'Build Back Smarter' - for Peace of Mind

According to Nicholson (2014) the damage toll from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake was:

“10,000 suburban homes destroyed or damaged beyond repair.”

According to the Honourable Dr. Nick Smith (2014), Minister of Housing in the New Zealand Government:

“The last year has seen the annual house-build rate grow from 1601 in the year to April 2013, to 3247 in the year to April 2014.”

The government predicts that by 2016 Christchurch’s housing numbers will return to pre-earthquake levels.

As the Christchurch rebuild continues, residents are encouraged to ‘build back smarter’ according to Christchurch City Council (n.d). Residents who improve their house during rebuilding can enjoy benefits such as: • A warmer, drier, more comfortable house • Reduced energy bills and less water use • Improved health with fewer visits to the doctor • A more resilient and valuable house

The Christchurch City Council’s ‘Build Back Smarter’ pamphlet highlights a number of design guidelines to build a smarter house that centres on providing a reduction in noise for residents and neighbours.

The guidelines include recommendations ‘keep it quiet’ and ‘be neighbourly’.

With over 30 years’ industry experience, Pyrotek has a number of products that can integrate into house and building rebuilds to reduce noise levels.

Pyrotek’s industry leading flexible mass-barrier Wavebar, backed by research and testing conducted recently at Canterbury University, demonstrated that it meets New Zealand building standards and is ideally suited for specification into house rebuilds.

When integrated into wall and roof construction Wavebar provides better acoustic insulation for rebuilt houses since:

“Wavebar prevents coincidence-dip resonance. The dense core mass-layer reflects and absorbs the transmission of sound through walls, ceilings and floors.”

Wavebar NC, used to create a partial or complete enclosures around outdoor noise sources such as air conditioning units, can reduce noise transference. By insulating these common sources of outdoor noise, homeowners can reduce the likelihood of the noise becoming annoying to themselves and their neighbours. 

Another acoustic problem, which can be remedied during rebuilding, is the instance of impact (footfall) or airborne noise in multi-storey and high-density residence.

Silentstep Carpet Underlay from Pyrotek:

“Provides a significant reduction in both airborne and impact noise, from the floor above into the room directly below, in two-storey domestic and commercial applications. Silentstep works to control footfall noise (impact) in inter-tenant living, reducing airborne noise from radio, TV, home entertainment systems or human voice.”

For more information on how Pyrotek products can improve your rebuild please visit www.pyroteknc.com or ring +64 (0)9 265 3531.

Posted in News; Posted 10 May 2014