Soffit Insulation Board New Zealand
Rigid phenolic board. Half the depth.
Installed to programme.
- Fast pricing
- Expert install
- QA documentation
- Built for commercial
Auckland based, nationwide
We travel. Most regions have no carpark soffit crew of their own.
Programme focused
We plan and deliver around your schedule.
QA & PS3 supplied
Complete documentation at practical completion.
Commercial specialists
Carparks, basements and podiums.
The reason to specify board is depth, not fire
Rigid phenolic board gets specified for basements on the assumption that it is the fire-rated option. It is not. Both phenolic boards on the New Zealand market are Group 2-S. The polyester liners they would replace are Group 1-S, which is a better classification — the ordering runs 1-S, 1, 2-S, 2, 3, 4. And neither carries a fire resistance rating, because no soffit insulation product does; where a slab needs an FRR the concrete and its supporting structure provide it.
The real reason to reach for rigid board is that it does the thermal job in roughly half the depth. Kooltherm K10 G2 runs at 0.022 W/mK and reaches R2.35 at 50mm, where a polyester liner needs 100mm for R2.5 — and it goes to R4.20 at 90mm, past where polyester stops. On an open podium deck that is worth nothing. In a basement with a tight floor-to-floor, a clearance height to hold, or a sprinkler main and duct run already eating the void, it decides whether the insulation fits at all. Compressive strength is the second reason: at 100 kPa and above these boards survive contact that would mark or compress a fibrous panel.
Systems we install
Most carpark soffits take a standard liner. Where the fire report or the R-value schedule drives the specification, they do not — so we install to whichever system your specification calls for rather than pushing one product.
Most carparks
Soffit liner & acoustic panel
Standard carpark soffits
The default specification for most carpark ceilings, and the better fire lining of the two — Group 1-S. Thermally bonded polyester absorbs sound rather than reflecting it, which is what makes a concrete carpark stop echoing. Installs fast around existing services and gives a clean finished soffit.
- Group 1-S — the best surface finish classification available
- Thermal and acoustic performance in one layer
- Published NRC 0.85 to 1.05 depending on product and thickness
- Fast install around congested services
Depth constrained / high R
Kingspan rigid board
Headroom or high R-value drives the specification
Rigid phenolic board reaches the same R-value in roughly half the depth — R2.35 at 50mm where a polyester liner needs 100mm for R2.5 — and goes to R4.20 where polyester stops at R3.0. Specified where floor-to-floor is tight, services are congested, or the soffit takes impact. It is not the fire upgrade it is often assumed to be.
- Same R-value in roughly half the build-up
- Reaches R-values a polyester liner cannot
- Group 2-S — one classification below the Group 1-S liner
- Installed to the manufacturer's published fixing schedule
Podium & mixed use
Thermal upgrade to occupied space above
Apartments or offices over a carpark
Where habitable space sits directly above a carpark level, the soffit is the thermal boundary and the Building Code treats it as such. We install to the R-value the specification calls for and document what went in.
- Specified R-value achieved and documented
- Coordinated with services so coverage is continuous
- QA records suitable for code compliance sign-off
We install to the specified system and hand over the manufacturer's documentation. We do not substitute equivalents without your engineer's sign-off.
Why main contractors choose us
Code compliant
Solutions to NZBC requirements.
Acoustic performance
Polyester systems absorb rather than reflect. Published NRC up to 1.05.
Thermal efficiency
Improves comfort and reduces heat gain.
Fire classified
Group 1-S and Group 2-S systems, installed to the specified classification.
End-to-end service
Supply, install, QA and documentation.
Detailing is what the rate actually buys
Two details decide whether a rigid board soffit looks right when it is finished, and neither shows up in a square metre rate. Joints and edges have to be taped — Kingspan specify 96mm tape on joints and a minimum 48mm overlap on exposed edges. Untaped, you lose thermal continuity at every joint and the edge picks up damage, and on an exposed soffit the tape line is the first thing anyone sees. Then penetrations: rigid board is less forgiving than a fibrous panel because you cannot compress it into a gap, so every sprinkler drop, cable tray and duct hanger is a cut, and every cut needs its edge treated. There are hundreds of them in a basement. We price both explicitly.
Installed to AS/NZS structural fixing requirements.
Get your projectpriced
Send us your drawings and we'll review the scope and come back to you with pricing.
- Fast turnarounds — within 24–48 hours
- Clear scope and inclusions
- Experienced team on your site
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Your project details are kept confidential.