Knowing that the Auckland City Art Gallery was a Category 1 Listed Historic place meant we needed to meet special criteria for work to be done.

Step 1:

Non-invasive testing - we asked the office staff questions as per the Thermawood Check Sheet.

Observed for visible signs as per the Thermawood Check Sheet.

Assess common areas as per the Thermawood Check Sheet.

Cracking in cladding and/or staining and discoloration are often reliable signs of moisture ingress and subsequent timber decay

Step 2:

Set up equipment to record humidity, noise and temperature

Observing timber hardness when visually inspected (specialised tooling) as per the Thermawood Check Sheet.

Probing timber with specialised tooling as per the Thermawood Check Sheet.

We also used several other methods that would indicate decay.

Step 3:

Contact the Heritage New Zealand office in Auckland and set up a meeting with one of their Senior Architects.

Go over the process of the Thermawood System and how it works.

Emphasis was placed on the long term sustainability of the Thermawood system: the Drainage Adapter is made from recycled milk bottles, the timber products used are sourced from FSC and PEFC certified companies and the system complies with NZS 4211: 2008 Extra High Wind Zone.

Step 4:

Contact the Heritage arm of Auckland City Council and demonstrate what we would do and how the Thermawood System could work for them.

Step 5:

The double glazed unit (dgu) that Sauvarins came up with is a dgu that solved the Art Gallery’s key issues and ensures heat reduction, noise reduction, comfort for the staff and an R (Total) (M2o C/W) of .58 for the window.

Sustainability
The old glass that was removed was 4mm and 5mm Clear float. Sauvarins Glass has kept all of the old glass so it can be reglazed into other Council Heritage Building as and when required.