BlueScope Lysaght’s roofing solutions for Hamilton Island project

Give most roofing crews the choice between cladding a new building or re-roofing a 25 year old structure and the new building generally wins hands down.

Throw in the added complication of having to remove thousands of badly deteriorated timber shingles as well as rotted timber battens and the re-roof job doesn’t sound too appealing – that is until the location is factored in.

In fact, as far as the crew from Lidoran Architectural Roofing was concerned, the only downside of their recent re-roofing project on Hamilton Island was that there was no unexpected downtime.

The Outrigger Resort Centre on Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays has joined the growing trend toward the use of BlueScope Lysaght roofing solutions for beachfront buildings.

Lidoran Architectural Roofing was contracted by Hamilton Island Enterprises for the re-roofing job, which was carried out in balmy temperatures and energy-sapping humidity.

Exposure to the elements over the years had caused the existing cedar shingles to warp and deteriorate. This led to a number of roof leaks, especially during the wet season, which occurs from December to February.

The project involved the removal of the cedar shingles and their replacement with 5,100 square metres of LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB in .48mm COLORBOND Ultra in the colour Woodland Grey.

Selected for its strength and suitability within close proximity to coastal regions, the cladding achieved a smooth and sleek result, which complements the rest of the resort architecture.

Lidoran Architectural Roofing Operations Manager, Wayne Podlich said, “One of the most labour intensive tasks of the whole project was the removal of the shingles. The hardwood battens also had to be cut out and replaced with LYSAGHT TOPSPAN 61 battens in 0.75mm ZINCALUME steel.”

The resort centre roof consists of three towers with a pitch of 45˚ sloping up to 62˚. “Working at this angle meant the fixers had to secure their safety harnesses through the skylight void,” explained Wayne Podlich.

“It took 24 men two weeks to complete the first two towers, and two tip trucks were needed to transport the cedar shingles to the green waste recycling plant.”

Scaffold towers 15 metres high were also built inside the resort centre and allowed Lidoran Architectural Roofing to replace the curved skylights. The scaffolding was erected at night and dismantled at night three days later so as to minimise disruption to resort guests and enable the resort to function normally and the restaurant to remain open.

The 13.5 metre long CUSTOM ORB sheets were roll formed at the BlueScope Lysaght branch in Mackay then loaded onto a barge at Shute Harbour for the one and a half hour trip to Hamilton Island.

The tools and equipment needed by the Lidoran Architectural Roofing fixers were sent from Sydney in two shipping containers.

Due to the tropical location of the resort and its potential exposure to cyclonic winds, the fixing task involved 16 screws and concave cyclone washers per square metre to secure the roof sheeting to the TOPSPAN 61 battens.

Extensive flashing work was required to seal the roof space from wind and water. The flashings, some of which were made in Sydney and shipped via truck to the barge, were scribed and scalloped on site by the LIDORAN crew to follow the roof contour.

“With a project of this type and location, there was potential for supply and delivery problems,” Wayne Podlich said, “We received excellent logistical support from the BlueScope Lysaght team.

“We were able to place our order with our usual contacts at the BlueScope Lysaght branch in Smithfield, Sydney and they liaised with BlueScope Lysaght office in Mackay.

“This made administration and tracking of the project so much easier as everything was co-ordinated between BlueScope Lysaght internally. The Smithfield branch reserved the coil required to produce the CUSTOM ORB sheets and the Mackay branch roll formed it and arranged transport.

“The project ran very smoothly which resulted in no downtime for our fixers. This is something that would not be easily achieved by a company without a national distribution network.” Wayne said.

Lidoran Architectural Roofing is currently installing COLORBOND Ultra in Woodland Grey to 35 privately owned luxury villas at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club Villa project, expected to be complete in early 2009.