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NEW WORLD LEVIN
FRIDAY JANUARY 10, 2014
Contamination heartbreak Plasterer helps distressed couple
should beware. ‘‘You, like us, could buy what you think is your dream home and find yourself in the same boat as us, unable to live in it and a huge repair bill,’’ she said. For them the cost has exceeded $30,000. However, a knight in shining armour came to their rescue in the form of local plasterer Kris Harding. ‘‘I have started the plastering at no cost to the owners, and have organised a few painters to come and help me paint the required areas,’’ he said. ‘‘A carpet-vinyl layer has offered to lay the carpet, and a good friend of mine (a builder) to fix all architrave and skirtings at no cost.’’ Mr Harding said he did not want the lovely couple to have to spend anymore of their own money. ‘‘I have asked a few local companies if labour or materials could be donated. ‘‘I have had a few responses to the email but nowhere near as much as I expected. I do understand it has been bad timing with new years etc, but even a reply to say ‘‘sorry we cant help’’ would have been sufficient.’’ Mrs Hooper said they are new to the area and to find someone like Kris has been a ‘‘Godsend’’. Mr Hooper said a system should be put in place to protect innocent people from walking into what could be a death trap. ‘‘Imagine if a young family had moved in and small children had been exposed to this stuff. It could have been disastrous.’’
By PETER FRANKLIN Persevering with a shattered dream, Foxton couple Derek and Ceridwen Hooper purchased their new home in October but, after finding some strange stains and occasionally getting a whiff of an unusual odour, the couple started investigating to the point where they took local rumours seriously and had the house tested for methamphetamine contamination. Tests that cost the couple over $700 came back positive, the reading so high that they were advised not to occupy the house. Mrs Hooper said it was shattering news. The whole interior linings, Gib Board, carpets, complete kitchen and even window frames had to be stripped out and disposed of, leaving them out in the cold. Luckily they have a camper van and have stayed in that while work continues inside. Mr and Mrs Hooper have since had to store most of their possessions in the garage and the remainder is cramped into their camper van. ‘‘It was one of the things that no one picked up on, we didn’t notice anything when we inspected the property, the agent was unaware, it just slipped past us all,’’ she said. After speaking to neighbours who indicated that the house had been used as a P house, the
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NOT GIVING UP: Dis-heartened but determine to carry on, Derek and Ceridwen Hooper watch on as Kris Harding continues to plaster their home that had to have the interior stripped out because of methamphetamine contamination. couple bit the bullet and engaged the services of a professional company who specialise in contamination detection. The methamphetamine test
showed there was a great possibility that the house had been used to manufacture the drug. Mrs Hooper said she wanted to make it known that buyers
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