Hobsonville's roofs, old and new
From airbase to suburb
The RNZAF used Hobsonville from 1929 to 2001, and the airfield was sold to Housing New Zealand in 2002. Hobsonville Point, now run by Kāinga Ora, is planned for 4,054 homes, including apartments, townhouses and penthouses.
A housing boom
The Hobsonville area went from 2,577 to 6,153 dwellings between 2018 and 2023, the biggest percentage rise in Auckland. Plenty of roofs here are only a few years old.
The 1920s and 1930s houses
Some air force housing survives, including married officers' houses on Marlborough Crescent built from 1925 to 1936, and junior officers' homes on Sunderland Avenue from about 1937. These are a different job entirely from a new townhouse.
Low and by the water
The peninsula is bounded by the Waitematā Harbour and rises less than 30 m above sea level. NZS 3604's zone D includes land within 500 m of the coast, harbours included.
6 December 2012
A tornado swept through Hobsonville near Whenuapai, killing three people. On one Hobsonville street no house escaped damage, and NIWA later put the number of damaged homes across both areas at almost 400.
If your newer Hobsonville roof leaks
Contain it and record it
Put a bucket under the drip, move anything valuable, and photograph the stain with the date and the weather. Switch the power off at the switchboard if the water is anywhere near a light fitting.
Tell the builder in writing
Within 12 months of completion, a defect you notify is presumed to be the contractor's responsibility unless they prove otherwise, and they must fix it within a reasonable time.
Find your completion papers
The contractor must give you copies of their insurance, any guarantees and warranties, and the maintenance needed to keep those valid. Check you've actually done that maintenance.
Know your longer rights
The Building Act's implied warranties carry on after the first 12 months, and a later owner can rely on them too. Civil claims about building work have a firm 10-year limit, so don't sit on a problem.
Unit title? Tell the body corporate
In a townhouse or apartment block, the roof may be common property, so let the body corporate know at the same time.
Storms, trees and insurance
Storm and tornado damage to a house is the sudden kind of damage insurance is meant to cover, and it goes through your private policy, since the Natural Hazards Commission covers storm damage to land only. If a storm brings a tree down on the roof, insurers generally pay to fix the house and remove the parts of the tree needed for the repair, not the rest of it.
See storm damage roof claims and does insurance cover roof leaks? for how to go about it.
Our advice for Hobsonville
On a home that's only a few years old, we'd go back to the builder before paying anyone else, and do it in writing. Keep the completion pack, roofing warranty and a note of the maintenance you've done in one place, because a COLORSTEEL warranty expects that maintenance to be followed and documented. On one of the old air force houses, we'd repair like for like and keep its character.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.