Straw, sticks and bricks are yesterday’s news. Meet Hardie™ Gravis™ Panel by James Hardie – the next evolution in how modern Australian homes should be built.

In a big move that means professionals in the built environment can now turn to one dependable brand for their exterior wall solutions, James Hardie is evolving from being solely a fibre cement manufacturer into a building products company.

Following research identifying a strong consumer appetite for rendered autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) as a modern home exterior choice, the company is now supplying AAC together with its traditional fibre cement – two complementary systems for exterior home solutions.

Hardie™ Gravis™ Panel enable the creation of modern mixed-material homes, with these two products brought together under one trusted brand. The result is that designers, architects, builders, installers and specifiers can work with a one-stop-shop and a simple answer to the query: ‘what will we do for the walls of this modern mixed material home?’

The Panels work in tandem with Hardie™fibre cement cladding as a complementary solution to offer scope for creative combinations for façades and other exterior walls. The results ensure energy-efficient performance, versatile design options and a streamlined installation process. It’s a refreshing alternative to struggling with myriad unpredictable supply chains and imports.

For years, James Hardie has been the first port of call for fibre cement, but this year the company’s range has expanded. With steel reinforcement and corrosion protection, Hardie™ Gravis™ Panels are a lightweight masonry product that offers new possibilities for mixed-material designs, reaffirming the company’s status as an expert when it comes to the demands of modern design.

With a national distribution footprint and local technical teams and installer training, James Hardie is not just a reliable supplier with expert help available at the drop of a hat, but a brand with decades of expertise under its belt and a legacy of innovation and dependability.

From top to bottom

What good are walls without a base? Along with the vertical solutions, James Hardie has developed Hardie™ Gravis™ Floor Panels with a tongue and groove, enabling a high-performance, solid subfloor system.

And all the products come with the reliable support and technical prowess for which James Hardie is renowned. The supplier provides all join and junction details that are needed when specifying Hardie™ Gravis™ Panels and Hardie™fibre cement cladding. Additional installation and engineering guidance is always available for those requiring it.

James Hardie is known for a range of trusted building material products and now Hardie™Gravis™ Floor Panels can be added to the list of products designed for the Australian climate and conditions.

Offering endless design possibilities, Hardie™ Gravis™ Panels enable fast and efficient construction and are remarkably energy efficient. They have an aerated structure that promises superior thermal insulation for homes to stay cool in summer and toasty in the winter months.

Their acoustic capabilities also go above and beyond, as they reduce the transmission of sound, leading to blissful peace and quiet for those on the inside of buildings utilising the material.

Added to this, Hardie™ Gravis™Panels offer huge flexibility in colour schemes, as they have been approved for use with an extensive range of both leading coating and paint systems. Rendered and painted according to individual taste, they can work with a wide range of textures and finishes, resulting in almost infinite design possibilities.

From designer to homeowner and back again

Best specified early in the design process, Hardie™ Gravis™Panels are an optimum solution when high performance, render and solidity are a fundamental requirement – for instance, performance walls or ground floors. They also offer designers and builders speedy and lightweight installation, and the ability to repeat solutions across various housing types. Meanwhile, the end user receives the benefit of living with a design-led modern façade, freedom for their design choices and an exterior solution that is both aesthetically on trend and boasts inbuilt longevity.

Hardie™ Gravis™Panels have four fundamental characteristics:

• Versatility – working seamlessly alongside fibre cement and other materials for high-performance, Hardie™ Gravis™ Panels are an ideal option for external walls, intertenancy walls and flooring in residential builds, delivering the modern looks homeowners desire.
• Safety – of prime importance, the Panels are a non-combustible system that complies with Australian fire, thermal and acoustic rules, when installed in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Flexiblity of finish – depending on the chosen coating, the Panels can be finished in various ways to suit the appropriate architectural style.
• Durability – as they are steel-reinforced, with corrosion protection, Hardie™ Gravis™Panels promise long-term structural integrity.

With a 25-year warranty to back all of this up, Gravis Panels are swift to install, suitable for bushfire prone areas, ns offer superior acoustic performance, energy efficiency and tremendous creative freedom. In a nutshell, they’re a solution that simplifies the building process and delivers the performance and modern aesthetics required by contemporary home projects of all shapes and sizes.

Hardie™ Gravis™ Panel is also the first AAC product to obtain CodeMark certification to both NCC 2022 and NCC 2025, simplifying the specification process anywhere in Australia. 

If only they had been around when those poor little porkers were building their homes…

All images: Supplied.