Early-Close-In System with SOLITEX EXTASANA on a new 2-unit development

Early-Close-In Project

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Team at Watford Building Services used the pro clima Early-Close-In (ECI) System, utilising SOLITEX EXTASANA® WRB, on a two-unit build - their very first project with this system. Read more

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Weathertight, before the bricks

A first-time build with the pro clima Early-Close-In System that kept things moving through one of the wettest summers in Canterbury.

Through Christmas and into the new year, the rain rolled across the Canterbury plains in waves, the kind of sustained wet stretch that quietly drains weeks from a build programme. For Watford Building Services, midway through a two-unit residential project, it could have been the usual story. Damp framing. Idle interiors. A bricklayer waiting on a clear stretch that never quite came.

But on this build, work simply carried on inside. The shell had already been closed in, sealed weathertight against the outside well before the cladding crew was due, and the interior trades kept moving while the rain did its worst.

It was Watford's first project using the pro clima Early-Close-In (ECI) System, built around the SOLITEX EXTASANA® wall underlay, a tear-resistant, synthetic, weather-resistant barrier rated for 180 days of UV, wind, and rain exposure. With an envelope sealed to that standard, the conventional sequence of trades changes. Doors, insulation, GIB, plastering — all of it can run while the cladding waits its turn. The system proved quicker to install and more cost-effective than the alternatives they had used before, with the savings showing up in both time and budget on site.

For Brad Saunders, Director of Watford Building Services, the decision began, as most do, with a price comparison:

We compared it with a couple of other products. Price-wise, it was on point, and once we started putting it on the walls, it was quicker than the other products — so that just helped everything keep flowing.

The real test, though, came later, when the weather closed in.

We had a lot of rain through the Canterbury summer, especially over Christmas, and there was nothing inside — it worked like a treat. The 180-day UV exposure rating is massive because we can carry on inside — get doors in, insulation, GIB, plastering — and then do the bricks after.

There is a piece of building science underneath that resilience. SOLITEX EXTASANA® is a Class 4 vapour-permeable membrane, meaning moisture can move outward through the wall assembly rather than being trapped in the timber.

On a typical wet-weather build, bottom plates hold water longest and dictate when interior work can begin. Preventing frames from getting wet is the best start, then a vapour-open underlay lets the entire structure dry as a whole. "The bottom plates are the key ones — they stay wet the longest," Saunders explains. "If they're wet, you can't carry on inside. But with this system, they dry at the same time as everything else, and then you're away."

On site, the pro clima Early-Close-In system proves simpler, cleaner and faster to install than the products Watford had used before. Beyond the building physics, the system's appeal came down to the small, repeatable details of installation. The ORCON® CLASSIC liquid adhesive replaces the perimeter tape used on competing systems. The cap nails fire from a compressor gun.

On site, the pro clima Early-Close-In system proves simpler, cleaner and faster to install than the products Watford had used before. Beyond the building physics, the system's appeal came down to the small, repeatable details of installation. The ORCON® CLASSIC liquid adhesive replaces the perimeter tape used on competing systems. The cap nails fire from a compressor gun.

The TESCON® window tapes apply cleanly around openings. None of these is dramatic in isolation, but together they compound. "Compared to the other products, it was just simple — the adhesive around the bottom instead of a tape system, pulling the corners nice and tight, and the compressor gun with the nails went on quick. Taping around the windows was quicker, too — it was just good and easy to use."

A pro clima representative also provided product and installation training on site, which showed in the tidy, professional finish across the wall wrap and window junctions. As a first-time install, that level of support mattered, and by the end of the project, the system had earned its place in Watford's default specification and is now recommended to other clients across the region.

For Saunders, looking back, the appeal is straightforward. The pricing held up. The install was quicker. And the build kept moving when, by every reasonable expectation, it should have stalled.

Early-Close-In System Highlights:

180 Days of Exposure: Outstanding durability against UV, wind, and rain.
Internal Progress: Seals the envelope so that interior work can start before cladding is complete.
Advanced Vapour Management: Highly vapour permeable to allow structural drying but still remain watertight.
High Wind Performance: Suitable for NZS 3604 wind zones up to ‘very high’ (and ‘extra high’ over rigid sheathing).