At last the insulation industry has a Standard — NZS4246:2006 — that addresses long-standing issues of quality and compliance.
Industry experts were gathered together, in conjunction with EECA, BRANZ, DBH and HNZC technical experts, to put together a comprehensive Standard on the installation of commonly used insulation products.
Poor installation and non-compliance
Its been a long-term issue that the industry has tried to self regulate: poor installation and non-compliance to the building code.
But I have seen so many poor techniques and practices that I would go so far as to say it is a quantum leap forward with regard to sorting out practices and provider services.
I have seen all imaginable types of service offered as accredited or approved. And with insulation generally being a range of product that is eventually hidden behind gib or surface finished materials, I’m glad to see that there is finally a Standard that everyone has to work to.
Further to this Standard, there are now moves afoot to gain an industry qualification as an accredited or approved installer.
This will give end users, construction companies and builders the confidence that the people they use are industry trained, qualified and skilled.
Add to this the poor industry inspectors, who are expected to be experts on all things related to construction and take on liability and compliance issues every day.
This gives them the security that they can enforce a common Standard and level of service that is documented and quantifiable.
From a personal point of view, I was involved in the construction of the Standard and feel this has been a long time coming.
But finally the first building block has been put in place to ensure a quality service at a consistent and common level that should help “weed out” the “cowboys”.
The next step is to get the manufacturers to sort out issues of quality, consistency and compliance, and it’s good to see the Commerce Commission’s recent involvement here to ensure this.
