New Zealand will soon ban untreated timber as a building material in outside wall frames following the leaky homes crisis.
The Building Industry Authority has announced it will release proposed changes to the Building Code for consultation next month.
The NZ Herald understands the authority may recommend a return to boric-treated timber, which has not been compulsory since 1996.
The standard is likely to be a new treatment, known as H1Plus, which gives medium-term protection against rot but is less toxic than the H3 standard required for outdoor timber such as decks.
The new standard is expected to aply only to parts of the building which are exposed to water but some industry experts say this will be confusing and predit it will soon cover timber framing throughout the house.
Meanwhile, the government has aoounced proposals to combat the leaky homes crisis by registering all building professionals, protecting home buyers with compulsory insurance and rewriting the Building Code.
