Media rooms

Media rooms are becoming more common in larger homes today and are sometimes constructed
without openable windows. Care should be taken assessing the proposed design against the options
in G4/AS1 to choose a suitable ventilation strategy. It is best to do this early when layout changes
are still possible. One of the performance requirements of Building Code clause G4 Ventilation is:
“Spaces within buildings shall have means of ventilation with outdoor air that will provide an
adequate number of air changes to maintain air purity.” Designers have several options in
Acceptable Solution G4/AS1. Mechanical ventilation (G4/AS1 paragraph 1.5) is an obvious one but
there are alternatives. Media rooms with an external wall but no openings to the outside via
windows must be ventilated to the outside by high-level trickle ventilators through the external wall
(or in building elements in the wall) and have a distance of less than 6 metres between the external
wall and opposing wall (G4/AS1 paragraph 1.3.2). Media rooms can be ventilated via another
habitable space (although not a kitchen, laundry, bathroom or toilet) if four requirements are met: •
The other habitable space has openable windows and/or other openings to the outside of net
openable area of no less than 5% of the combined floor area of the combined spaces. • There are
high-level and low-level trickle ventilators located on the external wall sized according to the
combined floor area. • The permanent opening between the two spaces is no less than 5% of the
combined floor area of the spaces. • The combined distance of the habitable spaces, measured
between the external wall and furthest opposing wall, is less than 6 metres (G4/AS1 paragraph
1.3.4).

Calls to the BRANZ helpline show that excess moisture is a continuing problem in homes. One culprit
is the unvented clothes dryer, which can release up to 5 kg of moisture per load into the air. The
2015/16 House Condition Survey found that half of the households surveyed said they regularly used
a clothes dryer but only 24% of dryers were vented to the outside. Where dryers are installed,
BRANZ recommends that they should be vented to the outside. The exception is condensing dryers,
which incorporate a heat exchanger that extracts the moisture from the warm air.

Installing dragon ties allows the room size to be increased to up to 7.5 × 7.5 m without the need for
a ceiling diaphragm. Section 8.3.3 in NZS 3604:2011 Timber-framed buildings sets out the
requirements, and Table 13.3 shows the nailing schedule.

NZS 3604 clause 7.5.1 states that the maximum dimension of a slab-on-ground floor is 24 m either
way between free joints, or between free joints and the slab edge. This allows a slab to be a
maximum of 24 x 24 m. (Note that the 24 m is a slab edge dimension, not a diagonal dimension.)

There is an exception to this in the case of flooring in wet areas (such as laundries, bathrooms,
kitchens and toilets) where note 7 to Table 1 requires that plywood or timber flooring be treated to
a minimum of H3 where the maintenance of an impervious coating cannot be assured – see E3/AS1.

BRANZ recommended good practice is to use H1.2 boric treated timber for wet area floor joists and
wall framing around showers, to provide an additional level of safety if the waterproofing becomes
compromised. (Best practice is to use H1.2 boric treated timber for all wet area wall framing.)
https://www.weathertight.org.nz/new-buildings/basic-weathertight-design-principles/the-4-ds-
deflection-drainage-drying-and-durability/

THE 4 DS - DEFLECTION, DRAINAGE, DRYING AND DURABILITY

https://www.branz.co.nz/cms_show_download.php?
id=7d0cf98d5f96f8a8950f27e8a7f03c8e5db095e5

ASBESTOS IN SOIL A Guide for Workplaces

https://www.branz.co.nz/cms_show_download.php?
id=c31dd5e0aeb804b21e506c379238dba9432c6f71

REPAIRING PLASTERBOARD AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

https://www.branz.co.nz/cms_show_download.php?
id=8a639af21ad2885d8b88d2fe3782d8c09388a483

Builder's Mate 63 (Dec 2013)

- Parapet tops and junctions

- Setting up and working on free-standing scaffolding

Builder's Mate 41 (Apr 2010)

- Shrinkage control joints in concrete floor slabs
- Timber wall and floor framing in wet areas
- Forming free joints in concrete slabs

BRanz Bulletin 551 Learnings from the Canterbury earthquakes

Four earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater hit Canterbury between September 2010 and December
2011. Smaller aftershocks continue. 185 people died and over 143,000 building claims have been lodged
with the Earthquake Commission. Total losses are estimated at $30 billion. This bulletin gives an
overview of the learnings that came from examination of damaged buildings.

ROLE OF THE BUILDING CODE

LIQUEFACTION AND LATERAL SPREADING

GROUND SHAKING

Branz Bulletin 455 Restoring a house after flood damage

This bulletin is intended to assist with the putting right that is so important after a flood.

Key messages in this free bulletin include:

people who live in low-lying, flood-prone areas should always have an evacuation plan and
emergency supplies prepared

if your house has a notice placed on it by the local council proclaiming it is uninhabitable, you cannot
live in it until the sign is removed.

flood debris should be cleared away as soon as possible so drying can start

no finishing work should be done until the house is fully dry

all services must be made safe before any remedial work begins.

Guideline July 2019

- Winter concreting
- Changes to standards - advance notice
- New fire Acceptable Solution effective from 27 June 2019
- AS and VM changes afoot
- CodeMark body suspended
- Free standards
- Archive hunting
- BRANZ webinars

Guideline January 2018

Description: In this issue:

- A correspondent wrote

- Free standards

- Notching and cutting 140 x 45 mm wall framing

- Contracts required for architects' services

- What's in a name?

- Collated nails

- Universal design

- BRANZ seminars 2018 Keeping Water Out

Guideline October 2016

- Framing centres for interior wood panelling

- Exterior private steps/stairs
- Lintels and Beams Calculator
- Getting a lift
- NZIOB survey
- BRANZ Building Life Cycle Assessment (free) seminar
Guideline March 2015

- Deck construction and consents

- Ripping or machining treated timber
- External use of H3.1 treated timber
- Custom R-values for concrete slab floors in ALF3.2
- Free-standing garage design - additional questions addressed
- BRANZ seminars 2015: Building Science at Work
Guideline August 2011

- If we don't stock it, it is not available

- Amended versions of B1/AS1 and E2/AS1 are now live
- B1/AS1 - slab reinforcing requirements
- B1/AS1 - tying of slab reinforcing to foundation wall reinforcing now required
- B1/AS1 - concrete slab free joints
- B2/AS1 Amendment 7 - requirement for treatment of exposed timber framing
- Winter and condensation
- NZS 2418:2009 Calculation Method Tool on the BRANZ website
- Cited standards in the revised E2/AS1
- Next seminar - coming to grips with the revised E2/AS1 and B1/AS1.

Guideline February 2010

- 500E reinforcing steel

- MultiProof or National Multiple-Use Approval
- Timber treatment in flat roofs
- Free joint spacing
- Licensed Building Practitioners
- ALF 3.2 - tips for use
- Glazing R-values
- BRANZ seminars 2010 - Passive Fire Protection.
Guideline April 2020 - Special issue

System Number: gui00627

Description: In this issue, BRANZ provides guidance on building materials that

have been exposed to the weather. Some materials may have been damaged or
exceeded their exposure limits, affecting building consents, Building Code
compliance and product warranties. Document the decisions and actions taken
so your BCA can verify them for Code compliance. ●New URL for BRANZ Maps
●First release of key Build articles
Guideline March/April 2020

System Number: gui00628

Description: ● COVID-19 and construction updates ● Earthquake-prone

buildings and NBS ● Underslab waterproofing ● Tiny house Court finding ●
Renovation of a direct-fixed timber weatherboard house ● Is waterproofing
required behind concrete landscaping walls? ● Unsafe scaffolding has high costs
● What is "like for like"? ● Recent news
Guideline February 2020

System Number: gui00629

Description: In this issue: Safety glass and renovations Curved profiled metal
roofs Dragon ties Building maintenance Vent dryers to the outside Altering
existing dwellings where one wall is close to the boundary Using ALF on house
renovations New BRANZ bulletins Complying with the Building Code Recent news
BRANZ seminars

Guideline January 2020

System Number: gui00630

Description: In this issues: - Changes to NZS 3604:2001 - Glazing in

residential wet areas - Media rooms without windows require careful ventilation
design - When do external stairs for houses need a handrail? - Consents may not
be required but work must still comply with the Building Code - Recent news -
BRANZ seminars
Guideline December 2019

Description: In this issue:

- Smart vapour retarders
- Building code updates
- CodeMark and council inspections
- Reroofing a house
- Eliminate a source of roof space moisture
- Metal sladding on battens
- A new energy rating label for heat pumps
- Securing buildings against uplift
- New BRANZ bulletins
- Recent news

Tiny House

Determination 2018/001

Regarding a notice to fix and whether a relocated unit is a building at 17 Pembertons Road, Sefton

https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/resolving-problems/determinations/2018/2018-
001.pdf

2017/058

Regarding a notice to fix and whether a structure on wheels at 50 Church Street Winton is a Building

https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/resolving-problems/determinations/2017/2017-
058.pdf

2016/019: Regarding the code compliance of a shed on wheels at a neighbouring property, and
whether the shed is a vehicle or building

https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/resolving-problems/determinations/2016/2016-
019.pdf

2016/011: Regarding the issue of a notice to fix for a pit latrine, showering shed, water supply
system, and two Shepherd's huts
https://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/resolving-problems/determinations/2016/2016-
011.pdf

https://www.engineeringnz.org/resources/practice-notes-and-guidelines/

Practice Note 12: Operator Protective Structures (2014)

Practice Note 28: Screw Piles – Guidelines for Design, Construction and
Installation (2015)
Practice Note 13: Constructability (2008)