Above: The Bokarina Beach development on the Sunshine Coast:
Intergrain oils were used to protect the Weathertex cladding for a unified, easy-maintain finish.
When Simone Gillies, BDE trade commercial Cabot’s at DuluxGroup in Brisbane took a phone call from local architect Garth Hollindale asking about how Dulux/ Intergrain coating products would work on Weathertex, she admits to a little stalling.
“I’d never heard of Weathertex,” she admits. “But I rang them and Aaron Davey, the local BDM, sent me a set of samples, which were super. Garth had said he wanted a natural weathering effect on the boards for the Bokarina Beach development he was designing in a coastal location on the
Sunshine Coast. So I whipped up some options using our Intergrain Universal Timber Oil in two double-strength colours: Coastal Grey and Roasted Walnut.”
Weathertex is a well-regarded modified timber product that combines sustainably sourced Australian hardwoods with steam, compression and 3% natural wax for water repellency to produce regular, long-lasting architectural board and panel products that are widely used in multi-residential builds.
It was a logical choice for Hollindale to specify. “He was after a weathered look,” Gillies says, “and the beauty of the Universal Timber Oil is that it protects, but it also allows the timber to naturally grey off and keep that real beach look, as opposed to a waterproof stain.”
Above: Over time, timber will grey off under Universal Timber Oil, unless owners recoat.
Initially, Gillies did her own testing: “I often do that for architects,” she says. “I’ll take the material they’re looking at for cladding and we’ll coat it ourselves so that we can first check that the product we think will work is the best option, then that it looks right, then that it lasts as it will need to. Because we do all our testing locally, we’re always working to actual Australian conditions.
“In this case, we opted for a brushed finish that perfectly matched Garth’s idea and was achievable by the painter. And it only needed to be on the external face of the board, so that saved time, money and product.”
For DuluxGroup’s national team, Weathertex was already a well-known brand. “We have established national specifications with Weathertex for several coatings, says Madhuri Ranjan, commercial marketing manager at Intergrain Trade & Industrial. “For solid paint, that’s often Dulux Weathershield, for example. But if it’s a timber look that they’re after that generally it’s Intergrain.
“So the builder can now work from that specification without worry, because they know that Weathertex and DuluxGroup – both premium brands – test our products to make sure that they are compatible and that they will last as set out in our warranty. We test our durability performance based on substrates like Weathertex to ensure that coatings won’t peel or blister flake after 12 months of application. Plus there’s product care and maintenance that we set out so the homeowner is aware of what it takes to maintain their property.”
The results speak for themselves, with the 70+ townhouses quickly selling. “They came up beautifully,” says Gillies. “We went out to check on the coatings during and after the build and now with the gardens growing up around them, it’s a stunning result.
“These sorts of builds rely on repeatability and cost effectiveness, so for anyone thinking of doing something similar, I would say get us involved from the start. We can find the most cost effective, most aesthetically suitable product that will also be the easiest for their maintenance schedule. And we can give the architect, builder, painter and the end consumer a reality of expectations for re-coating.”
For more, visit www.intergrain.com.au
