The Department of Building and Housing (DBH) has also recognised this performance in the document, "Guidance on House Repairs and Reconstruction Following the Canterbury Earthquake." For a copy click here.

This document offers a modified version of Firth's Ribraft^® flooring system as a potential solution for those building in areas susceptible to liquefaction or lateral spreading.

Following on from this recommendation Firth has further enhanced the successful Ribraft flooring system, following the guiding principals of the DBH document, and launched the new EQ Ribraft. This flooring solution is quickly becoming the floor of choice in the rebuilding of Christchurch as it combines strength, durability and economy with superior insulation properties.

"We have been working with BEAL (Building Element Assessment Laboratory) for some time to have the Ribraft system provided with a code mark," said Dene Cook, Technical Manager for Firth. "In April BEAL conducted an audit of our new manual and quality plan and as a result have issued notices to Councils on their findings in regard to their surveillance of the Ribraft system, following the earthquakes in Canterbury. This report recognises the Ribraft System's performance in areas susceptible to liquefaction as a possible solution to this problem. Now we have developed the EQ System which incorporates the guiding principles of the DBH documents for potentially liquefiable soils."

The Surveillance Report document can be downloaded from www.beal.co.nz or click here.