Making Amends

For many years, New Zealand’s building industry was plagued by misguided material usage and a prevalence of dubious construction practices. None of us need reminding of the gory details – they have been played out in the media often enough – but weatherproof James Hardie products like Linea Weatherboard have often been called on to pick up the pieces.

One of the most important places to avoid cutting corners is on your cladding – the very thing that will protect your home from the elements. And cladding is even more important when your home is only a stone’s throw from the sea and exposed to the corrosive onshore winds and driving rains.

The Wellington owners of this beachfront home in Mt Manganui had used it as a holiday rental for many years, but decided they would move in themselves. While the house had been adequate to rent out, it wasn’t good enough for the family to live in, so they commissioned Andre Laurent from Creative Space to redesign it.

“The cladding was underperforming significantly so I decided to install Linea Weatherboard for its weather-resistant qualities and 25-year warranty. The clean lines of the Linea Weatherboard really suited the original square design of the house,” says Laurent.

Not that Laurent was in any way constrained by the original form. He made significant alterations to impart the necessary functional changes as well as the aesthetic improvements.

“One thing that posed a significant risk to the integrity of the structure was the internal guttering. Nothing had gone wrong with it yet, but it made me uneasy. And flat roofs with no overhang are one of the main causes of leaky buildings, so I turned the flat roof into a double-pitched one, which also modernised the look of the house, as well as adding eaves and stainless steel soakers for extra moisture protection,” he says.

Laurent also supplemented the modern look of Linea Weatherboard with a deck extension, glass balustrades and bi-fold doors to improve the indoor-outdoor flow.

“Improving the deck was important because it was susceptible to moisture, as well as being a wasted opportunity to take in the view. We installed timber rafts, which offset and conceal the necessary step-down to the deck. They can also be removed for cleaning to make sure moisture doesn’t get trapped underneath. We specified louvres for the northern side to control the heat and make a shady place to enjoy the outdoors, while still maintaining their privacy,” he says.

The owners are very happy with their new-look home and the way it interacts with the elements without being at the mercy of them. Laurent has used a combination of smart design principles and sound James Hardie materials to give this home the new lease of life it needed.

PRODUCTS USED

Linea Weatherboard by James Hardie