Epping: Decode Sydney ordered to fix defects at unit block at 18-20 Cliff Rd

Concrete cracks and a leaking skylight are among a long list of defects discovered in an occupied apartment block, which is less than 10 years old, in Sydney’s northwest.

Defects have been discovered at 18-20 Cliff Rd, Epping. Picture: Google Maps

“Multiple uncontrolled cracks” are among 17 serious defects identified at an Epping apartment block that was built less than 10 years ago.

The NSW Building Commission has ordered contractor Decode Sydney to repair the faults at the 36-unit complex, located at 18-20 Cliff Rd, following an inspection undertaken in March.

Worryingly, a missing frame on the skylight led to water leaks and a 50 per cent moisture content reading on the level 5 rooftop near the lift shaft.

Standards in the waste storage room fell short after inspections found the area did not “any form of natural or mechanical ventilation”.

Leaking was found in the basement carpark above a roller door, where drip trays had to be installed to concrete slabs to manage “uncontrolled water penetration from above”.

The unit block at 18-20 Cliff Rd, Epping. Picture: Google Maps

More problems were found in the basement walls where inspectors found a perimeter drain was inadequate or absent. Other drains were not filled with materials and failed to provide waterproofings.

The waterproofing on the rooftop at the common area of the plant room had also fractured and deteriorated.

Inspections found basement common areas were inadequately protected against fires, while the lightweight cladding over the pipework in the fire escape stairs in the carpark “may not be fire rated and requires further investigation”.

Meanwhile, the roller door in the basement carpark was not sealed and contained larger gaps, while in the gas meter room on the level five corridor, a service riser shaft, used to house cables, had not been enclosed.

A non-compliant step at the doorway’s threshold had also been added.

Jet fans in the basement common areas failed to shut down when the fire mode heat detection system was activated.

Multiple cracks were discovered in the soffit near the carpark ramp and fire stairs, which were patched and regrouted.

A slab near the carpark ramp had cracks and had to be repatched and grouted.

At the fire stairs in the basement, the 3m concrete block overstepped a slab.

A driveway on the ground level also has “multiple uncontrolled cracks in the driveway entry slab”.

The basement also has an exposed and unprotected reinforcement in the wall. In the corridors used by residents, smoke seals were not installed.

An artist’s impression of how the apartments at 18-20 Cliff Rd in Epping were slated to look before construction.

Decode Sydney has up to four months from July to repair defects, which the commission’s Yolande Nyss considered pressing because the apartments were occupied.

“The potential consequence of the serious defects set out in this order are that they may negatively impact the amenity of the development for owners and occupiers …,’’ the report stated.

The defects also had the potential to lead to “reduction in the habitability of apartments by their residents’’.

The commission acknowledged the order required costly repairs and actions.

“However, the cost to the developer must be balanced against the benefit to the owners and occupiers of the development in having the development constructed according to approved plans, the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standards,’’ the report stated.

In July, Decode Sydney stated it would engage the necessary consultants, such as structural and stormwater engineers to investigate and rectify the defects.

Originally published as Epping: Decode Sydney ordered to fix defects at unit block at 18-20 Cliff Rd