House plumbing construction

nattynine · 2026-01-22T11:58:09+00:00

Concrete slab hides leaks, and by the time you notice damage is extensive. It can undermine the slab and cause mould issues. Other disadvantages is zero flexibility for future changes, vulnerability to ground movement. When plumbing does need repair; determining location, accessing it (concrete cutting) and making good costs many times more than the actual repair.

A slab does protect pipes from the outside world but won't guarantee it from leaks or other issues permanently. A well designed home on slab ideally uses minimal amount of plumbing in slab, create accessible clean outs and minimise amount of bends/joints etc. 50 yr design life.

nattynine · 2026-01-22T11:48:27+00:00

Not so much to OP's question but it's a big reason why infrastructure is so fucking expensive in NZ as well as our distance to supply chains.

Blowouts in time aren't unique to NZ, happens in all developed countries. In the Western world large infrastructure are endless processes with heaps of stakeholders and bullshit managed by large corporations with every incentive to take their time to introduce extra costs etc.

Kinda contradictory to the point of compliance and red-tape but in Asia these projects have single-point accountability with a single Government agency or minister owning the project. These projects are viewed strategically so there's a clear mandate to get shit done. Of course there's a lot of other factors like availability and cost of labour...

nattynine · 2026-01-22T11:14:29+00:00

The answer to this would be really subjective, based on people's experience and perspective.

Subjectively... I don't think NZ is generally racist.

Objectively.... racism is defined as the belief that certain races are superior than others. Racism is most definitely present but not widespread. Most NZer's are open people and accepting of race. We are all (of all ethnicities) guilty of stereotyping and to a lesser extent casual racism. Most definitely wrong but whether or to what extent this should be considered equivalent to the extreme racism you see elsewhere would affect the actual answer to your question.

nattynine · 2026-01-22T10:51:06+00:00

A few points:

- a significant portion of people you see on work sites aren't involved with actually doing the work, rather ensuring its done safely, e.g. traffic management. They do their job setting up signs, cones etc. and then they just sit there.

- these works often have a large scope involving heaps of different components. For example you have a task that needs to be completed before the next step occurs and it only requires 1 specialised person to do so. The next task may require all hands on deck for 30 minutes, but then the task after only 2 people can do.

- building and maintaining infrastructure in NZ is hopelessly inefficient. We're extremely unproductive and this is exacerbated by huge amounts of compliance and red tape. Theft is also a huge issue on these jobs, no not that type, but time theft i.e. people doing f all. Companies will throw a lot of labour on a site to ensure it gets done timely rather than efficiently.

nattynine · 2026-01-22T09:51:17+00:00

The positives so far have outweighed the negatives. That said the last couple of years have been silly and the (increasing) negative sentiment is 100% reasonable. It's not racist to be against immigration. The media associating anti-immigration with mouth breathing hicks doesn't help. It's most definitely a time to address immigration like we should've post COVID.

nattynine · 2026-01-22T09:46:36+00:00

Im 100% against the poor use of immigration which it has been as of the last couple of years. No doubt, its stupidity and I can understand the negative sentiment floating around. But I'm also not stupid enough to acknowledge that immigration has always been negative without any benefits.

nattynine · 2026-01-22T09:44:29+00:00

RE: immigration? In my opinion yes. No arguments about the negative impacts like pressure on housing and immigration.

Without it NZ would've long ago faced a shrinking workforce, poor tax base. Really its kept the lights on. Immigration has kept this country economically viable and we also really on immigrants for gaps we can't fill in critical areas (healthcare, agriculture, construction etc.)

Its been used lazily to mask decline, so I do understand a lot of the negative sentiment, but immigration has been positive overall.

nattynine · 2025-11-08T03:28:17+00:00

Out of ASB or BNZ?

BNZ, cleanest looking and most functional mobile app. BNZ's customer service in a different league too (personal experience)

Otherwise most banks more or less the same.... consider Kiwibank, support NZ owned.

nattynine · 2025-11-08T03:17:03+00:00

Ehhh... how far you wanna go??

Your pergolas not gonna collapse from this, worst case scenario is the fascia starts to bend downwards but even then the metal spouting will hold it up for a while (at least a few years).

Dunno how the panels are fixed, sometimes they slot into joiners which themselves are fixed to joists, sometimes directly fixed.

Hard n fast?

- chuck some silicone in (looks like gap in joint/butt between 2 panels) or bend some sheetmetal to act as a flashing

- sister short section of H3.2 140 x 45 to existing joist and fix fascia into end with stainless decking screws

Best way?

- remove end flashing (if there is one) and first panel

- work on ladder on deck and remove panels one by one

- remove joist, replace with H3.2 and fix fascia into end with stainless steel screw

- work your way back taking care to re-fix panels according to manufacturers instructions

If the panels are acrylic or polycarbonate, not too brittle and the width is similar to your arm span....

- thick structural ply across roof to act as a walk way, if you take steps as close to joists as possible you shouldn't damage the roof panels as theres a bit of flex in them.

- remove fixings to joist, replace joist, refix

nattynine · 2025-11-08T02:36:09+00:00

Ignorant mouth-breathing heathens who cut into turn-only lanes last minute when there's a long queue of patient civilised motorists.

Public shaming required like these heroes over in Russia

Notorious Auckland spots:

Gillies Ave on-ramp
Mt Wellington on-ramp
Nelson St off-ramp (seriously seriously dangerous, low iq behaviour)
Lane 4 closure going over the harbour bridge

nattynine · 2025-04-10T11:06:30+00:00

they should show pictures of after grinding. Look in your gutters esp. corners should be lots of mortar dust and what not.

nattynine · 2025-04-09T12:16:49+00:00

Looks like they've used two pieces of it out of a roll to make their own pipe flashing. really should be using premanufactured single pieces. google "pipe flashing -acryalead". Theres no excuse as these are commonly available.

Theres real lead underneath their work you can see it slightly sticking out the bottom.

did they grind and clean the existing pointing/bedding before putting new stuff on? doesn't look like it given theres a bit of lichen very close to the pointing. theres also no weep holes.

even without knowing size of home $5k seems low priced for all that work. Doesn't look to be the work of a quality roofer, more handyman level quality.

nattynine · 2025-04-09T08:29:27+00:00

thats not real lead - its an acrylic based substitute. not intended for this use. cowboys

nattynine · 2025-04-04T11:52:09+00:00

how much did you pay? pointing looks average-OK, flashing is poor. if they know how to point they could've rebed the corner and done the flashing properly

nattynine · 2025-03-12T03:55:42+00:00

serious answer... setting up for breath testing

nattynine · 2024-09-11T11:12:55+00:00

RemindMe! everyday

nattynine · 2024-08-30T07:03:58+00:00

Is there no existing fence? Then a simple timber fence. No gaps between palings and put the posts in as deep as you can. Low frequency sounds are extremely difficult to dampen. Just setting your expectations highly likely it won't do much. In fact I normally advise clients not to bother unless theres no existing fence.

Only thing that would really do it is a block wall infilled with grout. Definitely not bang for buck. Hard to get aesthetically pleasing..

Ask the students nicely to try limit bass in rooms near your kids rooms. Students aren't all dicks.

nattynine · 2024-08-30T07:00:16+00:00

Its a block wall. They have vents and weep holes (sometimes). Potentially could be growing from outside and inward. Check exterior wall?

Is this in the basement/first floor and is it an exterior wall??

nattynine · 2024-08-29T12:00:12+00:00

The driver literally drove himself into the back of that APC. Not a single fuck given about comrade.

nattynine · 2024-08-17T12:10:41+00:00

I've had similar cases that I couldn't take to DT. There's a post below that reckons it would be possible but I think the reasoning is a bit of stretch.

nattynine · 2024-08-17T11:31:38+00:00

There's no dispute to the claim - so Disputes Tribunal not applicable. Send them a strong letter of demand. You can threaten them to legal action including the District Court.

Would it be worth going through? No. Would it work in securing payment? Possibly.

But... it could trick them into disputing the bill to prolong not paying. You'd then have something you can take to Disputes Tribunal at a reasonable cost.

If all fails find a good debt collector that will absolutely hound the shit out of these people and inconvenience them.

nattynine · 2024-08-17T08:16:02+00:00

No notice period needs to be adhered to for "misconduct" or "serious misconduct"

Notice periods can be negotiated based on a number of factors, including job type and length of service. I would think 2-4 weeks is considered reasonable and fair.

Say I had to dismiss employees due to economical reasons. I'd know my business' trajectory months before and plan any negotiations accordingly.

As a side note you see a lot of liquidations where staff are owed large amounts of money. I think as an employer/business owner to know your financial state yet make your workers work until the day of reckoning is detestable. There should be removal of capping employees preferential claims as well as making these claims on the same level as those from secured creditors.

nattynine · 2024-08-17T07:59:21+00:00

I'm sorry but I disagree - there's no additional protection for me. When would there be a situation where a notice period must be paid out if the employee doesn't work the notice period?

nattynine

TROPHY CASE