One of the first large scale commercial installations to use GIB Weatherline® Rigid Air Barrier Systems is well underway at Fabric Apartments, a high-profile apartment project in Onehunga, Auckland.

Situated on a 1.29ha site, the Onehunga development when completed will comprise approximately 240 new apartments spread across five four storey buildings. Stage one is currently under construction by Kalmar Construction which consists of three four-storey apartment buildings due for completion in mid 2020.

Gordon White, Residential Market Manager at Winstone Wallboards, says that while gypsum based rigid air barrier systems may still be relatively new in New Zealand, their use has been commonplace in medium and high-rise commercial projects across North America and Europe for well over a decade.

“With over 7500 hours of research and development already committed, and with the sheets being manufactured at our local Christchurch plant, we’ve invested heavily to bring GIB Weatherline® systems to market. We have been really pleased with the level of market interest to date and will continue to work closely with our commercial customers to further evolve the offer to meet the changing needs of our rigid air barrier customers.”

Branden Venter, Façade Site Supervisor at Kalmar, said while the new system has been a learning experience for his team, they are really impressed with the product from an installation perspective.

“The fixing has been easy – it’s a hell of a lot lighter and the score and snap ability means putting the board on the wall has been way faster than anything the team have used before.”

GIB Weatherline® sheets are fast to install compared to other commercial rigid air barrier products as they can be easily scored, snapped and screwed with no need  for power tools to cut the sheets. The score and snap process also makes it easier to get a consistent, straight cut edge making positioning and installing sheets onto the frame simple and uniform. 

To reduce any potential for moisture to penetrate beyond the building envelope, board edges and penetrations are sealed using a range of GIB Weatherline® flashing and  sill tape products.

“The taping took a little while to get used to as it was the first time our installers had installed a rigid air barrier system but with time on the job we developed easier ways to speed this process up. We had lots of support from the GIB® team, they have been on site working with the installers, have run Q&A sessions and have used this project as a learning tool for ways they can improve it – they even bought tape guns on site to try and make things easier,” Branden says’.

Why GIB Weatherline®

• Acts as both an air barrier and secondary line of defence against water penetration into the building structure.
• 5 timber and 2 steel frame fire rated options.
• 4 structural bracing options.
• A range of environmental noise options.
• BRANZ Appraised for buildings within the scope of NZS 3604.
• Specific Engineering Design (SED) information available.
• Ease of handling – no harmful dust created.