The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner (ONBC) has expressed non-compliance concerns relating to conventional and stay-in-place formed concrete filled walls (i.e., Besser blocks, fibre cement and permanent polymer formwork), as published on LinkedIn.

With the focal point of structural, fire and acoustic non-compliance, the three main areas of concern were identified as:

1. Poor installation
2. Air voids within the concrete infill
3. Ensuring reo-bars stay in the correct position

The overarching primary objective, as communicated by the ONBC, is “when manufacturers take responsibility for installed product, they will be able to stand with integrity.” (David Chandler OAM, LinkedIn, December 2021).

To help drive best practice within the industry, Dincel has implemented a series of installation quality assurance and product-based initiatives, which set the standard and address the above concerns. Each initiative has been communicated with the ONBC for its information and/or comment. The best practice initiatives are:

1. The Dincel Academy

A free and comprehensive training syllabus educating users on correct practices for installing Dincel wall. The training provides education on guaranteed steel placement and the correct concrete pouring methodologies (including both conventional concrete and self-compacting concrete), all of which exactly align with the Dincel Construction Manual. To date, more than 700 construction industry professionals, builders and installers across Australia have attended the Dincel Academy.

2. On-Site Auditing

A dedicated team has been assembled to provide installation assistance and documented auditing services across Dincel wall builds to ensure best practice installation.

3. The Dincel Reo Clip Family

The Reo Clip range has been extended to ensure the correct and exact placement of reo bars across all four Dincel profiles.

4. Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC)

Self-Compacting Concrete has been endorsed to ensure a void free wall and to eliminate the need to vibrate. This reduces the potential for air voids and is supported by Dincel’s Void Free Warranty.

5. Waterproof System Warranty

In addition to the above initiatives, Dincel continues to invest heavily in research and development to further enhance the Dincel Construction System. The research, design, development and manufacture of the Dincel Water Stop (DWS) accessory has culminated in Dincel offering up to 50 years zero (0) leak basement wall Waterproof Warranty.

  • The Dincel Waterproof Warranty (DWW) is available to all building owners and is transferrable inside the warranty period.
  • The DWW is applicable to any building basement, potable/re-use/stormwater/fire water storage tank, wastewater treatment, barrier for acid sulphate or contaminated soil confinement.
  • The DWW covers the installation works carried out by skilled Dincel trained installers.
  • The DWW covers all materials and Dincel supervised workmanship.
  • The DWW includes the Dincel Void Free Warranty by default.
  • Responsibility for waterproofing is clear, it sits with Dincel. The DWW eliminates ‘finger pointing’ and confusion between product supplier, product installer or builder.
  • In the unlikely event of a failure within the warranty period, the in-built future proofing capability ensures easy rectification by Dincel without any cost to the warranty owner. Therefore, there is no risk to the property owner.

Burak Dincel, Chairman - The Dincel Group