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Pro Clima Wall Underlay Protects SIP Panel House

Mark Waters, owner of Weather Tight Solutions — a building company specialising in the re-cladding of leaky buildings — has used pro clima products for several years now.

Mark recently approached pro clima when he was building his own SIP panel house in a highly exposed location in the Waikato. He required a solution to provide exceptional weathertightness as well as wind tightness. Mark used Formance SIP panels, which offer a high degree of insulation, R5.5, both in the walls and roof. The internal joints of the panels have been sealed to each other and the window liners using pro clima's TESCON VANA airtightness adhesive tape to ensure the building is airtight. The house was recently tested using a Blower Door and achieved an airtightness rating of 1.07 air changes per hour (@ n50). Currently most New Zealand new builds rate at between 4-7 air changes per hour. With deliberate airtightness, the annual energy required to maintain comfortable temperature is dramatically decreased. This is achieved by having control of the flow of air through the structure.

To protect the panels during construction and for the lifetime of the building, Mark also required a solution to provide exceptional weathertightness — including windtightness. Pro clima provided Mark with SOLITEX EXTASANA, a CodeMark certified non-porous wall underlay. This product allows for a complete wrap solution. Being non-porous, the pro clima building wraps do not allow physical water to be wicked through the membrane, but at the same time also offer a low resistance to moisture vapour, actively transferring moisture from within the structure out into the ventilation / drying cavity. Windtightness was achieved by joining all laps and connecting the SOLITEX EXTASANA directly to the floor slab.

While not required (even in a very airtight house), mechanical ventilation was provided by a balanced pressure heat exchange ventilation system by Nuaire. This allows the heat energy to be recovered from the extract air from bathroom and kitchen areas and used to pre-heat colder incoming air.

Insulation, airtightness and ventilation are the trifecta, along with protection from the external environment with SOLITEX EXTASANA.

View more information on pro clima, including contact details.
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July 2016 EBOSSNOW Case Studies

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