Stärke has been in the window industry in New Zealand since the 80s. They were at the forefront of supplying aluminium frames to the building industry. With a focus on building performance, Benjy Simmons describes the new direction of Stärke as a 'once in fifty year' change.

More is not always better, especially when it comes to the amount of timber in the frame of a house. The more timber there is, the less space there is for insulation.

Most homes in Aotearoa are designed using the assumption that timber will make up around 14% - 18% of the area of a wall. A 2020 BRANZ research study found that in reality, the timber fraction is closer to an average of 40%. This means there is considerably less space available for insulation. Unfortunately, this is not always picked up during the consenting or pre-lining inspection process. H1 Energy Efficiency calculations are checked at the design stage, usually using the much lower default timber fraction assumption. The result of of all this is that many consumers are effectively getting less insulation than they're paying for, and much more thermal bridging.

https://www.branz.co.nz/pubs/research-reports/er53/

https://www.placemakers.co.nz/online/framology

Denise Martin has been involved with many of Aotearoa's Passive House projects. As one of the most experienced blower door testers in the country, she's been involved with verifying a range of residential and commercial buildings both in New Zealand and Australia.

If you don't already, I highly recommend following Denise on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.

Kia ora.

After a long break from recording an episode on the Home Style Green feed, I've taken some time on Waitangi day to share some of my thoughts about building homes in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

There's a lot we need to discuss.