Hundreds of buildings that haven't been built to standard can't be revealed for legal reasons, according to a new report.
Investigators from Concrete Structure Investigations told RNZ they've scanned 1200 buildings with penetrating radar since 2016, and found critical structural parts such as reinforcing steel missing or not properly installed in 1100 of them.
Affected buildings can be found in all of New Zealand's major cities, as well as Hawke's Bay.
"Some key structural elements are not going in correctly or they're not going in at all, and of course, once they're covered up with concrete, we - any of us - don't know what's actually gone into the building," spokesperson Jane Roach-Gray told RNZ.
"Cover it in concrete, nobody will know," said her partner Michael Roach-Gray. "It's bullshit."
RNZ reported they couldn't be identified for legal reasons. In some cases, legal action had been settled out of court, keeping the buildings' identities secret.
In one case, the basement of a large construction project in Wellington was found to be saturated with water, but construction of upper levels went on regardless.
Another building had a reported 100 percent failure rate when it came to testing the steel rods put between concrete walls and floors.
Others had empty gaps behind the concrete where support structures should have been, but weren't.
The technology used to scan the buildings was developed with Callaghan Innovation.
Concrete Structure Investigations has sent its findings to Building Minister Jenny Salesa.
Newshub.
