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Wall Panels and Finishes

The wall panels are clad with a high quality fiber-cement board, manufactured by James Hardie, Inc., that can be finished with paint, plaster, acrylic texture finish, ceramic tile, brick, real or cultured stone or wallpaper.

Hebel Block lightweight concrete architectural features are used to simulate quoins on the corners of this house.
Three distinctly different exterior wall finishes can be achieved with the Building System:

1) "Sierra" fiber-cement board is painted locally for a modern wood house appearance that has a vertical wood texture. The vertical panel joints are weather-sealed with a P.V.C. joiner strip that has the same finished appearance as the joints between the vertical- plank pattern of the fiber-cement board. When this completed wall surface is painted the panel joints disappear. This is the least costly finish available.
2) "Hardie-Tex" fiber-cement board is a smooth exterior fiber-cement board that is finished locally with an "UltraTex" acrylic texture render (modern plaster), applied in a four-step process by experienced masons. The panel joints are supplied with a recess that is finished with a fiberglass tape embedded in an adhesive acrylic masonry compound. A colored bonding agent is then applied to the smooth wall panel surface with a paint roller and/or brush. The colored acrylic render is applied with a trowel for a variety of textured finishes. Two coats of a colored waterproofing sealer paint that contains a mildewcide and fungicide is applied to the textured render coat. The complete system is provided with the component packages as an optional extra. When completed, the exterior of the house is indistinguishable from a masonry home with a plaster finish, except that the UltraTex finish is a better quality new technology product. It does not crack like conventional plaster, is supplied pre-colored to the builder's specification and comes with a ten-year warranty.
3) "Hardiplank", a horizontal plank with a finished appearance that is very similar to clapboard siding, can be applied to the exterior wall panel surface to achieve a traditional wood house style. It attaches to the steel studs of every panel with galvanized clips that secure each plank course below and correctly space the plank course above. The planks are supplied in 10' or 14' lengths and come in a variety of smooth and wood textured patterns to achieve almost any architectural style.

When completed, the exterior of the house is indistinguishable from a traditional wood home. The fiber-cement planks are an excellent improvement over their wood counterparts because they are water, termite, fire and rot resistant. They won't shrink, warp or crack and therefore hold paint better than wood planks.

Many other exterior and interior wall finishes can be achieved easily such as brick or stone entries, ceramic tiled showers, wall-papered rooms or even marble walled bathrooms. The fiber-cement board on all the wall panel surfaces can be treated like a smooth masonry surface when considering the attachment of any finishes.

Roof Design and Finishes

There are many attractive roof designs that can be utilized on all these buildings such as: - Gable, Half Gable, Hip, Dutch Hip, Polynesian Style and Veranda Shed Roofs A wide variety of architectural styles can be achieved by combining hip, gable and shed roofs on one and two story designs to suit the local architectural aesthetic.

Three distinctly different and attractive roof sheeting profiles that come with factory applied paint coatings and are guaranteed for 20 years: - BHP "Zincalume" Colorbond Steel in a six rib trapezoid profile and four color choices - Colorcote "Zincalume" Custom Orb in a standard "galvanized" profile and 40 color choices - Besalon "Zincalume" in a tile-like profile and 40 color choices There are many attractive colors to chose from and all the roof accessories such as the gable and hip ridge caps, gable end caps, screws and washers are color matched to the sheeting color.

Ceiling Design and Finishes

The galvanized steel roof trusses can be ordered with either flat bottom chords or with cathedral bottom chords, which have a slope of approximately five degrees, rising from the exterior walls to the center of the truss. The standard materials supplied for sheathing the underside of the bottom chord is a 10mm long span gypsum board with screws, paper tape and gypsum compound for finishing the screw holes and joints. There are many other choices of ceiling sheathing that can be utilized to achieve different effects such as: - Fiber-cement board with a stucco or "popcorn" finish. - Wood planks or tongue and groove boards that can be painted, stained or pickled.

To add another dimension to the ceiling treatment, the following materials are used: - Non-structural rafters and beams can be attached to the ceiling after the sheathing is applied. - Tray or hip ceilings can be created with support members attached to the wall panels and the bottom chord of the trusses. The sheathing is then applied to these custom ceiling support members. Internal soffits, drop ceilings and valences can also be created with this method.

Accessories and Attachments

Many local architectural styles can be achieved by embellishing this Building System with accessories and attachments that can be locally supplied or included in the component package. Several projects have employed a variety of custom wood accessories attached to their windows, verandas and roof gable ends to add a special architectural flair that creates an aesthetically pleasing look that is consistent with local architectural styles. We have also employed locally supplied stone walls, arched beams, elliptical windows, wood shutters, plastic lattice, fiber-cement and polyester columns to add flair to many projects. The possibilities are endless and are only limited by the imagination. Most importantly, the accessories added to the structures can be employed without compromising the engineered strength.