Designed for life with Weather Defence®

Weather Defence®, proudly manufactured by Siniat in Australia, is a rigid air barrier board used behind facade cladding systems to help create a pressure equalised cavity for rain screen and ventilated facade systems.

Benefits

Weather Defence can be installed and exposed on frame for up to twelve months during construction, allowing internal trades to get on with the job in inclement weather.

It’s excellent vapour permeability makes Weather Defence suitable for Australia’s colder climates. It is classified vapour permeable Class 4 and is recommended for use in Climate Zones 2 to 8. In Climate Zone 1 it is recommended to apply a vapour barrier over the external surface. 

Fire resistance

Being a plasterboard product, Weather Defence is “deemed-to-satisfy” in terms of the NCC, and may be used wherever a non-combustible material is required in a façade system.

Siniat’s technical team have recently subjected the product to further fire tests, and Weather Defence is certified to provide an FRL (Fire Resistance Level) of up to -/120/120 or 90/90/90 when required by the Building Code of Australia.  

Another application where Weather Defence can provide excellent protection in the event of a fire is in the construction of residential buildings (Building Classes 1-3) in bushfire zones. Weather Defence can be used to wrap the entire building including the walls, roof and eaves to protect the occupants and contents during a bushfire.

Read more here. 

Safe and easy to install

Weather Defence is a great alternative to cement-based external sheathing boards. It is safe and easy to work with and saves valuable time on site. The board can simply be scored and snapped, reducing the need to use power tools with the associated site noise and dust emissions.

Weather Defence is also ideal for creating corners or curves.

The Weather Defence system is sealed with Pro Clima tape to form airtight junctions around complex details and an additional pliable membrane may not be required.

Improved sustainability and performance

Several inherent properties make Weather Defence a sustainable choice.

It is easier to achieve airtightness with rigid air barrier boards than plastic wall wrap. A lack of airtightness can result in wind washing through the glasswool insulation, reducing thermal performance. By improving thermal performance, the building’s energy efficiency can be increased.

Weather Defence can also improve the durability of the façade system. In hot and humid climates, any air that enters the building contain lots of moisture, which can lead to mould, rust and wood rot forming in the wall cavity. Weather Defence’s vapour permeability prevents this from happening, increasing the longevity of the façade system.

Improved comfort

Due to its dense gypsum core Weather Defence can help reduce external noise from entering the building and improve acoustic comfort. The improved airtightness also prevents moisture from working its way into the building to increase internal humidity. This translates into greater indoor comfort long after construction has been completed.

System components

In Australia, Weather Defence and screws are supplied by Siniat. The tapes required to complete the installation is supplied by Pro Clima.