Stellaria NZ Ltd is the NZ distributor for all Wienerberger, Internorm, BOEN and MST Marbles products.

Wienerberger, Europe – is one of Europe’s largest multinationals producing clay construction blocks, clay roofing tiles, clay facing bricks, clay facing tiles and clay pavers & piping systems. Founded in 1819, Wienerberger was publicly listed in 1901. Wienerberger now exports worldwide with 202 plants in 30 countries and is the global market leader for clay facing bricks, roof tiles and pavers. Wienerberger stands for high-quality natural clay products, which are marketed under the brands KORAMIC, POROTHERM, TERCA, PENTER and ARGETON. Wienerberger produces roof, wall, façade and paving from pure natural clay. Brick is one of the oldest building materials in history and therefore sets a perfect example for the modern concept of sustainable products. Wienerberger is exemplary for its environmental & business ethics, diverse designs and creations, energy-efficient construction and durable quality, holding their value for a very long time. Building with Wienerberger therefore, represents an economically and ecologically sound investment for the future.

Porotherm is a natural fired, solid clay construction block. It is available in a range of sizes, complete with accessory blocks (Lintels & Portals) in accordance with the climatic/thermal requirements for each project and/or region. Solid clay construction now forms up to 80% of the building material choice throughout Europe. Clay & lime have been used for hundreds of years and is now used extensively throughout the world.

Clay construction is design-engineered to be twice as strong as conventional construction methods. POROTHERM, in it’s current form, has been used extensively throughout Europe for the over 50 years and is now used worldwide in many high seismic zones such as Russia, China and Europe. Rigorous shake table testing documentation is available to show the extent of tests carried out by Wienerberger Engineers, meeting the highest Euro standards. This construction method is extremely earthquake resistant.

The acoustic rating for R25 is Rw + C 42. LR42Th+ is Rw + C 44.

Due to the thermal matrix design of the clay block most commonly used in NZ, R25Th+ at 250mm wide and kiln fired at temperatures of 1200c, water penetration is minimal. A breathable plaster system being waterproof and organic with mineral paint exterior finish is applied to meet E2 requirement.

No.

Standard masonry fixings or Hilti Screws available in NZ.

Chases are cut in the walls at a depth of 30mm. This is easily and quickly achieved by a builder, blocklayer, plumber or electrician using a double saw chase cutter with a vacuum.

A standard 250 Th+ Porotherm block requires 8 blocks per m2. By comparison, standard concrete blocks require 12.5 blocks per m2.

Porotherm is 4 times faster to lay than traditional concrete building methods being a confined masonry system. The steel & concrete is only required, depending on the engineering in the lintels over the openings and the portals installed up to 5m increments along the wall. This has a significant impact on the end cost to build. Labour cost is the largest component of costs to any construction company or builder. Porotherm significantly reduces this.

We have prepared a wall comparison chart to show the comparative costs. A finished Porotherm wall is comparative to a high-end 140 timber frame wall with brick veneer cladding.

The design life of Porotherm is 150 years. The life expectancy of the clay block is many generations.

Porotherm Clay blocks have a guarantee of 100 years. Installers are certified by Stellaria NZ.

Yes, absolutely. Totally natural clay construction. The Wienerberger sustainability story is at the heart of all their operations. To offset the carbon footprint required to transport from Europe to NZ, Stellaria offers 5 native or specimen trees (of your choice) to everyone building in Porotherm. We believe this gives something back to the environment the only element Stellaria NZ takes from the environment – the cost to ship it here!

DECLARE accreditation.
Sentinel-Haus Institut, the European centre for healthy building skills.
EMISSIONS DANS L’AIR INTERIEUR – Volatile Substances in Indoor Air.
AVEC LA TERRE CUITE means with clay, No Development of Mould.
ENVIRONNEMENTALE ET SANITAIRE is a Health Declaration.
NATUREPLUS – Respect for Saving Non-Renewable Resources.
QUALITEL – Acoustics & Thermal certificate Lower Energy & Maintenance.
AFNOR NF – characteristics certified by the French NF norm for clay blocks.
EXCELL ZONE VERTE – Green Certificate.

None. Porotherm 250 Th+ has a F.R.R of 3 hours minimum.

A lime-based plaster system is highly recommended to retain breathability of the block. Any cladding system can be used on Porotherm.

Minimal heating and cooling is required. Porotherm has significantly reduced thermal leakage compared to timber and concrete block construction. Testimonials report heating bills are dramatically reduced due to the passive nature of this block system.

Depending on your climatic zone in NZ and personal preference for thermal retention, the standard block R25 will meet NZ climate zones 1 & 2 and R25 Th+ in zone 3. If you want a warmer or passive home, apartment or office you can use any of the higher R-value blocks, CLIMAmur. You will also need the portal, lintel and rebate blocks to complete the building system. Quantity estimates can be calculated for you from your finished architectural drawings.

No. Porotherm can be installed by any licensed blocklayer or builder with minimal upskilling by our Wienerberger-Stellaria NZ certified installers.

Yes. Licensed architect or designer for permit drawings and qualified structural engineer.

Stellaria NZ Ltd has assisted the consent process for clients and architects with 12 local Councils from Queenstown to North Auckland.

Currently, Stellaria NZ is undergoing accreditation with BRANZ for all POROTHERM products.

We recommend Dry-Fix – a special cartridge-applied mortar developed by Wienerberger which is 50% faster and again, cleaner to use, no mixing of mortar on site.

Depending on design complexity, generally x1 D20 reinforcing steel bar is required at 5m centres and each side of major openings, installed in the Porotherm column or Portal block. Cages comprising 4 D12’s and ties at 300 centres are required at top bond beam and foundation level. These are also required at lintels – no further horizontal reinforcing is required.

Standard masonry fixings and flashings are used. We recommend Hilti continuous screws.

Porotherm block construction uses 95% less water when laying compared to concrete block construction.

Porotherm wastes 45% less than concrete block construction. Any waste is organic – it can simply be crushed and returned to your garden or soil.

Any climate. Porotherm is used in Panama in +45 degrees temperatures and in Russia -45 degrees.

Stellaria NZ Ltd is committed to on-going technical support for all architects/designers or builders specifying Wienerberger products.

Wienerberger has 202 plants in 30 countries around the world and exports worldwide including China, Russia, America and others.

The blocks range from 14.7 – 20kgs each. The benefit being contractors only have to lift 8 p/sqm as opposed to 12 for concrete construction. In total, a blocklayer would lift 144kgs p/sqm of Porotherm and 225 kgs p/sqm of concrete block.

As part of Wienerberger’s corporate responsibility, Wienerberger are committed to reducing the CO2 emissions 100% by 2020. Stellaria NZ offer 10 trees of the owner’s choice to off-set the cost to transport to NZ from France or Germany.

We recommend a De Walt Alligator saw or bench saw. Cutting is simple, quick and clean with minimal waste.

The Stellaria NZ team will help you and/or your architect or builder to estimate the blocks and quantities you will need for your project. Prior to ordering, we provide a full wall by wall block count to assist accuracy of delivery. Very little waste is required for a skilled builder or blocklayer.

Yes, absolutely. Porotherm is easily engineered for apartments and commercial buildings. Speed of construction, reducing labour costs, reduced heating and cooling costs is of particular interest to commercial developers worldwide.

Wienerberger has developed an extensive range of Porotherm blocks to suit all climates and personal requirements for heating and cooling. For example, Porotherm R25Th+ has an R-value of 1.7, Porotherm CLIMAmur42 has an R-value of 5.4. Porotherm CLIMAmur36 has an R-value of 4.64. There are many different blocks to suit your climate and personal preferences – without the need for add-on insulation systems i.e strapping & lining, direct fix insulation, panel etc.