“There is nothing better on the market,” says NZ Strong quantity surveyor, Vlad Yugov.

Vlad and his colleagues were introduced to A-lign by PlaceMakers Cook St which arranged for sales managers Suzy Brown and Tom Padden to present the A-lign cladding system to the NZ Strong team.

“We thought it was very good,” Vlad says. “We could see A-lign would be quick and easy to install, there would be less wastage, and easier painting… and it was BRANZAppraised.”

NZ Strong decided to use A-lign as the cladding on the new 5 Green Star rated Hingaia Peninsula primary school in Papakura.

“While there are no extra points given for using timber cladding over other products, all timber used on site must be FSC® (Forestry Stewardship Council®) certified and A-lign meets these requirements, which was very important for us, as this was the first 5 Green Star Built School in Auckland and only the second one in the country,” Vlad says.

This $8.6 million design and build on a greenfields site for the Ministry of Education was completed in December 2011. A-lign performed to NZ Strong’s expectations, proving as easy to install and finish as promised. That won it friends on-site.

Andrew Price, an NZ Strong project manager who saw A-lign used to clad a weatherboard component of a new Community Health Centre in Mangere, says the reasons why A-lign is liked by builders are obvious.

“The design of the A-lign system means that many of the details associated with installing timber weatherboards have already been addressed. Minimal machining on-site means savings in time, and reduced amounts of dust and noise.”

The Hingaia Peninsula school project now stands as an example of what can be achieved with solid timber weatherboards in an institutional or commercial context.