The Moisture Detection Company Ltd (MDC) is built on a real concern created from the leaking and rotting homes syndrome which has had a devastating effect on thousands of New Zealand homeowners and those involved in the Building Industry - and silently affecting thousands more.

Based in East Tamaki in Auckland, MDC was formed to bring to market the Mdu System - new technology discovered from 3 years of research into building wall performance. The Mdu System is a revolutionary new way of assessing a building's moisture levels at any point in its life without damage. The research that produced this was conducted by cladding manufacturer Hitex together with the University of Auckland. The research included wall microclimate studies of what is occurring on the inside of timber framed walls and the measurement of weathertightness performance of buildings.

Today MDC focuses on encouraging the adoption of the Mdu System inside the construction industry, developing new technology solutions for building assessment, growing its strategic partnerships and continuing research into building performance.

“That all NZ buildings have a pre-emptive performance measure of building weathertightness that is non-destructive, reliable and affordable for the improvement of building practices and the benefit of all Building Industry stakeholders.”

MDC applauds the recent tightening of construction design methods, the introduction of vented cavities and the re-introduction of timber treatment to improve building robustness, weathertightness and durability. Research has shown that these design features improve the performance of buildings significantly.

It is MDC's belief that the Mdu System will bring a new approach to evaluating building performance - one that will ensure that the industry has a mechanism to measure industry improvement intended of the new Building Act.

MDC's vision is that all NZ buildings will have a pre-emptive measure of weathertightness performance that is non-destructive, reliable and affordable. From a position of knowledge and measured performance, positive steps can be taken to rectify problems or problematic systems based on factual information. This will encourage the improvement of building practices for the benefit of all building industry stakeholders without waiting for litigation or a repeat of the widespread leaky building syndrome.