'Smurf Blue' House Remedy for Leaky Homes - First in the South Island

A product that will change the landscape for a large number of leaky homes is being applied to the first house in the South Island in Christchurch this weekend.

It’s bright blue, totally safe (no VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds), highly flexible and permeable and means that after moisture damage has been repaired, ‘leaky homes’ can be made 100% weathertight without an expensive re-clad of the exterior. The house is then totally transformed from blue using specially developed coatings in the colour of the client’s choice. There are also sensors in the wall cavities that will warn homeowners if there is any moisture breach in the future.

Liquid Cladding System (LCS) applicator David Peach says this is great news for people who thought they would never be able to afford a repair of their leaky home, the technology that comes with this new product ensures it will never become damp again.

“The average repair and re-clad of a leaky home can cost between $250-$300k; using the *Codemark LCS process, it costs between 20-30% of that,” he says. “For most leaky homes, the LCS takes around 8 weeks to complete, during which time the homeowner can stay in the house,” he says. “

“The first stage is the moisture mapping to locate the dampness, followed by the repair of that damage and the final stage of applying the blue membrane and a ‘normal colour’ exterior paint, takes between 1-2 weeks. So it’s not only cost effective, it’s less disruptive and pretty quick too.”

Peach says there’s incredible stress related to the whole leaky home issue, with people understandably anxious about what is likely to be their biggest asset, and the LCS system goes a long way in keeping that to a minimum.

“The moisture mapping is done by an expert and is non-invasive; the cost is far less than a re-clad and then there’s the faster turnaround,” he says. “That’s all helping to keep stress down.”

More than a dozen houses in the North Island have used the Liquid Cladding System but this is the first time it has been used in the South Island.

With as many as 80,000 leaky structures around the country and tens of thousands in the South Island, there may be a blue house near you soon. For a few days anyway.

ENDS

MBIE link to information on Codemark