What it is
Insulation is the blanket around your home, and the Building Code minimum is exactly that: a minimum. We size the insulation to the home and the site, so the heating stays small and the comfort stays constant, summer and winter.
How we build it
Every build gets its own recipe. Structural insulated panels carry insulation in the wall itself; conventional frames are packed with the thickest insulation that fits, like the 140mm walls and R4.8 Mammoth subfloor at The Cedar House in Motueka, or the 190mm double-insulated walls at Tasman View. Under the slab, MAXRaft and rigid XPS keep the concrete warm, and the whole envelope works together with the airtightness layer.
Materials and brands
- Polyester
- Mammoth thermal and acoustic insulation
- Glass-wool
- Pink Batts thermal and acoustic segments
- Wool
- Terra Lana NZ-made wool insulation
- Rigid boards
- Kingspan high-performance rigid insulation
- Under-slab
- Allied MAXRaft insulated raft foundations and Expol XPS
- In the wall
- Formance structural insulated panels
Good questions
Insulation, answered.
How much insulation do Nelson and Tasman homes actually need?
More than the Building Code minimum, which is written as a floor, not a target. We size the insulation to the home and the site so the heating stays small and comfort stays constant, summer and winter, rather than just ticking the code box.
What insulation brands do you use?
Mammoth polyester, Pink Batts glass-wool, Terra Lana wool, Kingspan rigid boards and MAXRaft or XPS under the slab, matched to each build rather than one product used everywhere.
What is the difference between wool, polyester and glass-wool insulation?
All three insulate well; the choice usually comes down to the application and the client's preference. Terra Lana wool-blend breathes well underfloor, Mammoth polyester is non-itch and non-toxic, and Pink Batts glass-wool is a proven, widely-used standard.
Do structural insulated panels (SIPs) need extra insulation as well?
No, that is the point of them. A Formance SIPs wall carries its insulation inside the panel itself, so the wall goes up already performing well above code.
Why go above the Building Code minimum at all?
Above-code insulation is one of the cheapest ways to buy a warmer, cheaper-to-run home for the life of the building. It is far cheaper to build in properly now than to retrofit later.
Talk to the builder who does this every day.
Book a free one-hour consultation with founder Daryl Combes. No obligation, just an honest conversation about your site, your brief and your budget.
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