Just before Christmas 2018 we were awarded the tender for the refurbishment of the toilets and bike storage area for 256 Adelaide Tce, which we commenced on 18th January. The drawings provided with the tender were quite poor, with no services drawings provided, despite the project requiring major plumbing and mechanical work.  The architectural drawings required major revisions so that the plumbing for the showers and toilets could be altered to avoid the column heads in the car park underneath.The demolition of the existing toilets was needed to expose the air conditioning equipment above, so that the work to relocate and rectify that could be determined. The picture below shows the male toilet following demolition, with the markings for the in-slab reinforcement in pink and the plumbing services under the slab in blue. The second picture shows the studwork for the relocated walls for the female toilet.

The existing bike store area was in a dark corner of the car park, with water seeping from various points draining across the floor. That was demolished and a much larger area was provided closer to the Victoria Avenue entry.  That was fenced and new lighting was installed, along with secure gates and some lockers. Over 30 wall mounted Steady Rack bike racks were mounted on the wall and fencing, and 6 floor mounted racks were fixed in the centre of the area. Plenty of room was left for additional racks to be installed in the future if required.

The bike storage area was constructed while the client decided how to proceed with the mechanical services above the toilets, with tiling work proceeding in the female toilet at the same time. Eventually a decision was made and we were able to complete the ceiling and tiling in the male toilet, followed by the installation of toilet cubicles, joinery and fittings in both toilets. The picture below shows the vanity, hand dryer and feature tiling in the female toilet. The completed work produced more than the expected improvements in the existing toilets, providing an excellent result at a very high standard of finish, with an exceptionally low value of variations, given the poor documentation provided for the project.

In early February 2017 we were asked to carry out the fit-out of the ophthalmology clinic at 160 Cambridge St for Perth Retina. The client needed to have the clinic operational at the start of April and had a building licence, but the design needed to be completed for the work to proceed. We were able to get that done and started construction on the 27th February. An existing open courtyard was roofed and a new floor slab poured to match the existing levels. The walls were stood and sheeted, power and data services run and ceilings installed. Joinery, which had been pre-ordered by the client was installed, painting done and the vinyl plank flooring laid. The job was completed on the 28th of March and the client was ready to open on time.

Demolition complete, courtyard slab being prepared, stud walls being erected

Ready for Furniture

Handed over

This was a small project in St Georges Terrace with three parts: separate an existing training room from the kitchenette to produce a board room, alter an office into a small meeting room and construct a screen in reception to separate that area from the open plan offices. The work was carried out over two weeks while Peritus were operating, so we made sure there was as little noise and disruption as possible.

To provide room for a new door into the boardroom, the plywood feature wall in the photo needed to be removed, shortened and replaced,. The finished result looked as though it had never changed. Painting and glazing film was carried out to complete the job, leaving another satisfied client.

Our first major project for Australian Hearing was the construction of their Rockingham clinic. Some minor demolition was required to take the 130m2 shop back to an empty shell to then fit the three audio rooms, reception, waiting area, tech area, sound booth, kitchenette and bathroom in.  The Audio rooms needed double plasterboard layers and acoustic insulation for the walls and ceilings, and an additional insulated tiled ceiling above the audio rooms  to provide a suitably quiet space for testing client’s hearing. This meant that access to run power, data and speaker cabling needed detailed planning to make sure everything was installed and in the right place.

The demolition was completed very efficiently in 4 hours by the Platinum Demolition crew, leaving a great empty space, which we quickly filled with wall framing and building materials.  The work progressed well, with new drains installed for the kitchen and all new air conditioning ductwork. The ceilings and walls were all constructed, sheeted and painted, with the services run through.

The existing front doors and glazing were replaced with new glass and automatic sliding doors and a large pre-fabricated sound proof testing booth was installed.

Carpet, joinery and furniture were installed, and the lights, data and final fit-off carried out on programme, six weeks from the commencement of the project. We assisted Australian Hearing to relocate from their small existing clinic in Rockingham and set up in the new clinic.

In November 2016 we carried out the fit-out of Decjuba’s new Joondalup store. This was a very quick fit-out that started on Thursday 3^rd and was opened for trading on Friday 11^th. The procurement of the joinery and fittings had been done by the client and we needed to get the building permit in place so that Centre Management at Lakeside Joondalup could let us commence.  The permit was approved quickly when it was submitted to the City of Joondalup and Centre Management could not have been more helpful in getting us on site and underway.

The work commenced with the demolition of the existing store room, with new walls put up and some ceiling repairs, followed by painting. The existing glazed shop front was partially re-glazed and the framing completely painted.  New lights were installed, with new power and data cabling run to the storeroom and the counter. One feature wall was coated by Rendaroc and new tiling was laid in the entry.

The display racks, storeroom shelving, counter and furniture were all installed and the sprinklers were re-arranged to suit the new layout. The job ran well, driven by Glenn from Albec, with little conflict from everyone needing to be in the same place at the same time without tripping over each other. The stock was being brought in as the floor was swept on Thursday and Decjuba were trading on the Friday morning.

We demolished the existing 35m long 1.7m high reinforced brick retaining wall at 29 Havelock St West Perth, having been awarded a design and construct contract including approvals. Planning Commission approval was required as the property is located in the Parliamentary Precinct and the work on site started in July 2016. The existing fence and wall was removed over one weekend, reducing the risk to traffic and pedestrians as it could only be loaded into trucks on the street.

The existing storm water drainage system was found to be in a poor state as it was exposed through the demolition, so the design was updated to replace the brick soakwells with precast concrete ones and replace all of the pipework. The following photo shows the compaction of the site under the new limestone retaining wall.

The limestone wall was built up in layers and waterproofed until it reached the old carpark level. The area was then backfilled and compacted and the reinforced concrete paving laid. We had recommended to the client that they use concrete rather than the original brick pavers, as part of the reason that the original wall had failed was stormwater seeping through the paving down the back of that wall.  The combination of the upgraded stormwater system and the concrete paving will provide a structure that will last considerably longer than the original wall. After the concrete slab was poured, the top layer of the retaining wall and the limestone fence that replaced the original timber fence was completed.

We developed a very good relationship with the tenant, Perth Clinic, with this project.  The clinic is open 7 days a week, so the work needed to be done while they were operating, with noise and disruption kept to a minimum. Their manager on site was always very helpful, enabling us to carry out the work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the tenant and client were very satisfied with the project on completion.

Carleton Constructions were the successful tenderer for the construction of 3 Riverpark Interpretation nodes for the Department of Parks and Wildlife, at Point Walter, Bicton Baths and below Heathcote, on the south shores of the Swan River. The Interpretation nodes are angular timber deck structures that provide walkways, seating and signage for  access to, and information about, three of the most beautiful places on the river.

The design for the nodes provided a unique challenge. They required a high standard of joinery workmanship, with tight tolerances between all of the pieces to achieve the spectacular appearance the Client required.  They were to be built on a structure formed of multiple angles in 3 dimensions in materials not normally used for those shapes or that environment.

Each site needed to have very detailed shop drawings prepared, followed by the fabrication of the aluminium, the construction of the footings and the assembly of the structure and deck on site.

In preparing the shop drawings and in the site works, Carleton Constructions provided a considerable amount of advice and suggestions to the Client to ensure that the completed work met their expectations. The nodes are constructed in materials not normally used for that standard of finish in places where they need to resist weather and salt water. The suggested changes were accepted by the Client, as they met their criteria for appearance and longevity but simplified and enabled their construction.

One example of this was the change to the detail where the angles side planes met the horizontal plane of each deck, to allow movement over time from weather and ageing, yet maintaining the sharp edges required in the design. Other examples were the changing of the framing from individual beams to single piece frames, and using concrete footings in lieu of screw in piles.

The nodes achieved the spectacular appearance that they were designed for, and provide a  suitable and complementary addition to the very beautiful places where they have been constructed.

The fabricated aluminium beams were placed on site at Point Walter and used to confirm the location of the screw piled footings, the spacing of the beams and the angles between them.The footings were installed and the aluminium and composite fibre deck framing was completed.

Carleton Constructions had the frame for the Bicton Baths node fabricated as one piece, substituting aluminium angle for the composite fibre box sections proposed in the design, with the agreement of the Client. This made it possible to fabricate the frame more accurately to achieve the designed angularity of the node.

The timber decking also needed to be cut very carefully to achieve the designed angles and to meet the standard of finish required.The picture above shows how well the timber decking is fitted together and how it meets the many different angles in the design.

The framing for the Heathcote node was fabricated in three large sections to ensure that the angles of the beams met precisely as they were designed. The footings were changed from screw piles to concrete pads to better suit the site and to simplify the construction.  Access to the site would have made it difficult to get the excavator to the site for the screw pile installation. The concrete, the framing and the decking all needed to be taken up the narrow pedestrian path by hand or by a small bobcat, with a mini moke being pressed into service to move the timber and the limestone spalls up to the site.

This project was for the demolition, removal and replacement of the termite damaged archive office at Main Roads’ Materials Engineering Branch in Welshpool. The interior was reduced to the state in the picture following efforts to eradicate the termites. This was done some months or more before we started the removal, but we still found termites happily munching through the jarrah floor joists. Once the site was cleared we installed the Surefoot footings, a simple, quick footing installation that is fully certified and requires no concrete.

Two 25 tonne Terex all terrain cranes were used to pick the replacement archive office up from where it was stored near the site and to move it into position. Space was a bit tight for the 14m long, 3m wide building but the drivers and rigger were able to shuffle it and their machines into position for the lift, and the placement.

After the building was placed, it was clamped down, the power and data were connected and the air conditioners were checked and tested. The paving around the building was tidied up and the outside was given a good wash. The installation of the merbau decking and the aluminium framed ramp completed the job and looked great, producing a dramatic improvement on what had been there.

One of the most interesting jobs we have done was the refurbishment of the Operations Room at Main Roads Traffic Operations Centre in East Perth. The project was for the replacement of the desks and carpet in the room, painting and adding acoustic paneling and a number of other smaller pieces of work in the building. The TOC operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, monitoring all of Main Roads Traffic and Northbridge tunnel cameras, providing incident response services and traffic reporting to all media. We needed to be very careful no to interrupt any of these services as that could cause direct disruption to traffic on the freeways or in the tunnel. The work we were doing on the electrical distribution boards and data racks had the potential to create interruptions or problems but through careful work and supervision, the project ran very smoothly.

The project appeared briefly on television and in the media when the Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited, following news that WA was to be given $500m in funding for road improvements. The video can be seen here:  PM Tony Abbott visits TOC

The pictures below show the operations room prior to commencement on the left and the completed room on the right. The carpet and desks have been completely replaced, the room has had acoustic wall paneling installed and has been painted.

The next photo was taken on the third night we were doing the desk and carpet replacement, with the room still in operation but in controlled temporary disarray. The last photo shows the electric Adjustable height desk with the new monitors and monitor arms and the amount of cabling required for the 4 monitors.

Our second project for the Department for Child Protection was the fit-out of part of their head office on Level 2 of 189 Royal St, East Perth, as we were the successful tenderer.

The tender called for the project to be done in three stages as it was not possible to relocate the DCP staff elsewhere while the work was being carried out. We suggested that the project could be done in two stages, reducing the overall construction time and the inconvenience to the DCP Staff. This picture is Stage 1, where we have put up the plastic hoarding and laid the floor protection.

The fit-out design was straight forward, consisting of workstations, offices and meeting rooms, plus a much anticipated breakout area. The staff in this area had been sharing a very small kitchenette with the staff on the rest of the floor, and they had no space available for tables or chairs. They were very pleased with their new Breakout Area. It is a colourful, interesting room and an attractive place for lunch or breaks.

A design feature used in the breakout area and other places throughout the space was colourful triangular acoustic panelling, adding colour and interest to an otherwise simple design. The patterns, made up of individually cut triangles, challenged the installers to correctly cut and line up the panels, but their efforts were rewarded with a spectacular result. The DCP were so pleased with this feature that they asked for additional panelling as a variation elsewhere in the space

The open plan workstations were also a great improvement on the previous enclosed carrels. The design produced much more open spaces and better access while increasing the number of desks in the area.

No existing as-built drawings for the air conditioning system had been located for the tender, so we carried out the design to determine whether or not additional equipment was required for the meeting rooms or the open spaces. We were able to locate drawings of the existing equipment and were able to produce a design that only required minimal additions to the existing equipment. We did find that most of the existing flexible ductwork was deteriorating to the point of blowing dust and insulation into the area, with many connections loose or broken. We submitted a solution for this that was accepted as a variation and replaced all of the flexible ductwork in that area. This produced considerable reductions in the running time and volumes of air that needed to be provided to the area, and a more consistent air flow and temperature throughout the office.

We completed Stage 1 on time for the planned staff relocation, including the installation and connection of the workstations and desks by a separate contractor. We relocated the hoardings and floor protection and proceeded to construct Stage 2. That was also completed on time and staff that had been spread around the building could all be located permanently combined into the completed area. The feedback we received from the DCP, the architect and Colliers (the facilities manager), was consistently positive.  We had a great relationship with the staff on site, and received no complaints about noise or disruption.