4.30 am. Apparently he dislikes being caught in traffic. So he hauled the dryer out of the trolley room, and set the scene for return to normal.  What a hero!  But for him, he said, it was just another day in the office.

So what caused the flood?  Apparently some carpet scraps had been left on the lobby roof and had laid there unnoticed.  With the hard rainfall they were swept into the drain, and so the water finished up in the foyer.  Luckily the stone floor took the brunt of it, and it is even luckier that Lance was there so early.

Decanting payments. 

Another reminder to check if you have contents insurance, as if you do (and you were living here during the earthquake), you will be eligible for a payment from your insurance company.  If you do not have that insurance, then HGL will recompense you at the rate of $150 a day while you have no access to your apartment, but if you do have insurance you must not apply for the HGL payment.  That would be double-dipping, and unfair. And anyway, your payment from the insurance company should be a lot more. If you want help with applying to your insurance company, let me know, and I will send you the information sheet. 

Progress. 

Work on the two top levels is progressing well, and up to schedule, which is great. Level 11 is decanted, and being worked on as we speak, and level 10 is being packed up.  The 9 level shareholders' meeting with Ken, Damien, Rachel and self was held Monday morning, and went very smoothly indeed. 

As Lance would say, Just another day in the office. 

AFTER THE STORM

 

Winter?  What winter?

Considering the storm last week, the garden is looking amazingly good.  A few branches came down, but there was no other damage.  The scene is pristine, with hardly any boggy patches in the lawn.  Flowers are out, and wonder of wonders, there are Monarch butterflies fluttering around.

Robert Jones' ficus in the foyer is looking particularly good, too.

B Apartments

The owners of these on the upper levels are being extremely cooperative about Aoraki moving into bedroom three early, to create the access for the hoist, and the access into the hallway.  Anything to keep the project up to schedule is most welcome, especially as our use of the hoist for decanting furniture is limited.  Despite the sunshine today, more rain can be expected over the next few months.

Lift Lobbies. Some of you will have noticed that the light has gone out on their level.  Damien, plus contributions from shareholders in the way of standard lamps, has made up for it, so we don't stumble around in the dark when getting out of the lift on affected levels.  This was because when the power was shut on level 11 for removing ACM in the lift lobby and hallways, it turned out that other levels are on the same circuit.  So it can't be helped, but this good way has been found to work around the problem.

Scaffolding.  No sooner had we agreed that the whole building should be scaffolded, than the job began.  Which means that the happy sound of fixing metal bars and rods is back with us.  It will go on for at least three weeks, with the western face being the last to be done.  There will be trucks bringing in the scaffolding on the lobby level, so do take care when walking out of the building.  And don't forget to wave at those busy people working outside your window.

Heat pumps. Now that the western face is going to be scaffolded, several queries have come about whether this is an opportunity to have heat pumps serviced.  This is still under discussion, but you will be informed the instant some kind of decision is made. 

Payments for loss of parking space or garage.  There was a glitch in the proceedings, so that payment is late, for which we apologise.  But fear not, once it gets formalised at next week's board meeting, the back payment will be made, and after that the monthly payment will come, in arrears, on the 20th.

Level 11 decant

 It wasn't easy.

Level 11 had to be cleared for the Aoraki team this Monday, but the storm made it very tricky indeed. Level 11 had been packed up, and the access had been made through 11B south bedroom, but then the rain came down and the wind blew up. As you all know, perhaps, the storm was so severe that the site had to be closed for one day.

Gallant Damien micromanaged brilliantly.  The cartons were carried down via one of our lifts, and stored in two dry garages. Gazelle and Conroy were consulted, and finally the agreement was made to do the big decant on Saturday.  The forecast was good, and our fingers were crossed, and lo, our hopes were fulfilled, as Saturday was fine and sunny.

Conroy arrived with two great trucks.  One at the front door to collect the stored cartons, and the other on the construction site to load the furniture as it came down in the hoist.  And by 1pm, it was done. Level 11 was cleared for work to commence tomorrow.  And, meantime, all those workers were treated with hot pies and chips, to thank them for turning out on the weekend.

Weathertightness.  We have had some good news on that front, too. As the team go around the scaffolding, mysteries are being solved, and solutions devised. Much of the leaking has been due to causes that have been unknown.  It makes scaffolding the whole building sensible, as the fixes can be applied all around.

Charity truck.  This will arrive on Thursday.  Another good chance to declutter, and do good at the same time. Remember, no soiled or broken stuff, and no electrics.

Decanting. The meeting for shareholders on level 9 will be on Monday 12 May. These meetings have gone so well, as it is a chance for residents to hear their neighbours' questions.  Individual meetings with Rachel are being organised.  When getting ready to decant, remember the three C's -- no consumables, combustibles, or chemicals -- and that means cleaners.

Insurance claims.  A lot of people have not indicated whether they have insurance for their decant and alternative accommodation, and we have to know this, for budgeting.  If you were here in 2016, and had contents insurance, then you can claim for both.  It's worth it.  The insurance company will pay out a lot more than you would get from HGL.  If you need hard copies, let me know.  If you have trouble making a claim, let me know too, and I will send you the Sedgewick letter that lays out how you do it.