Case study two
Is my product an alternative solution?
Example: a new cladding type
A company is designing a brand new type of cladding that will be different to anything currently available.
Being new, the compliance pathway for this cladding is probably an alternative solution. Chances are the company will need to provide comprehensive technical evidence and information to enable a BCA to understand how the product complies, and continues to comply, with the relevant Building Code clauses.
The company will need to:
- prove compliance against a number of performance requirements of the Building Code
- include all supporting technical evidence.
The company’s challenge will be to identify or develop suitable criteria it can evaluate its cladding against; although some of the criteria cited in the relevant Acceptable Solutions may be useful for comparison.
It will need to consider conditions specific to New Zealand (such as seismic activity, exposure to salt-laden winds and sea spray, high ultra-violet light levels and wind-driven rain).