Home, sweet home

By - , Build 156

Annemarie Crampton
Annemarie Crampton

ONE HOUSE I flatted in while at Canterbury University could have supplied some great photos for what we don’t want in the healthy houses feature on pages 43–66. It was freezing cold, draughty and damp, and everything sloped away from the concrete steps at the front door. This house was demolished before the earthquakes, but many others remain in a similar condition all around the country, and they aren’t all rentals.

BRANZ’s House Condition Survey has been looking at the condition of houses every 5 years since 1994, and the findings continue to be worrying. Preliminary results from the 2015/16 survey suggest mould is visible to some extent in over half the housing stock, and it is notably worst in rentals (see pages 53–54). Mould and damp are important indicators of unhealthy homes, with research linking living in cold, damp houses to poor health and social wellbeing.

For me, my house is my little sanctuary. It’s a warm, dry, safe place to come home to at the end of the day. Somewhere personalised to me and my family, where we can relax and unwind. It is wonderful.

But what about the houses that don’t provide a warm, dry, healthy environment for everyone living there? In this issue, we look at some of the reasons for this and things that can be done to improve them.

An interesting case study of a 2-year-old house that had water condensing on the inside of double glazing highlights potential problems as new homes become more airtight. It also shows the importance of educating occupants on how to use their home (see pages 47–49). Containing moisture, extracting at source, heating and ventilation are key factors repeated through the feature articles.

Enjoy this Build, and I wish you good health in a warm dry home.

Annemarie Crampton
Build Editor

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Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.

Annemarie Crampton
Annemarie Crampton

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