Page 32 - HW April 2022

rainwater management
to take off is an embossed, woodgrain-effect metal fascia system which “very effectively disguises any imperfections that may be in the roll-forming process.”
Lots of fresh product options and looks, then, but how is uptake reflected in the current housing styles?
“The changing housing mix has led to a greater adoption of the larger, half-round spouting system, as well as larger gutters and maybe a switch to 100mm downpipes – or even 150mm.
“This is certainly the case with apartment blocks or a series of townhouses having a larger catchment area and requiring better flow when feeding the same rainwater system.”
RETURN TO TRIED & TRUSTED CONTINUES
Nigel Montgomery says Marley continues to enjoy strong growth
from its coloured Stratus Design Series range with system durability and mixed residential housing developments driving a return to uPVC.
Five years ago, 70% of residential consents were standalone houses, and just 15% were townhouses. This year it’s going to be 50% standalone and 35% townhouses.
And this is definitely influencing rainwater systems, says Nigel: “When you deal with multi-storey developments, you incur scaffolding costs and the last thing a builder wants is to have to return to site within a few years and put up scaffolding to repair or replace hard-to-reach product installations.”
And going the tried and tested way is a safe bet in these risk- averse times.
“Knowing that uPVC is low-maintenance and highly durable has seen our sales increase commensurate with the changes in housing stock. And even though some houses are still having metal spouting installed, we find builders or specifiers are choosing to install our colour-matched uPVC downpipes.
“A lot of that’s because of the durability. Also, because downpipes tend to go on at the end of a build, you don’t need to get metal installers to come back and install metal downpipe as a plumber can easily install Marley product at fitout stage.”
Marley’s most popular downpipe system is the RP80 80mm round system which has an option of standard 95° bends but also narrow 43° bends. On certain house designs, Nigel Montgomery explains, “this allows you to get a downpipe very close to the house without requiring a big return.
“Also, when a house is built, invariably the downpipe never quite lines up with the stormwater and the narrow bends give you added flexibility to meet that join. We also have special adaptor components which seamlessly fit the RP80 downpipe to either a 90mm or 100mm stormwater pipe.”
The 43° bends are critical, explains Nigel, because they give the builder much more flexibility. “Similarly, our adjustable downpipe clips can be extended and also pivoted so you can fix them to a traditional angled weatherboard but keep the downpipe nice and straight rather than pulled in on the same angle as the board.
“Also, a lot of houses these days might have a different cladding on the top storey compared with the bottom level, and there might be a step-in between storeys due to the change in cladding type. You don’t want that transition to affect the downpipe run, so our adjustable downpipe clips have spacers that you can put behind them to ensure the downpipe is perfectly vertical.”
And how about the booming renovation market? “People can stick with our legacy products,” Nigel suggests, “and switch out what their house has had fitted for decades for the same traditional look. But nowadays you’ve also got coloured options in those traditional ranges so you can match your roofing or complement cladding.”
But he sounds a gentle warning for would-be renovators, pointing out that houses settle over time, and some suffer from subsidence. “So don’t assume if you’re replacing like with like spouting that you can just use the same brackets in the same position. It’s essential to run a string line and make sure you’ve got the correct fall. Another common mistake is to assume that the
Going with the flow
Despite being under intense pressure to supply the local market, Nigel Montgomery explains that Marley has still managed
to build on its sustainability initiatives in recent times as the company works towards lower emissions targets in production.
For example, Marley has joined Meridian Energy’s Certified Renewable Energy programme this year, which supports a commitment to only generate electricity from 100% renewable sources and has set a goal to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2025.
Marley also currently recycles over 99% of its own production waste, grinding, crushing and reusing products that don’t meet stringent quality standards.
“And we’ve always had recycling take-back programmes, where we’ll take back uPVC and PE offcuts from sites, and even used product if it’s clean. We also take material from external companies – everything from vinyl record offcuts to old milk bottles, and in doing so we process 100,000kg of material per year that would otherwise have gone to landfill.”
Other initiatives to reduce the company’s environmental footprint include the Curve leaf and debris diverter and Twist rainwater diverter, both being made from 100% recyclable materials.
www.marley.co.nz
30 NZHJ | APRIL 2022
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