Building a ‘potential danger’

Press, 15 July 1987, Page 1

Building a ‘potential danger’

The “potential danger to the public” of the Christchurch Transport Board’s Cathedral Square building, will take about $200,000 to eliminate. The risk of pieces of concrete failing from the building’s exterior was not immediate, but deterioration was increasing as time went on, said the board’s general manager, Mr Max Taylor.

Moisture had got through the concrete cover on the steel reinforcing of the panels and as the rust expanded, lumps of concrete could fall from the building on to the ground, he said.

The problem had been discovered early last year, but it had taken until now for consultants to give their advice, said Mr Taylor. Transport Board members discussed the problem at their finance and administration committee meeting yesterday. They decided that the chance of recovering any of the costs of the work from the construction company which built Carruca House was negligible. The company no longer existed; and the building was finished 14 years ago. The company which was awarded the tender to do the work on the concrete panels would also fix leaking windows on all floors and replace pebbles missing from some of the panels, said Mr Taylor.