JULY 3 2011 Page 11ST

Close call: The house inGimba St, Mitchelton.

Red tapetangleangersQuirkKelmeny Fraser

BRISBANE’S Lord Mayor hasturned on the Building Ser-vices Authority (BSA), sayingthe Government needed tofind ways to make it a‘‘stronger force’’.

‘‘Unfortunately at times theState Government’s BuildingServices Authority has beenbogged down with red tapeand therefore unable to get thebest result,’’ Lord MayorGraham Quirk said.

The council has referred 45cases involving privatecertifiers to the BSA andallocated $100,000 this year towork the body.

Cr Quirk said he allocatedthe funds in an attempt to‘‘stomp out this tick-and-flickattitude of dodgy operatorsand (to) stop bad developmentbefore it becomes a problem.’’

It comes as the council andthe BSA grapple with what hasbeen described as one of theworst failings in Queensland’sbuilding approvals system.

Residents of Gimba St,Mitchelton, first raised thealarm about a house beingbuilt in the street only 82cmfrom the road two years ago.

But work on the house wasable to continue because of alegal loophole, sparking aneighbourhood feud and legalaction.

A council spokesman saidthe matter was currently be-fore the BSA.

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owners say it’sdodgy builders

Floor fail: Bamboo flooringthat buckles (above) hasprevented the Presser family(right) from moving properlyinto their home.

Familyflooredby BSAbackflipDavid Murray

DAYS after Tim and LeannePresser had bamboo flooringlaid in the final stages ofrebuilding their dream NorthTamborine home, the boardsbegan to buckle.

More than three years laterthe couple and their fourchildren still can’t move intotheir house after the flooringdeteriorated so badly it would

pop up beneath their feet.‘‘We got to the point wherewe virtually got speed humpsgoing through the house up to20cm high,’’ Mr Presser said.

In his mind it was a rela-tively straightforward case.The boards and theirinstallation were defective, soshould have been replaced.

Instead, the couple is stillfighting to have their floorsreplaced, after the Building

Services Authority first foundin their favour then mysteri-ously changed its mind.

So far they have spentabout $30,000 on the caseand the bill is still rising, butthey have little choice as therepair bill is estimated to bemore than $100,000.

The home’s new externalbamboo decking also failed.

The installer blamed issuesranging from water leaks to

poor ventilation, so the couplewent to the BSA.

‘‘The BSA decided he wasat fault and he should replaceall the floors and gave him adirective to do so.’’

However, the repair worknever started.

‘‘We were trying to find outwhen he was going to comeout and actually replace it andwhy it was taking so long. Hethen told us the BSA had

reversed their directive – butthey hadn’t informed us.

‘‘We rang the BSA and theysaid they’d decided to have anexpert conclave where theirexpert and his expert agreedhe wasn’t at fault and weshould find our own means oftaking action.’’ The case isnow before the state Civil andAdministrative Tribunal.

murrayd@qnp.newsltd.com.au

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