CASE STUDY: The Chodge - A high-performance home built with SIGA products

Perched above the banks of Lake Whakamaru in South Waikato, The Chodge is more than a home - essentially, it’s a house within a house.

Designed by DCA Architects for Director Darryl Church’s holiday home, and built by Ethos Homes, the design is an exploration of the interstitial space between inside and outside. Living in the threshold drove the idea of creating a space outside the inside, but still inside the outside.

With a documentary to tell its story that has begun screening around New Zealand as part of the Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival 2025, this home is gaining attention not just for how it looks - but how it performs too.

5Merchants is proud to have supplied the complete airtightness and weather protection system for the internal space of the Chodge, helping the home perform well in the environment.

Our contribution

Working alongside the design and build teams, we supplied a comprehensive suite of high-performance SIGA components to ensure the building envelope was airtight, resilient, and breathable where it mattered.

Products supplied:

• Majcoat 150 – A high-performance, windproof and highly breathable membrane for external protection of roof structure and building facades
• Majpell 5 – Intelligent vapour control layer for wall and ceiling structures.
• Wigluv  – BRANZ appraised single-sided and strongly adhesive tape for bonds, sill tape for all openings to the exterior
• Corvum – Pre-folded corner tape for precision sealing in junctions and difficult angles
• Rissan 60 - Flexible single-sided adhesive tape suitable for connection to round penetrations involving indoor airtight layers
• Sicrall 60 – Specialist tapes for indoor sealing of airtight layers or vapour control layers overlap
• Twinet 20 – aid to fixing vapour control layers to the structure indoors and outdoors (no stapler required!)
• Primur Tube – High-performance adhesive/sealant for flexible airtight junctions

These products formed the backbone of the home's airtight layer, working in harmony to deliver exceptional energy efficiency, durability, and occupant comfort.

Why it matters

Building a high performing home requires control of air movement and moisture - especially in an environment exposed to extreme temperatures, wind, and sun. Our product range ensured that every joint, junction, and transition of the inside shell was sealed and protected.

This wasn’t just about supplying materials - it was about enabling performance. The Chodge needed solutions that could deliver on both design intent and technical rigour. 5Merchants provided the system to do exactly that.

In the spotlight

The Chodge is the subject of a new full-length documentary that follows its design and construction journey. The trailer and documentary features behind-the-scenes footage of the build, including our products in action. Church describes the film as raw, honest, and often humorous, reflecting on 15 years of dedication to building a sanctuary for generations to come.

“The film provides personal insight into the journey; it’s a story about family, passion, and perseverance. It’s a special project for me, being my family holiday home."

As the documentary gains momentum, so too does awareness of what’s possible when exceptional design meets proven high-performance solutions.

Tickets are now available for screenings nationwide. You can view the full Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival schedule here.

We’re proud to support projects like the Chodge where sustainability, performance, and craftsmanship intersect. If you’re designing or building a high-performance home, talk to us about how our systems can help you achieve your goals.