BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION with Phil brosnan
Phil Brosnan is Managing Director of North Shore based company, Brosnan Construction. He has over 25 years’ experience in the industry. He began his career with Naylor Love as an apprentice carpenter in Dunedin in 1985. Phil was later inducted into their management team to lead their small contracts and buildings maintenance workload, before proceeding into project management. In 2002 he was promoted to division manager in Dunedin, and in 2004 Phil was transferred to manage their Auckland business. He set up his own construction business, Brosnan Construction, in 2010. He is our regular “Building & Construction” contributor to The Business Channel.
Leaky Building Spotter
Over the past few years I have developed a habit, one that possibly annoys those that are close to me. I spot buildings that are suffering from “Leaky Building Syndrome” or as it is now referred to as “Weather Tightness Issues” and provide a running commentary on their repair requirements.
I find the entire situation quite sad and wonder how on earth it has gotten to this point. It’s such a shame to see children being brought up in homes that are leaking, or taught in schools that are suffering from water ingress. It’s sad to see retirees who have planned well for their retirement, watch their nest egg being whittled away or worse have to mortgage their properties to carry out repairs. It’s worst of all to walk the streets and identify all of the buildings that are rotting away, knowing that the owners probably know that they are sitting on a real problem but are either too scared to know or unable to deal with it. I’ve never personally been in this situation before so it’s a little hard for me to understand completely but time is the enemy not the cure and ignoring the issue is costing NZ Inc. millions of dollars every year.
Repairing buildings with weather tightness issues has its challenges, particularly given that you are dealing with people who would quite frankly, prefer that you weren’t. Initially it’s hard for them to see the value we provide, after all it’s not like we’re creating a new asset but rather repairing it to a level that they would rightly have expected it to be in the first place. This is one of the reasons why I think our services in this area are in such high demand. Our willingness to really understand the issues and tailor our services around our customers together with our focus on relationships and quality makes us naturally suited to the sector.
We have considerable experience in repairing leaky buildings including homes, schools and commercial buildings. We’ve responded to the market’s demand and tailored our business around it; building a team specifically devoted to this sector of the market and we have several customer referrals that suggest we’re on the right track.
If you think you might be in the situation I’ve described here I urge you to seek help. There are plenty of resources available and the government has recently released their Financial Assistance Package where they will grant home owners up to 50% of the cost to repair, but like all things special conditions apply. Check out www.dbh.govt.nz/weathertightness-index for more information or give me a call and I’ll do what I can to help.
Phil Brosnan is the Managing Director of Brosnan Construction.
(09) 479 4347, enquiries@brosnanconstruction.co.nz
