Good Practice Guide: Membrane roofing (2nd edition)

A critical aspect of a house's energy use and sustainability is the overall design of a building - its orientation on site, careful sizing and location of windows, specification of above-minimum insulation and making the best use of sun and wind for heating, cooling and ventilation.

This guide explains the technical background to good passive design, the choices and compromises that need to be made and Building Code and standards requirements that must be met.

The thermal performance requirements of building elements given in this book are from the 4th edition Building Code acceptable solution H1/AS1 and verification method H1/VM1. Note that 5th editions of H1/AS1 and H1/VM1 replaced the 4th edition from 3 November 2022.

This is a guide for specifying and choosing timber for use in New Zealand buildings, which will be useful to all architects and designers, specifiers and builders working with timber.

As well as covering such key issues as timber treatment and moisture levels, the book features an extensive species data index, with separate sheets for each of 89 species of timber available on the New Zealand market. The data sheets cover key characteristics of each species such as timber strength, hardness and durability, borer susceptibility and typical uses.

Selecting timber briefly covers engineered wood products, plywoods and veneers, looking at their general characteristics, but does not cover specific performance or selection data for these. 

Forces from wind and earthquakes place demands on a building. These demands are calculated for a particular building so that the building can be designed with enough bracing capacity to resist the demand and perform structurally.

Topics covered in this self-paced module:

• Wind bracing
• Earthquake bracing
• Library

Gain 100% in the test at the end of the module, and you'll receive a record of your completion that can be submitted as part of your CPD activity log.

Over time, water entry through poorly installed or maintained weatherboard cladding may cause significant structural damage and other problems long before any symptoms become apparent on the exterior or interior of a building. Regular checks and proper maintenance are critical to ensuring weathertightness.

If a leak or any associated damage becomes obvious, it is advisable to consult a registered building surveyor in order to determine the extent of the problem and necessary repair options.

This Good Repair Guide highlights common problems and causes, types and extent of damage, rules and regulations, health and safety, tools, repairing and replacing weatherboards as well as related documents and standards. 

This publication helps designers, specifiers and builders ensure that new and existing houses are warm and effectively ventilated, providing owner comfort, convenience, health and safety while minimising running costs. It acknowledges the importance of good passive design - taking advantage of free sources of energy such as sun and wind to provide heating, cooling and ventilation.

This publication covers:

• heating and cooling design considerations and methods
• thermal design
• ventilation design considerations and methods.

Overlay flooring is a flooring system that is laid over timber tongue and groove (T&G) boards, particleboard, plywood or concrete. It includes solid timber boards, parquet flooring, timber composite flooring systems and bamboo flooring

This Good Repair Guide describes the repair options for existing overlay flooring. It describes how to: 

• repair minor damage
• replace a section of floor
• replace an entire floor
• prepare an overlay floor for a new protective finish.  

Floor coverings such as cork tiles, vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl are not covered by this guide.