Following the leaky home saga New Zealand has fallen in love with wood again. But there are alternatives.
One product is Flashclad, a powder-coated, pre-finished horizontal weatherboard aluminium cladding that according to the manufacturers has been tested to cyclone conditions of 232km/h by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (branz.co.nz).
The Branz report noted that the "weatherboard" system - not to be confused with ACM panelling - can be attached to either wooden or steel framing, has a life of 15 to 50 years and prevents moisture ingress.
It's made of solid aluminium and the manufacturers say it won't rot, twist, crack, warp or suffer from resin, which wood might.
Or for those who love the look of freshly painted weatherboards, but don't want the maintenance, Mitten insulated weatherboards are another option.
This system is new to New Zealand, but has been used in the freezing temperatures of Canada for decades.
The weatherboards add another layer to the thermal envelope rather than replacing wall insulation. It reduces the heat/cold transfer through the exterior cladding.
Another take on improving the thermal envelope of our homes is the Aridon Smart Wall, a building envelope system of interlocking rigid panels that enclose the frame in a weatherproof, thermal shell providing insulation, weatherproofing and vapour control performance.
It saves time during the building phase because it provides insulation, wrap, batten and cavity and temporary weatherproofing all at once.
Out of sight, out of mind is what's beneath a concrete floor. One eco-friendly product is Cupolex, which is a recycled plastic, modular concrete floor dome system, which replaces hard fill or polystyrene.
One back-to-the-future "high-tech" building product is low-tech bamboo. It's one that Phil Smith and his team at Collingridge and Smith Architects are watching with interest.
Smith cites Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia who is campaigning to make bamboo "the green steel of the 21st century".
As a resource bamboo is renewable because it doesn't die when it's harvested as most trees do.
"As an architect you go: 'This is beautiful'," says Smith. "It's organic and it's strong and malleable. It's a high-tech material, yet it's low-tech."
Anyone who has ever tried to eradicate bamboo will know just how well it grows in New Zealand and there is plenty available, says Smith.
The issue with this and any other new product in New Zealand is certification as a building material and that's some way off.
No-one wants New Zealand using dodgy building products as we did during the leaky home era.
But on the other hand it's difficult to get new building materials into the country because of the cost of Branz certification.
Many aspects of building materials are going high-tech. Resene, for example, has developed CoolColour paints and stains in dark colours that withstand heat damage.
According to NZ Wood, which promotes New Zealand forests and wood resources, the darker the colour the more light it absorbs. The Resene CoolColour paints have pigments in them that raise the Total Solar Reflectance value.
Some new products make life easier for the DIY enthusiast. BC Magic Wallpaper is self-adhesive but repositionable if you botch the first attempt and removable when you want to update.
Most Kiwis know the effects of living in a humid country - crying windows and damp homes. The Metrotile LV75 roof space vent is decidedly simple.
It allows moisture laden air from the roof space to escape, without using electricity as many other ventilation products do.
And while you're on the roof, the smartflower Pop is a quite remarkable solar system that has a fan like panels that track the sun during the day, generating 40 per cent more output than a conventional roofing solar system.
The smartflower Pop stores electricity for the evening.
Often an innovation today is a mainstream expectation tomorrow. Examples include double glazing and low VOC paints and glues, which increase the health and well-being of our families and homes, says Andrew Eagles, chief executive of the New Zealand Green Building Council.
"Water efficient products, lower impact paints and better performing windows are helping to deliver warmer homes to New Zealanders."
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