The construction of 27 retirement units as part of a $120 million development in Townsville has highlighted the versatile nature of Cemintel Commercial RendaLine, available from Cemintel™ Fibre Cement Systems .

Located on the expansive site of Townsville’s former hospital, the five-storey development was designed by architects Barry Matthews and Graham Edwards from Matthews Architects in Adelaide and contracted to Strand Constructions. The project commenced in April 2007 and is expected to be completed by June 2008.

The building specification required 1,500 square metre of a cladding substrate suitable for a render finish. RendaLine conforms to the requirements of AS/NZS2908.2 and incorporates the benefits of lightweight construction with a flush-jointed texture coat finish.

Rob Power, a representative of Cemintel Fibre Cement Systems, said: “RendaLine is a cost effective external cladding feature that has a strong aesthetic impact.”

“We had a lot of communication with Strand Constructions about RendaLine’s features and we knew it would be the ideal external lining for this project.”

Mick Baker, a Director with Strand Constructions and Licensed Builder, approved the use of Cemintel RendaLine and was pleased with his decision.

“Cemintel RendaLine has been good to work with. It’s much lighter than other competing products that we have used in the past and was easy to cut to size,” said Mick Baker.

RendaLine is an autoclaved, cellulose fibre reinforced cement sheet. RendaLine has recesses on the long edges to facilitate concealed joint construction and sheets are supported by vertical Top Hats and fixed with countersunk screws. The sheets are pre-sealed to minimise water absorption.

RendaLine provides a versatile and durable façade that is suitable for a wide range of commercial and industrial building types.

RendaLine can be used over most common structural materials including masonry, pre-cast concrete and steel or timber stud framing.

The developers, Maczam, has been developing the units under CPR Retirement Homes with a further forty units to be completed late 2008.

Maczam’s second developing arm, Leichhardt Developers, will develop the remainder of the property into additional units, a multi-storey car park and a commercial building to house restaurants and cafes. Work on the entire site is expected to be completed by 2011.