SUMNER

System Compliance

SUMNER® Adhered Masonry Veneer (SAMV) is certified compliant with the New Zealand Building Code by BEAL Ltd, Plimerton, Wellington.

BEAL Ltd is an independent company actively involved in the building sector. They conduct testing and generate appraisals, compliance certificates, and other activities relating to the construction industry. (Please ignore any reference to BEAL CODEMARK, as it was discontinued a few years ago and is no longer a compliance pathway).

BEAL Appraisal Certificate:

We recommend downloading our complete set of compliance documents from our documents page which includes Written Specifications and Architectural Details.

System Description

SUMNER® system products are used to install a wide range of adhered masonry, and ensures both adhesion and weather tightness. Let us consider both aspects:  

1. Adhesion using SUMNER® Grip Plus

SUMNER® Grip Plus is an adhesive that can bond 25-60mm, flat-backed masonry slips to various substrates. It offers an impressive tested break-free pull strength exceeding three tonnes, surpassing other industry adhesives. The adhesion can be directly made to blockwork, brick, tilt slab, and solid pour masonry. However, for cladding projects, it is essential to have a cavity to ensure weather tightness. (see below).

Our adhesive system includes a unique stainless steel fixing that is installed during the installation process. These fixings are designed to support the masonry's weight fully, thereby eliminating any stress on the adhesive for the entire duration of the installation's lifetime. 

2. Weathertightness

SUMNER® is a modern cladding that is designed to be weather-tight. To achieve this, a constructed cavity is used. Our pre-cladding consists of fluted plastic battens and fibre-cement sheet backing board installed by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) qualified for restricted building work. This ensures compliance with the NZ Building Code. It's important to note that waterproofing and other coatings applied by someone other than an LBP are not recommended as they are poor substitutes for a constructed cavity. 

For detailed technical information, please consult the SUMNER Technical and Installation Manual on our documents page. 

System Advantages

How is SUMNER different to other systems?

1. We have a 20-year service history, providing customers with consistent performance. We are the only New Zealand company with stone veneer projects over 15 years old.
2. Trust SUMNER Grip Plus – New Zealand's only purpose-made masonry veneer adhesive that consistently excels in stone veneer applications. Unlike tile adhesives that may fail, SUMNER Grip Plus stands strong as the essential component for adhered masonry.
3. The SUMNER system includes all necessary components, so we do not suffer from incompatibility issues, conflicting third-party warranties, or post-sale service issues.
4. SUMNER Board, with a density of nearly 1400 kg/m3, is denser than other fibre-cement boards. This high density, shared with the stone and adhesive, results in a similar linear coefficient of expansion and contraction. This unique feature is a significant advantage of using a system designed specifically for stone veneer.
5. Superior Battens—SUMNER's hollow core, ABS recycled plastic batten is preferred to timber battens, which can develop mould inside the wall space. More importantly, in the presence of moisture, timber will expand and contract behind the inert stonework. Our battens isolate this detrimental process as plastic does not swell with moisture.
6. SUMNER L-fixings are unique to our system.