Street view of modern timber weatherboard home by REB Builders

Builder Ron Edwards and his team at REB Builders Ltd constructed this homely and modern town house in Barton Fields, a new suburb in the Canterbury town of Lincoln.With over 30 years building in Canterbury, this is certainly not Ron’s first weatherboard home and he’s steadfast as to why he chooses timber over man-made cladding alternatives: “Fibre cement is cruddy and timber is tried-and-true,” Ron stated. “You can’t sand fibre cement (because it can alter the surface and affect the paint finish) and it simply doesn’t last! Plus, imagine trying to remove it for an alteration; fibre cement would just break and end up sitting in land waste.”For builders and the home owners alike, the benefits of choosing Envira timber weatherboards far outnumber fibre cement. At almost three times the weight of timber, fibre cement boards are more difficult to transport and manoeuvre into place and add a substantial extra amount of weight to a frame. This can cause issues, especially in TC3-zoned areas or for large or two-storey buildings. Timber performs well in these situations not only by weight but also its natural flexibility.With Envira, all weatherboards and components are the same material - an important factor for aesthetics as well as functionality. Designed to fit and last, the entire Envira Weatherboard System includes scribers, box corners and window sills that are all 100% quality timber, pre-primed with quality Resene paint ready for top coating.Then consider the environmental impact of fibre cement production as opposed to Niagara’s sustainable radiata pine system which is produced with a 100% no-waste policy where every part of the tree is used, either in manufacturing or as useful by-products.Niagara’s remanufacturing process is a prime example of this no-waste policy. Less usable timber has knots and imperfections removed before boards are finger jointed together to produce a superior grade of timber. All sawdust from the process is used to heat the sawmill kilns and timber offcuts are either sold as firewood, chipped or turned into fire pellets. Ron Edwards has converted to Niagara’s premium finger jointed weatherboards and finds them terrific. “We were a little reluctant to change, but since doing so we’ve had no problems. We will continue to build with the bevel back profile from the Envira Weatherboard System and perhaps even the rusticated style if the opportunity comes along,” Ron said.Ask about Envira at your local building supplies store or visitwww.niagara.nz