REGAINING YOUR APARTMENT

 

Delivery of furniture

This is an exciting moment for all of us, but it is a good idea for you to be there! 

Otherwise the movers will simply put the furniture in what seems the appropriate room, having no idea of where individual items are supposed to be.  If you are there, you can give them instructions of where to put what. They will not hang pictures or mirrors, or empty cartons.  This is your job. So think about co-opting friends and family, or hiring help. 

And, if you are a landlord, remember that the apartment must be fit for occupation before you rent it out.  If you are using a property agent like Oxygen, they will insist on this. The home must be clean, tidy, warm and ventilated, and lights, fans, showers and so forth must be in working order.  If furnished or partially furnished, an inventory has to be made, and agreed upon by the potential tenant. For more information, go to www.tenancy.govt.nz

Internet, television and so forth

Obviously, you need a provider like Spark, Slingshot, 2 Degrees, and you may also need someone to set it up. Damien recommends Peter Munn of Telesound Marketing Ltd. The office is in 86 Nelson Street, Petone, phone 04 566 6016.  Mobile 021 174 7849, email peter.telesound@gmail.com

The website is www.telesound.co.nz

Not only will he set it all up with you, but he will deal (if necessary) with your provider, so that you don't have to cope with the heavy accent of the helpdesk person on the other end of the phone.

Heat pump dryers

A reminder that Damien would like orders to come in ASAP, as he will need a bulk order to get the best deal from Noel Leeming.  So think about it!  And make up your mind, after asking around for advice, if necessary. 

Balconies

How many of you have hankered after a balcony outside your apartment?  The thought of being able to step out into the sunshine (if there is any) is very seductive.  Well, I was one of those dreamers, but no more.  At Quest, I had an apartment that overlooked the motorway, complete with balcony.  On one lovely day I opened the door wide, and then without thinking went out for a short while.  And the pigeons moved in!  Not only did they open my bag of cranberry/nut mix and gobble the lot, but they left a calling card on the carpet.

The hazards of living in a city!

MILESTONES

 

Aoraki is celebrating milestones on their FaceBook page.

In mid-August, we celebrated the successful handover of Levels 12 and 13. A huge thank you to our site team, sub-contractors, consultants and our client for their hard work in ensuring the apartments were completed to a high standard and ready for residents to return to. This was a significant milestone in the project, and it would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of everyone involved.

We are now busily working on another 7 levels, carrying out asbestos removal, demolition, structural strengthening, new mechanical and fire services, new ceilings, floor finishes, and painting and decorating. With the start of Spring, we are (hopefully!) moving into some better weather as we continue our weathertightness improvements and painting works across the building exterior.

A quick snapshot of what we are up to on site this week:
• Reinstatement and finishing works on Levels 11 and 10.
• Ceiling framing and new building services on Levels 9 and 8.
• Demolition and structural steel installation on Levels 7 and 6.
• Asbestos removal on Levels 5 (and soon to be 4).
• Weathertightness improvements and painting works across all 4 elevations (and the roof), from Level 13 down to Level 7.

We’re excited to deliver another 2 levels back to our residents very soon, marking yet another milestone as we steadily work our way down to the ground floor.

Which is all very good news.  

It is a very interesting FaceBook page, too, as it follows the other projects Aoraki Construction is carrying out.  If you belong to the social site, look them up.

Heatpump dryers.

The orders for these are coming in slowly, and yet we need a reasonably complete list in order to deal with Noel Leemings, and get your replacement dryers (and frontload washing machines, too, if needed) ordered in time to have them delivered when your apartment is ready for reoccupation.  So please let Damien know your wishes. 

And, talking about reoccupation ...

The third bedroom in the B apartments is a separate issue when defects are being listed, as that room is being returned so much later than the rest of the apartment. And so it will be dealt with separately.  The shareholder will get the usual list of defects found by SPA, and then after inspection any issues will be sorted out. And, please note, just as with the rest of the apartment, historic defects -- ones that are not project related -- will not be fixed. 

And do visit the bottom garden if you are in town.  Brigid has mowed the lawns to a velvet finish, and spring is blooming beautifully, thanks to Judy Myers' expert care.

ELECTRICTY AND PROGRESS

 

The Power to Your Apartment

As you all know, when Aoraki takes over your apartment for the project, your electricity is cut off at the fuseboard, and their power supply takes over.  So the wise move has been to tell your supplier what is happening, have your own supply paused, and wait for a spell of no electricity bills. If you do not do this, you will get a daily line charge which you will have to pay. 

Some people who have notified their supplier have nevertheless been receiving small bills.  On contacting their power company, they have found that it is an estimate of what the bill might be, as the meter is of course not sending any data. Blame the robots!  Once the situation is explained to an actual person, it is agreed that the bill should not be paid. If it has been paid it will be a credit on the first bill the shareholder gets after returning to their apartment.

Other shareholders, to avoid any hitches like this, have cancelled their agreement with their supplier, on the understanding that they will rejoin and reconnect when they get their apartment back.  Damien tells me that those shareholders should let their supplier know at least ten days before regaining their apartment.  This is to give Aoraki time to check everything, and for the supplier to do whatever might be their thing.

There have been a couple of electrical hitches for people who have returned to their apartments.  Gazelle tells me that in one case it is a malfunctioning thermostat, and not a problem with the power itself.  Presumably it will usually be something relatively minor, like this. It is also a good idea to send a note to Aoraki asking them to make sure that everything works before they take over your apartment. This might be hard for Aoraki, as often the power is off before they arrive, so to make doubly certain check all the switches yourself, and keep a note of it.

Good news at today's meeting with the team at TBIG.  We are halfway through the project, and everything is going well. We are so far down, in fact, that the level 3 shareholders' meeting is this Friday at 10 am in Ken's apartment.  As usual, it will be run by Rachel. And level 4 will be vacated on the twenty-third.

Fire windows are being installed in the third bedrooms of 12B and 13B, and this is going well, too.  The frames are so big that they would not fit in the hoist, and had to be carried up the scaffolding by human chain. The glazing will be fitted this week.

Flashings that are installed in the top two levels are holding up well, as proved by a day of wind and rain. So those gusts were more useful that it might have seemed for anyone trying to land a plane in Wellington at that time!

 Defects lists. A flow chart is being composed to make the system for dealing with any defects that might be found after regaining apartments clear and more precise. This will be distributed shortly. 

Apron painting is well underway, heading past level 9, and once these ledges are done, installation of the window flashings will follow. Expect to see a lot of activity on the scaffolding, and keep your fingers crossed for plenty of fine weather with minimum wind. Asbestos removal is complete down to level 5, where it is ongoing. And that noisy demolition to make way for installation of strengthening brackets has descended to level 7. 

Expect to see experts walking around the building and the site, checking as they go. Everything is being checked for quality as the work proceeds, from relocation of water valves, the placement of lowered ceilings in common areas, the alignment of support brackets on facade panels, and the installation of block wall soldiers and braces, to the drilling into floor slabs where much care has to be taken to avoid hitting tendons and reinforcing steel. 

It is quite amazing, in fact, that everything is going so smoothly.

DECISIONS

 

Heat pump compressors

Apartment owners whose windows are on the western face of the building (facing the motorway, where the people are too busy to look up) have had the privilege of being able to have heat pumps with the compressors on the ledge outside the windows.

This could have proved a problem, as those windows have to be fitted with flashings, to help with the problem of weather tightness. Would the compressors have to be removed? This would have been yet another expense for the shareholder.  However, after working with the compressor outside an 11D window, Aoraki have found it is possible to squeeze the flashing in behind the machinery, and attached it as necessary. And, if the fit is too tight, the pipework penetration will be slightly altered, to make room. Accordingly, it looks as if all the compressors will stay in place.

Some of the pipework is old, however.  Where the entry hole is worn and may leak, the infill will be improved. If the area below the window has to be replaced because of water degradation, a removable painted panel will be installed, and the compressor vented through that.  This has the advantage of making it easy to check any future leaks issue.

New relocation payments policy

The delay before returning apartments to their owners has proved to be a problem. The current policy is that everyone (that is, everyone without insurance) gets $150 a day for 90 days to compensate for loss of access. This 90-day policy will apply to all the residents on lower floors who have only just moved out, or will move out over the next few weeks.  They are all eligible for that payment.

Most people have to be out of their apartments for quite a bit longer than 90 days, however. The original budget was for 90 days, with no provision for longer, so a revision had to be made. Accordingly, it was finally decided that people could apply for additional payment, again at the rate of $150 a day, but with new conditions. The application must be for actual costs, with the proviso that it is capped at $150 a day.  If you stay in a luxury hotel, you cannot apply for that hotel's daily rate. You can only apply for $150 a day. You cannot apply at all if you have had free accommodation, for instance by house-sitting, staying with friends or family, or staying in a second home. It also does not cover lost rental.

A form is being composed to formalise these applications, and keeping receipts (or bank statements) is strongly recommended.  Also, many residents are moving to apartments that have been returned to shareholders who are willing to rent them at a reduced rate, because of the inconvenience of renting in what is virtually a construction site. The resident pays the rental to the apartment owner, and claims for that actual cost. This is not only a pleasant, friendly, neighbourly way of solving a problem, but saves money, too.

Returning to your apartment

There is a defects policy, where Aoraki will fix defects that have happened in the progress of their work, such as paint drips, holes in ceilings, and bumps in walls. The day before the apartment is handed over, it is inspected by an architect, Max of SPA. A list of found defects is created, accompanied by photos, and a statement of what will be done to remedy, and this is given to HGL, and handed on to the shareholder/s concerned.

The day that the shareholders take over (or soon after) an inspection is made by them, plus someone from TBIG and/or Aoraki. Any additional defects found by the owner/s will be discussed, and if necessary a route to a decision of what to do about them will be created. Often, there is an easy explanation. If a wall has been bumped or scratched during the work, for instance, it will have been mended, and painted to a quality finish in the colour of white previously chosen by the shareholder, at project cost. If it is historic damage -- present before the project commenced -- it will not be fixed.  That is up to the apartment owner.

A flow chart is being composed to make this process easy to understand.