Soffits are back in style!
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Sitting out on the verandah, sipping a cool drink, shaded by the wide eaves... Cool, wide eaves are making a big comeback on today's contemporary homes – and for good reasons. Not only do wide eaves look great and provide shade, they also offer weather protection for exterior walls and windows. People who are building new houses today are more aware of the need for weather-protection in New Zealand's ever changeable climate, tightness and they are also looking for design solutions and products that will give them peace of mind. This is leading to a return to the wider eaves that were popular in New Zealand's early villas and bungalows. There has been a notable shift away from the non-protected no-eave Mediterranean style that has been popular over the past decade or so. The underside of the eaves are known as ‘soffits.' Since this is the area that is most visible, choosing the right soffit lining is important as it can make a huge difference to the exterior look and feel of your home. In the past, tongue and groove paneling was often used on soffits. Today James Hardie HardieGroove™ Panels offer a low maintenance solution that retains that traditional tongue and groove look, and is also being used to create a very contemporary look on more modern homes. Hardigroove is made from James Hardie's patented fibre-cement, so it won't rot or split. When painted it is almost indistinguishable from traditional timber tongue and groove. To see a great example of how Hardigroove has been used in a traditional style of home, take a look at the sloping eaves over the entrance way of the Gillespie home a 1920's style bungalow. Or, for a completely different look see the Ultimate Showhome where the same Hardigroove has been painted a very dark colour to create a very contemporary semi-Asian look. As well as HardieGroove Lining, James Hardie offers a wide range of other fibre-cement soffit products. The Hardisoffit® Lining offers a flat look soffit which can be PVC jointed or the joints can be left expressed. The panels have unsanded finish suitable for semi-gloss acrylics or lightly textured semi-gloss or high-gloss coatings. Hardiflex® Eaves Lining is fixed and jointed in a similar way to Hardisoffit Lining. Hardiflex Eaves LIning has an unsanded finish suitable for semi-gloss Silkline® Eaves Lining is the ideal lining for soffits, eaves, verandahs, carports and porches or wherever a decorative easy-clean ceiling lining is required, eg spa pools, kitchens and garages. Silkline Eaves Lining comes with colour-matching accessories, including colour-matching sheet jointers and a 10-year coating warranty to give you extra peace of mind. Villaboard® Soffit Lining enables a smooth monolithic surface to be obtained for a wide range of finishes. Villaboard Soffit Lining sheets are 6mm and 9mm in thickness and are specially formulated to minimise sheet movement. The recessed edges are suitable for flush jointing to give a smooth monolithic finish. The sheets are fully sanded to give a smoother face surface. All four sheet edges are supplied with a recessed finish and site-cut edges can be readily ground on site. Square-edge sheets are also available with a fully sanded smooth face surface. These sheets can be used for the alternative expressed, sealant filled or PVC joint system. To find out more about these soffit systems, visit our Product Data website. |
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