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e-struct News
March
this issue Project Profile P.1 Dirt Diggers’ Corner P.2 Staff Profile P.2-3 Professional Development P.2-3
Happy belated New Year from e-struct News
Project Profile: Inner City Townhouses For streamlined, stylish living you can’t go past a townhouse. Modern, sleek, close to the city with all the amenities of a house but fewer demands involved in its upkeep, its a win-win solution for
We hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing Summer break, it’s a distant memory now! We’re
many people who want to free up their finances and maximize their time without compromising their lifestyle.
looking forward to seeing the projects this new year brings and working with you to ensure your design, testing and reporting needs are catered for. As we look to the year ahead, we will continue to strengthen our services ensuring an innovative and responsive approach to design and field work. We are looking forward to road testing a new drill for soil testing, launching our new website and devel-
beginning right to the end. These 17 boutique triple level, three bedroom townhouses are beautifully designed to embrace open planning and to create welcoming spaces. This project was completed last August but such was the popularity of these townhouses, all were sold before construction began. It is easy to see the appeal of these structures when examining their cross-section (pictured top right). Light has been maximised by the thoughtful placement and angle of the windows all the while cleverly retaining privacy of the bedrooms and balconies. In contrast, the second storey is completely open creating a generous living area.
oping new ways to support our clients.
We were delighted to be able to work with our With over 5000 projects under our belts, we pride ourselves on delivering quality service across a broad
affiliates, literally from the ground up, supplying soil testing, structural and drainage design and energy rating services. It is always rewarding to be able to see through a project from the very
Waffle Raft Slab
ting herself to further study.
Issues in the Western Suburbs of
“When I finished Year 12 in
Melbourne
1998, I decided to take a year off before going to university so I could travel.
A recent presentation hosted After arriving at Melbourne,
by the Australian Society of Building Consultants (ASBC),
I fell in love with it and
related the latest research
moved here for good.”
about the issue of Waffle Raft Slab failures. These failures
It soon followed that it wasn’t just
occur mostly in the basaltic
Melbourne that captured Jade’s
and limestone clays of the
heart; she met her husband-to-be
Western Suburbs of Mel-
soon after settling here and a
bourne. These clays are con-
happy
sidered to be highly reactive
hometown was established.
(or expansive) soils. This means they shrink and swell
caused by drainage issues. This can be seen in methods
new
In the traditions of travelers every-
moved to the Northern Territory when
where, Jade found herself work in
Jade Triffitt,
she was five years old so its not sur-
a variety of roles in the field of
Receptionist and
were set on travelling having experi-
Printing Specialist Raft Slabs in these cases is
her
Originally from NSW, Jade’s family
large, repeated soil volume
The key vulnerability of Waffle
in
Staff Profile
considerably which creates changes over time.
beginning
Introducing Jade, who is aptly named, for she is our office gem.
prising that as she grew up, her sights
hospitality. Whilst she enjoyed working with people, the hours didn’t always fit in with her new
enced it from a very early age.
role as wife and mother and so
Drawn in lots of different directions
she looked for other opportunities.
during her school years and with a
Moving into the world of retail
certificate in IT under her belt, like
came about in 2007 when
many, Jade thought that a gap year
Ritesafe offered her a job. Again,
might be the way to go before commit-
she enjoyed working with people,
of construction that have mostly been adopted by large Volume Builders. Quick construction of residences has
Dirt Diggers’ Corner—What’s the Dirt on BALs? Q: What is a Bushfire Attack Level?
led to inadequate attention being given to the surrounding site area. This leads to an ingress of surface water adjacent to the slabs. This phenomenon is called edge heave.
A: The BAL is a rating given to your property that is based on many measures including: a Fire Danger Index (from Australian Standard AS3959), the slope of the land, the types of surrounding vegetation and proximity to buildings.
If you are in a designated Bushfire Prone Area or your property is subjected to a planning overlay in relation to Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) or Wildfire Management Overlay (WMO) you will need a BAL for your property.
The aim of all BAL ratings is to guide the design and construction of your building so as to improve its ability to withstand a bushfire attack. As a result, the BAL level may affect the type of construction your property requires. e-struct will organise a site visit to assess your property. From our field assessment, a report is produced which will indicate the BAL for your site based upon your proposed development. BALs range from low right up to a rating of FZ. Each rating provides for a level of construction that will withstand a particular level of ember attack threat. If you’d like more information regarding BALs or would like to arrange one for your property, please contact the office.
It’s your understand it… do it… The performance criteria applies to both concrete & bituminous pavements. It sets out the minimum criteria to meet acceptable pavement design & installation.
looking after clients but she also found she quite liked the administrative duties her role provided. All these elements led Jade to a
An example of a criterion is crack width. Table 1 states for “Cracking in bound pavements” that a maximum width of 1.5mm is allowed. It also sets out standard pavement specifications for concrete driveways. This is typically 3-4 metres spacing in both directions.
new focus, to pursue finding an administrative role and she was successful when offered her receptionist job at e-struct in 2010. \
“The best thing about work-
AS3727-1993 Guide to Residential Pavements is the Australian Standard that sets out the requirements for driveway & pathway infill slabs. Not to be confused with AS2878 which covers structural slabs, its primary focus is in relation to workmanship performance. This code is not referenced in the NCC, Vol 2, but in the Building Commission (VBA) Guide to Standards & Tolerances (2007).
The standard is an old one. Some of its criteria have been superceded in other codes (like AS3600-2009, Concrete Structures Standard). In terms of its relevance for defect assessment in legal disputes, it is very much relied upon to gauge what is a defect & what is not.
value both the relationships
“Moorooduc Hwy Plan Printing is
During her time at e-struct, Jade has
I have developed with cli-
my ‘baby.’ I enjoy helping our cli-
ing at e-struct would be the fact that though each of us have separate responsibilities in our small business, everything is achieved through close team work. I
ents and the support I re-
If you are unsure about this & any other Australian standard relating to building, contact us for advice on how
gone from working full-time, to parttime, then on leave becoming a moth-
ents meet tender deadlines, ensur-
er again in 2013 and returning to part-
ceive from my colleagues.”
ing they have all the prints they
time work in 2014. She has benefit-
Aside from running the e-struct
need in the timeframe they need it
ted from e-struct’s family friendly
office, juggling geotechnical sched-
by. It has been great to see this
ules and learning more about engineering than she ever probably could have anticipated, Jade is our resident printing specialist.
staffing approach, striking a good balance between work and childcare
business within a business evolve
responsibilities. E-struct benefits in
and I’m looking forward to building
retaining an excellent staff member.
up more services this year.”
She anticipates returning to full-time work when her boys are older.
Edge heave results from excessive moisture being absorbed by the soil predominately under the edges of the slab. It has a rapid effect and, insofar as defects go, will occur soon after construction is completed. Edge heave has led to what some have deemed the ‘home defect crisis of the Western Suburbs.‘
Recent court cases involving the disastrous effect of edge heave have led to adverse findings for some large building companies (subject to appeal).
Identifying contributing factors is not straightforward. An argument has been made that owners are mostly at fault, as landscaping is not usually part of the builders’ responsibility. However, VCAT has dismissed this (in reported cases to date). Though these rulings are subject to appeal, the outcome demands builders pay the owners’ costs to cover the
Find
Moorooduc Hwy Plan Printing
at our
complete demolition and reconstruction of the residences,
e-struct
o ffice . We
print colour o r black &
as a result of the fluid nature of the problems encountered.
white la rge fo rmat pla ns up to A0 , scan in black & white up to A0 and laminate up to A2 . F o r fri e n d l y a n d p ro mp t se r vi ce , e ma i l yo u r p l a n s to
www.mhplanprint.com.au
ma i l @ mh p l a n p ri n t. co m.a u o r d ro p i n to th e o ffi ce !
Essentially, edge heave is devastating for all parties affected.
Our Services Structural Engineering
Stay in touch
PO Box 7095 Karingal 3199
(03) 9770 1738 1300 E STRUCT (1300 378 782)
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Engineering
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Distressed Footing Assessments
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PlanWay
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(03) 9770 1740 Residential & Commercial Rating
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www.e-struct.com.au
NCC, Vol 2, Sec 3.12 DTS
Tree Root Protection Works Specifications
mail@e-struct.com.au
NCC, Vol 1, Sec J DTS
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At e- str uct ... @estructengineer
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e-struct News Issue 03 March 2015
New Savings are Staying! Save $100 on Single Storey Energy Rating Save $130 on Double Storey Energy Rating