Big concrete pours seem to be a regular occurrence across the country as the building industry gets into high gear once again. And, with 71 Certified® concrete plants nationwide, Firth is better equipped than most to cater to this growth.
One of Firth’s smaller plants has proven that you don’t need to be one of the big concrete plants to pull off a record breaking pour when Firth Wanaka worked with Cook Brothers Construction late last year on the foundations for the new Wanaka Sports Facility.
The new $13.9 million Wanaka Sports facility is one of the first developments to get underway at Three Parks, a mixed use 100 hectare development on the outskirts of Wanaka, that will eventually feature a new commercial centre with large and small scale retail shops and services; a business park; new residential sections; and a tourism and community precinct.
The development has been driven by population growth, which has meant the region’s existing sports facilities are unable to cope with the huge rise in numbers of people participating in sports around the area.
Cook Brothers got underway with stage one in July/August 2015. “We won the contract to supply the concrete for the new Wanaka sports facility for Cook Brothers,” explains Ben Bishop, Plant Manager for Firth Wanaka. “The foundation pour was a big one, especially as we didn't ask for help from other plants. However, we did have two additional guys here from Invercargill to help out with drivers’ rest breaks.”
Ben and his team of four have pulled off an amazing feat by producing 420m3 of concrete for the 4,220m2 floor with just four trucks in eight and a half hours. “It helps that we are just across the road from the site,” says Ben. “There wasn't anything special about the mix, it was a standard 30Mpa. There was just a lot of it. I have to say it was a fantastic effort by the team. It was also a great effort from the team at McNultys Transport who supply both our aggregates and cement.”
“We used Firth on the very successful Queenstown Airport expansion project and were extremely happy with the service we received from them so we were happy to continue the relationship over to this project,” said Bob Wilson, Site Manager for Cook Brothers Lakes District. “We were getting about 100m3 a day off Ben and his team and then we did the big pour. It was a really good effort by such a small plant. We were very happy. In fact we are about to give them some more work.”
It is common practice in the southern regions for the roof of the building to go on before the concrete is poured. Winter weather can be extreme with wind, rain and snow making concrete pours extremely difficult. This building methodology lessens the risk of the pour being affected by the weather.
Wanaka’s new sports facility is still under construction but should be open for use in June or July this year.
Wanaka’s new sports facility
The impressive new facility incorporates a 4,500m2 hall with two full sized indoor courts, changing rooms, meeting and office spaces, a multi-sport artificial turf, as well as car parking and landscaping. On completion of the new building the Cook Brothers team will start on the two new swimming pools - one will be 20m x 10m and the other 25m x 20m.
Project Details
Client: Queenstown Lakes District Council
Contractor: Cook Brothers Construction Ltd
Architect: Warren and Mahoney
Consultant: Holmes Consultants or RCP, Rider Levitt Buchnall
