Page 22 - HW April 2022

building envelope – pre-cladding & insulation
THE BUILDING ENVELOPE is a complex subject so, for the sake of focus, I am deliberately restricting this article to the context of dwellings and the implications and effects of the upcoming energy efficiency changes to the Building Code on houses, leaving the implications for larger non-residential buildings for another time.
Let’s start with the pre-cladding aspects of this article – rigid air barriers, wraps etc – and getting the home enclosed.
Despite recent pain and obstacles in supply, Gordon White, Market Manager – Residential at Winstone Wallboards, reports “a pretty big pick up in terms of demand” for GIB’s Weatherline range of rigid air barrier products.
Now over two years into the market, Weatherline comprises a full range of steel and wood systems, a comprehensive range of fire and bracing and noise control attributes, as well as refined sheet and tape lengths to accommodate customer feedback.
Initially however, the biggest concern that customers had was around the durability of a gypsum-based product, but this outlook has changed over time, says Gordon.
“The stage we’ve got to now is that a large portion of the market had been exposed to the product or at least heard about it and has confidence that it’ll do the job,” he says.
“One of our top concerns was making sure we had a product that was fit for purpose and would do what it was supposed to do. And that it had that level of durability, so we weren’t going to have customers come back in a few years’ time with issues.”
Weatherline’s fire resistance and acoustic performance has also been a real plus in applications for medium density and three-storey walk up and higher markets.
“In the last year we have seen significant growth for Weatherline, particularly in more metro markets, as we expected. But we are also starting to see a reasonable amount of volume being used in other regions.
“So the end result is Weatherline has developed a pretty good history in the short time it has been on the market.”
And, with the promise of further development “tweaks” based on customer feedback, Gordon White is happy that Weatherline has “a pretty bright future.”
Weatherline comprises a full range of steel and wood systems, a comprehensive range of fire and bracing and noise control attributes.
Builders have been turning to products like HomeRAB to achieve early close-in and avoid delays or exposure on active sites.
ABOUT PERFORMANCE, ABOUT TIME!
Over at James Hardie with its RAB Board and HomeRAB rigid air barrier products, National Merchant Manager Jerry Friar is equally positive.
Plus, he adds: “With supply disruption, lockdowns and labour constraints, increasingly we’re seeing residential builders turn to products like HomeRAB pre-cladding to achieve early close-in and avoid delays or exposure on their active sites.”
In terms of meeting that demand, Jerry makes no bones that James Hardie’s decision to move sourcing to Australia “couldn’t have come at a better time,” and, although it was “very difficult for those impacted, it has meant that our ability to supply the market has ramped up significantly.”
The rigid air barrier category is most definitely growing, helped in the most part by fire performance requirements in higher density housing, while in standalone residential, factors which see rigid air barriers being used more regularly are predominantly around workload and ability to finish projects.
The detached residential market is also adopting rigid air barriers as a solution with builders looking to provide a better- quality structure for their clients, better braced, more rigid, more airtight and with better performance properties.
These builders “have an opportunity to move to a rigid air barrier solution to add value for their clients and differentiate their building performance,” says Jerry Friar.
“If there’s one thing that these Building Code changes should impress on the general public it is the increased focus of building performance in the home.
“Our hope is that people will take a more active approach to understanding how their home is constructed rather than just
20 NZHJ | APRIL 2022
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