Action your future game plan at Roadshow

The annual Master Builders BUSSQ Roadshow kicks off next month.

Master Builders representatives and experts will travel across Queensland to each of our regional centres, bringing the latest industry news to members while showcasing exciting and innovative products.

With 2023 shaping up to be another challenging year, with labour and materials shortages and even more new regulations and laws on the horizon including the National Construction Code (NCC), we’ve got a jam-packed Roadshow event with a future game plan to see you through.

Our panel of contractual, financial, and building code experts will break down the jargon and tell you exactly what you need to know about the implementation of the Livable Housing and Energy Efficiency NCC changes from 1 October 2023. They’ll also have some important advice and strategies you can use when quoting and contracting for future jobs, so you can avoid being caught out down the track and keep the all-important cashflow moving.

Our expert panel will cover:

• How the NCC changes will impact new homes and substantial renovations

• When you need to start complying

Trivet Measurements

The measurements are to be taken from the top of the trivet of a gas cooking appliance. Removable accessories such as a wok trivet that sits upon a hob trivet or minor elevations in trivets for wok burners are not considered when measuring from the gas cooking appliance. This is a change from previous editions of the standard, which was measured from the top of the highest burner.

When you replace a gas cooking appliance in an existing kitchen built before 30 March 2023, the measurement is to be taken from the highest part of the highest burner of the gas cooking appliance or the highest part of the hob in accordance with the old editions of the gas standard.  with NCC requirements in contracts and how to comply with the legislative requirements during the transition

For further advice, call the Master Builders Building Services team on 1300 30 50 10.

• Practical steps on how to protect your business now and into the future, including pricing and estimating strategies and must-know contract tips

• Projected skills shortages on the horizon for your region and how this might impact your business.

Historic 19th century home restored to former glory

Paul Spence Constructions transformed a beautiful old timber house in Toowoomba into a family home while preserving its history.

Wirra Wirra House started life as a government house in East Toowoomba in the 1880s.

It was used as a residence for the police superintendent for many years and then passed to the Anglican Church for school use. In the 1960s, it was moved to the Greenmount area, and in the 1990s, it was moved to its current site in Frew Street.

The house had undergone major works during these house relocations.

Paul Spence’s job was to return the house to its former glory.

Paul Spence Constructions’ restoration of the beautiful country home won the President’s Award at the 2022 Master Builders Downs & Western Housing and Construction Awards.

It also won top accolades in the Home Renovation/Remodelling Project from $650,000 up to $1 million category.

“My working relationship with John and Kelly Seccombe began in 2019 when I was asked to visit them and quote on a carport and shed. From here, we went down the road towards a home renovation and extension of their lovely home, Wirra Wirra,” Paul said.

The front bedroom had been turned into a meals room with an adjacent kitchen. The main bedroom was originally the kitchen, and so Paul and his team went about swapping these rooms around.

“As we lifted floor coverings, the historic damage became apparent, but floor repairs and the re-use of recycled hoop flooring, bought these areas back to a beautiful look,” Paul said.

The original windows were relocated to be used in the house, to keep the historic value of the property.

Paul said the rear central courtyard had been filled in with a sandstone floor and a flat skillion roof. This was both unsightly and caused problems with leaking during the rain. The sandstone floor was retained, but the ceiling line was raised to meet the rest of the house. The central roof was matched into the style of the house with cantilevered trusses and steep pitch roof.

“The owners wanted a more open plan living area, and so walls were removed, and Victorian archways were installed to blend with the house and era,” he said.

Extensive use of timber putty-glazed windows and timber doors added to the look of this beautiful home.

The verandahs were widened and to keep a traditional look as well as insulate, solid hoop pine VJ ceilings were installed right around. The front verandah was renovated but kept to original dimensions for the correct period look. 

Heavy lift crane arrives for iconic green bridge project

Construction has ramped up on Brisbane City Council’s iconic Kangaroo Point Green Bridge project with the arrival of the world’s largest capacity tower crane, the M2480D Heavy Lift Luffing Crane.

Led by BESIX Watpac, the Connect Brisbane consortium is delivering the world-class landmark. Once complete, the 460-metre-long cable-stay bridge will be one of the longest of its kind in the world.

The bridge comprises several large and heavy steel elements that will be fabricated offsite, and this heavy-lift crane will be critical in completing the exceptionally large lifts.

BESIX Watpac General Manager Queensland, Wade Cummins, said this was a key milestone for the project.

“The 72-metre-tall crane with a 64-metre-long boom supplied by Marr Contracting arrived onsite in January and has been erected and commissioned and has completed its first lift – a 25 metre by 25-metre-wide working platform,” he said.

The crane has a maximum lift capacity of 330 tonnes – 220 tonnes in its configuration on this project - and will be crucial to constructing some of the bridge’s most impressive elements.

According to BESIX Watpac Project Director, Tim Deere, this includes the bridge’s masthead.

“The crane has been assembled on a marinebased grillage and it will enable the installation of some very large bridge elements. The heaviest lift the tower crane will undertake for the project is 180 tonnes and will be the 28-metre-tall, prefabricated steel masthead,” he said.

The crane will also be used for substructure and other superstructure projects, such as works on the Pier 4 Pylon at the base of the mast. 