Crafting New Zealand's Building heritage

James Hardie and Fletcher Residential have been creating family homes for Kiwis for the past hundred years.

It goes without saying that buying a new home is a massive financial (and often emotional) investment for most of us - quite possibly the biggest of our lives. And recent events in the building industry have made New Zealanders homebuyers much more cautious when purchasing a home.

In order to protect yourself, your family and your investment, it's vital to know exactly what you're getting for your money, and that your purchase will be backed up by dependable companies with solid reputations; companies that have been around for a while and will still be there tomorrow, if you need them.

That's what makes this new two-level family home in the desirable Auckland suburb of Beachlands so appealing. Not only is it close to the Pine Harbour marina and the Formosa Country Club golf course, with views across the harbour to downtown Auckland, but it combines the quality and expertise of two of the oldest and most well-known companies in the New Zealand building industry.

The house, designed by Tucker Designs, was built by Aston Marsh, a division of Fletcher Residential, and features a mix of James Hardie cladding products: Linea® Weatherboard, Titan® Facade Panel and Monotek® Sheet.

Fletcher Residential and James Hardie share a similar pedigree. Founded a century (or more) ago, each was started by an enterprising young Scotsmen called James. And both companies have since established a solid reputation as leaders in their field and providers of quality products and services.

Chris Mygind, General Manager of Aston Marsh, says the company stands behind every one of its homes, and is careful to use only the best construction materials in order to ensure the highest standards and enduring quality and value.

"People buying a brand-new home expect not only a high level of quality and finishing, but also that the design and choice of materials will be appropriate for the setting and location," says Chris.

"Our responsibility is firstly to our customers, and then to the shareholders of Fletcher Building. Those purchasing an Aston Marsh home know that they're buying from a Fletcher's company, so they are buying for security and peace of mind," he says.

Aston Marsh has been a division of Fletcher Residential for more than 20 years, and Chris says Aston Marsh uses James Hardie cladding products on almost all of the homes it builds.

"We've had a very long partnership with James Hardie. Aston Marsh was the builder of choice for the Fashioned Houses campaign around 15 years ago. We have a strong, ongoing historical relationship with James Hardie, and it's a relationship that's endured due to the superior quality and durability of James Hardie products."

The home's designer, Trevor Pyle, says the aim with the Beachlands house was to create a distinctive family home that would appeal to a broad range of New Zealand home buyers.

"It has a very generous floorplan, with good flow to the outdoors and a carefully thought-out layout. We wanted to create a central access way down the building with a wide hallway, so we used a lot of glass at either end of the house to accentuate the two halves," says Trevor. "The design is influenced by the simple architecture of an old bach or shed with their low, single-pitched roofs. Formwise, they're not that interesting, so we've used a combination of cladding to dress it up."

The home features vertical sections of Linea® Weatherboard, painted black to create strong horizontal lines that complement the window design. Large sheets of Titan Facade Panel are used around the entranceway to create a point of difference, and the rear Facades feature Monotek Sheet. This mixture of cladding materials helps to visually break up the two-storey Facade, says Trevor, making its proportions more visually appealing.

But James Hardie cladding products offer more than just visual appeal.

"The products are all very durable and highly suitable for a coastal location such as this," says Chris. And in the past year, James Hardie has received full BRANZ appraisals for all of its exterior cladding products. What's more, both Linea® Weatherboard and Titan® Facade Panel were voted the best cladding materials at the AGM Specifiers Awards.

If you'd like to see other homes that use combination cladding to enhance the design, you can read about the Moyle house, or the Lally home, both of which combine Linea® Weatherboard and Titan® Facade Panel to great effect. The Mitchell Homes showhome uses a mix of Linea® Weatherboard and Monotek® Sheet to accentuate the angular design.

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