The details
The Regional Council building required some roof maintenance which involved introducing new roof outlets on the two-storey part of the building to resolve known areas of leaking during high rainfall events. On the elevations leaks were identified on the existing concrete columns. The columns had cracked at the construction joints and the joints were wicking water into the building. The problem was resolved by applying a specialist plaster system over the concrete column faces with expansion joints at the cold joint locations. All external cladding areas were checked for damage. Limited framing and cladding repairs were required and some sealant joints between cladding panels required replacing. The eyebrow detail above windows were also checked and some areas of decay were repaired, and new waterproofing was applied. The entire building exterior was repainted. On the south elevation an existing curtain wall was modernised by installing new panes of coloured glass to match the glazing features on the Council’s building in Tauranga. Maintenance work was done to several existing windows where rubber seals were replaced. Some internal works were also required to make good internal areas that had suffered water damage. Existing roof surfaces and solar panels were cleaned to remove mould and lichen. All windows were cleaned before scaffolding was removed.
All Council activities continued during the works including normal public interface activities and regular meetings in the council chambers and meeting rooms. On occasion works had to be scheduled around the meeting schedule in the council chambers. Q‘s methodology and phasing of the works considered daily operational requirements such as maintaining egress routes and working flexible hours. Our team demonstrated flexibility and understanding when working around council operational requirements.
The extent and shape of the buildings and the need to keep areas watertight at all times made scaffolding and associated shrink wrapping necessary in most areas. Based on the Q teams’ experience with remediation projects a workable methodology was developed which worked very well on site and contributed to a successful project which was largely completed during the wet, winter months.
