Wow…October already, with only 12 weeks until Christmas the year has flown by, it will be 2022 before we know it. Below is a collection of updates from the team

Building Material Delays

COVID lockdown delays as well as a disrupted international supply chain is leading to building supply shortages and a need for building consent amendments as clients and builders are choosing not to wait for building materials specified and looking at substitutions.    One of the issues is that 90% of construction products sold in New Zealand are either imported finished products or manufactured locally from at least some imported components.  It is not uncommon to be waiting 6+ weeks for some building materials.

 Not all product substitutions can be executed without an application and documentation for an amendment to the building consent and clients are asked to take this into consideration before deciding to change materials.  Please contact us as early as possible to talk about these changes and the implications to consented documentation.

Articles that may be of interest are here and here

Contaminated Land

Are you aware of your responsibilities around potentially contaminated land (HAIL sites)?

Contaminated land is land that contains hazardous substances at levels that can potentially harm people and the environment.

If you are planning a land development activity, a purchase or sale or to apply for a resource consent - it is worth considering whether the property contains or has contained an activity that may be potentially contaminating.

Such activities include orchards, vineyards, pesticide application, storage of chemicals/fuel, workshops etc

In many cases an investigation will need to be carried out by a Suitably Qualified and Experienced Practitioner (SQEP) to support resource consent applications.

Here at Smart Alliances, we have two SQEPs who are ready to provide practical solutions to your contaminated land needs.

For more information about how we can help click here

Engineering Update

Foundation Design for Liquefaction

Many of our clients are coming across difficulties with Condition of Title relating to foundation conditions that are not picked up early in the design process that can result in delays to the Building Consent process and affect starting on site.

More recent subdivisions have geotechnical conditions that require designers to ensure that Liquefaction and Lateral Spread are accounted for in the slab design.  Often the geotechnical reports are buried in subdivision documentation and are difficult to interpret which causes confusion between designers, builders and floor design engineers.  The team at Smart Alliances Ltd have good local knowledge on the majority of geotechnical conditions in the Blenheim and Kaikoura areas and can assist with timely design advice and documentation for your foundation conditions.  We also have extensive experience in structural design of floor systems so can offer different solutions to the standard Christchurch design standards and can often reduce the cost of the foundations on a project.   

 Marlborough District Council are soon to release guidance on testing and design requirements with respect to liquefaction and lateral spread which is likely to effect properties close to creeks and streams in Blenheim.  Smart Alliances Ltd have a significant library of testing data that could be used to assist your project and reduce the cost of geotechnical testing.   Contact us early in the design process to ensure your project is correctly specified for building consent and avoid delays during processing

Resource Consent Renewals

Recruitment

We are are looking for an Engineering Student, an Intermediate Engineer and a Senior Architect. If you are interested in joining our team click here for more information

COVID 19 Update

Hopefully you are well and getting through the lockdowns. Fingers crossed for a Level shift at the next Government Announcement.

Smart Alliances have Protocols to follow that have been aligned with the construction industry, this means that we do require extra information from you when we undertake site visits and inspections. This is to ensure we keep everyone safe. These Protocols can be found here