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http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/war ... ntentSwap2
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Architects fear thousands of Australian homes, particularly new houses, may face the same problem. Water overflowing from the high-fronted gutters is not directed away from the house - as regulations insist - but back into the wall cavity. There, electrical wiring is exposed to the moisture and the water can rot timber frames and plasterboard walls.
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Within the brick veneer cavity, the soft timber frame upon which the roof relies for support may have already started to rot. Without the buffer of eaves on the external walls of many project homes, water trapped in the high-front gutters - attached flush to the side of the house - will have nowhere else to flow other than back into the cavity during heavy downpours, pooling at the base of the timber frame. The tell-tale internal mould and cracking may not manifest itself until well after the termites have moved in or the ceiling has begun to sag.
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As much as 85 per cent of new guttering installed on NSW homes is high-fronted, attached to a building's facia by a spring-clip system. This makes the entire guttering system non-compliant with building codes and Australian Standards because provision for continuous overflow does not exist.