Jack Jago, Director of Norstone UK, explains how the relationship with Hardie® Backer board came about: ‘we were having problems with many projects that have existing plasterboard where people wanted to tile stone on the plasterboard. But this won’t work as it will pull away half of the time as Norstone is a natural stone; it weighs 65kg per square metre.’
‘We have had customers who have used plasterboard and called up in a panic a few months later after walls have started coming apart’ continues Jack. ‘Hardie Backer board however, can hold up to 100kg per square metre, as opposed to plasterboard, which can only manage 35kg per square metre.’
This is one of the main reasons why Norstone endorses using Hardie® Backer board for stone facades.
Another reason why Norstone recommends the product is because of the 10 year warranty. There have been other tile and stone substrate manufacturers offering their products to Norstone with a warranty based on weight, up to around 70kg per square metre. In Jack’s view, this isn’t adequate; ‘After you put the adhesive on it takes you up to at least 75kg per square metre, so you need to have 100kg at the margin’.
Norstone has worked on many commercial projects using HardieBacker board and has recently recommended using the product for a large refurbishment project of 114 public houses.
"We learned early on that for Norstone to be successful, and for us to really expand, we have actually got to be really mindful of commercial considerations, and that’s why we work with James Hardie".