Page 30 - HW May 2022

wet areas – bathroom & laundry
pilot programs are progressing, Greg Wallace says again, for
the record: “If you want to make a significant change to the construction industry and speed up consenting and inspections, then you have to put more onus on the tradespeople and on trust and have guarantees and other processes in place.”
PLUMBERS SAY GET THE LEAD OUT!
Returning to plumbing products and the changes proposed
by the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components and Other Matters) Amendment Act, Greg Wallace and the Master Plumbers are “deeply concerned” that the
new MBIE process around supplier declarations for products meeting relevant standards is “just not sufficient and doesn’t go deep enough.”
“We’ve had lead contamination issues across the plumbing industry and there’s no doubt in our mind that a supplier signing a declaration stating they meet the standard isn’t going to mean that it actually does.
“And so what happens is that the good suppliers get punished because they’re investing in making sure they’re completely compliant and then ABC Importers can just bring product in very cheaply and just sign a piece of paper saying they meet standards.”
In this respect, Master Plumbers are right behind the Building Code update consultation released early this month proposing the adoption of Australia’s WaterMark standard here, in which case all plumbing products would be third party verified by a lab.
Master Plumbers is also supportive of the proposed Building Code updates which would reduce the lead content in the copper alloy used in tapware from 6% to 0.25% like in Australia...
“We have got to move to lead-free plumbing products in New Zealand. Australia has already made that decision,” says Greg Wallace.
“So, in September 2025, you will not be able to buy a plumbing product in Australia that isn’t deemed lead-free. We think our government needs to align with that decision.
“The joke is we have MEPS [Minimum Energy Performance Standards] for tapware in New Zealand water – water labelling, efficiency etc.
“So we require that by law but we don’t require the product to be lead-free?
New Parisi inwall cisterns & push plates
Robertson Bathware has just released its new Parisi inwall cisterns & push plates. The new mechanical and pneumatic 90mm inwall cisterns come with a 10-year guarantee, are frameless for BTW pans,WELS 4 star and weight tested to 400kg.
Easily maintained through the front panel and with parts easily replaced and available, there are multiple fixation points and design options for push panels. Made of high-density polyethylene, wall fixing kits are included, along with all fixations and plumbing pipework to install to the soil pipe.
Also new are full-frame mechanical and pneumatic 90mm inwall cisterns for wall-hung pans, also requiring a push plate and also WELS 4 star rated. The pneumatic push plate offers a choice of five finishes while the mechanical push plates come in two styles in six different finishes.
www.robertson.co.nz
“We have got lead out of petrol, we’ve got it out of paint, but we’re still allowing it in our drinking water!”
[See page 27 for more detail around the current consultation on proposed changes to the Building Code Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods covering plumbing and drainage.]
GOING SOFT ON BATHROOMS
Auckland designer Sonya Cotter: bathroom furniture is “moving away from rectangles to something with a more interesting character, texture and a bit of movement, curves
We move now from the practical
aspects of wet areas to design. and so on.”
28 NZHJ | MAY 2022
MORE AT www.hardwarejournal.co.nz