James Hardie products have been specified to create a high performance flooring solution in a new medium density subdivision in Hobsonville. The Sierra Terraces development, designed by Stevens Lawson Architects and built by Jalcon Homes, offers high quality, affordable medium density housing.

The Challenge

The homes are the first to feature inter-tenancy mid-floors in the development and needed to meet the stringent acoustic performance and fire rating requirements of the New Zealand Building Code (NZBC). The materials used in the homes needed to meet or exceed the performance requirements, while reflecting the vision of the developers to build a liveable community.

The Solution

James Hardie Secura Interior Flooring ticked these boxes. The Fire and Acoustic Floor System utilises a timber joist construction method with a lightweight fibre cement sheet fixed to a timber batten and rubber cradle system. This forms a structural floor system with high acoustic performance and fire resistance properties.

Cameron Baker, Design Manager for Jalcon Homes, says the flooring system not only allowed them to achieve the highest fire safety and acoustic rating possible, it also enabled them to avoid using concrete in the structure, which provided benefits during design and construction. "With constraints such as extremely tight sites and narrow roads, we could lift most of the product up by hand if we needed to. It was a solution we could work with that our guys could build on site."

James Hardie representatives were on hand to provide support throughout the entire process. "They helped us a lot, especially in the early stages, providing us with testing and detail to find the right flooring solution," says Baker.

James Hardie's Technical Support Manager, Singh Kamboj, says Secura Interior Flooring performs well in medium density typologies because it is specifically engineered for airborne noise and floor impact noise reduction and fire safety. "Homeowners don't want to hear their neighbours above them or be concerned by fire safety, so Secura offers a great solution in this setting."

Matthew Hambrook, Project Manager for Jalcon Homes says, "There are no other products like this as far as timber-framed construction goes. It's all geared towards the acoustic rating of the building and the privacy should be much higher than normal."

Its durable construction gives a squeak-free, solid feel under carpet, tiles or vinyl, while the rubber cradles help to absorb sound. Secura Interior Flooring is also non-combustible and when used as per the James Hardie Fire and Acoustic system, it provides a 60-minute fire rated floors.

Through the use of high quality, innovative materials, Jalcon Homes has created a unique, high performance urban development.