Europe
Blue
Suede
Roofs
Taylors Mistake seems like an appropriate location for this unique project. But a mistake it is not.
Architect Craig Jarvis from Harmonic Architecture decided to put his hands on the tools for his dwelling near Christchurch with the aim of designing and building something special.
How was this project implemented?
This house, which featured on Grand Designs NZ, has been designed with a curved roof supported by a series of laminated timber beams, covered with a layer of plywood which is protected by a self-adhered building wrap, SOLITEX EXTASANA ADHERO®.
Terra Lana wool insulation was used to insulate between the beams. A spray-on, non-toxic, waterproof roof membrane has been sprayed on over another layer of plywood, creating the roof cladding. This membrane is suitable for potable water and has no joins, no flashings and no laps. A ventilated cavity has been created between the two layers of ply using a horizontal purlin over packers.
In my efforts to design and build a smaller, sustainable, non-toxic, affordable, off-grid dwelling, my preference has always been to use, find or develop local solutions. And this by far has proven to be possible. However, sometimes an imported product is just superior in performance and non-toxicity. pro clima’s self-adhesive building wrap ADHERO [SOLITEX EXTASANA ADHERO®] was one of those”, says Craig.
ADHERO is quite amazing – the ability to stick on a building wrap just makes good sense. Piercing the building wrap with hundreds of stables, which you DON’T have to do with ADHERO, just seems stupid now.
In truth, it was a bit tricky over a curve, but once we developed a method, it went on well. Once on, it’s never coming off! It didn’t come loose when it was smashed by a storm – us and our neighbours were very happy about that. The 180 day guarantee in all weather all on its own was a good enough reason for me to use it. And I will use it again on future projects. It reduces the risk to the dwelling dramatically.
My place was always meant to be an experiment, finding solutions and trialling products. The pro clima gear is just good stuff. It works as it’s meant to and the place is bone dry. The shape of the building made it hard to get products that would do the job well and be cost-effective. Finally, we have a solution that works and were free to install it over 180 days, which was gold!
- Architect - Craig Jarvis Harmonic Architecture
What is Weathertight Construction Important?
It can be seen that the insulation material should be sealed on all sides in the ideal insulation structure: on the outside by the windtightness layer, e.g. an underlay or facade membrane that is open to diffusion, and on the inside with an airtightness and vapour check layer. The windtightness stops cold outside air flowing through the insulation. The airtightness provides protection against the entry of humid indoor air and thus against condensation and mould.
Weathertightness Systems
The SOLITEX wind-sealing system makes building structures particularly energy-efficient and provides effective protection against damage to structures. These high-performance functional membranes are extremely open to diffusion, provide maximum watertightness against driving rain, and actively transport moisture to the outside.
Ideally, they should be combined with humidity-variable airtightness systems on the interior side of the insulation.
