James Hardie's range of pre-cladding products work by equalising the air pressure within the external wall cavity, making the building airtight while enhancing weathertightness, structural bracing and fire protection — performance that is difficult to achieve with traditional flexible wall underlays.

RAB Board in action

The Sargeson Apartments, Auckland demonstrate these benefits in practice. Comprising 92 apartments in two six-level towers, the development features both RAB Board 6mm and 9mm.

Project Manager, Marc Forrester of CMP Construction, says the pre-sealed sheets were quick and easy to install. They are simply scored, snapped, and nailed into place. They are also dimensionally stable and weather resistant, allowing the site to be closed in faster and enabling more flexibility in managing the building process.

Trusted protection for your projects

RAB Board will not warp or shrink when exposed to the weather and can be left exposed for up to 180 days after fixing. It delivers a fire resistance rating of up to 60 minutes, and meets the requirements of E2/AS1 and Specific Engineered Design in residential or commercial projects.

RAB Board also creates a drainage plane and enhances the weather tightness performance of cladding and building facades when exposed to wind pressures up to 4.5kPa. The stud spacing suitability at 600mm c/c under these wind pressures makes it an extremely economical rigid air barrier to install.

BRANZ Appraised and CodeMark certified, RAB Board continues to provide a proven solution for projects seeking weather-tightness, structural performance and durability in one pre-cladding system.