Article: Future-Proof Building
Good Bones
Structural Strength For Your Home.
Beauty starts with great bone structure. As a homeowner, you might request no squeaky floors, a house that is safer in an earthquake or fire, sustainable building materials or those that are kinder on allergies. Your brief to your architect or builder may help them decide on what type of framing and structural system to use.
You may not even be aware that there are options, but you should be. Even though it isn’t the most glamorous part of building or renovating, the structure of your home is something you will want to get right from the start.
Here Are Two Alternatives To Standard Framing.
Engineered Woodproducts - Framing
Laserframe® from Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts combines strength and cost-effectiveness with total design flexibility. Pine framing has been used by generations of New Zealand builders and is preferred over other structural materials due to its high strength to weight ratio, flexibility and ease of use.
Sustainable
Wood is our most sustainable raw material. As a building material, its credentials in this area are unparalleled. Wood results in far less carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere than most competing building products. Laserframe® renewable plantation pine framing is grown in sustainably managed plantations. It is also available Forestry Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (FSC CoC) certified on request.
Quality Assured
Every piece of Laserframe® structural timber has been quality assured, graded and tested according to New Zealand Standards. It is available in a range of treatment types (to resist the depredations of moisture), so you can have confidence that, when installed in accordance with standards, Laserframe® will continue to perform for years to come.
Floor Framing
Have you ever wandered across a floor and had the china cabinet rattling away in the corner? Or what about floors squeaking when you walk on them?
FLOORSUITE™, also from Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts, is a performance floor system that reduces bounce and makes floors squeak less than traditionally constructed wood floors. It incorporates special laminated wood products such as hyJOIST® and hySPAN® that have higher stiffness. Because of this higher performance, floors can be constructed differently to reduce squeaks. Furthermore, independent costing has shown that the installed cost of these higher performance floors is about the same as that of a traditional wood floor.
High-Tensile Steel - Quality
Axxis® Steel for Framing from New Zealand Steel is manufactured in New Zealand from galvanised steel specifically for New Zealand conditions.
Steel framing is a straight and stable product that delivers a perfect finish. It does not warp or twist because it doesn’t absorb moisture, meaning straight walls with smooth flush surfaces, square corners and less cracking of internal lining and no sticking doors.
Health
Axxis® Steel for Framing has been recognised by the Asthma & Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand as a non allergenic product which does not support mould growth or rot. Axxis® Steel for Framing won’t give off gases or emit VOC’s so is the perfect foundation for a healthy home.
Axxis ® Steel for Framing is manufactured with consideration for the environment from locally mined West Coast iron sand and is made with a component of recycled steel. Steel is 100% recyclable again and again.
Strength
Axxis ® Steel for Framing is exceptionally strong. It will not support fire and has shown excellent earthquake resistance. It is not susceptible to borer or other insect pests. Axxis® Steel for Framing is backed by a New Zealand Steel 50 year Durability Statement so you can trust Axxis® Steel will stand the test of time.
When it comes to the structure of your home, remember the five Ps: prior planning prevents poor performance. A bit of research before you get to the design stage will ensure you can discuss your needs with your designer or builder with insight and give you confidence that at the end of the day your new home will be one with nice, strong bones.
