A new extension at Preston Retirement Village in Victoria provided residents with a magnificent dining room featuring a 12 X 8sqm glass cathedral ceiling…magnificent, that is, until the sun was directly overhead and particularly so in summer. The glare was unbearable and the heat was a challenge for the air conditioning system.
Life-Style Awnings & Shade Sails provided a solution with the installation of four huge, electrically controlled pleated Roman style blinds. These are on the interior and follow the angle of the roof.
“The choice of fabric was critical with such a large installation,” commented Life-Style’s Ivan McCutcheon. “Among other things, it needed to be able to cover a wide width without too much structure and to retain its shape over time. The choice was obvious: Sunworker, from Dickson .”
“Despite being extremely strong and resistant to stretching, it is a very light fabric - just 320g per sqm - so the structure could be lightweight and attractive too. Sunworker also has outstanding UV filtering properties. It allows for convection and consequently the easy management of heat and its weave produces a particularly soft and harmonious light.”
Sunworker solar protection fabric features a high-tenacity polyester support and a distinctive ‘Rachel Trameur’ method of weaving, a technique that allows the threads to move in relation to each other to diffuse and absorb mechanical energy due to wear. A specially formulated mass colour Plastisol coating also prevents chemical decomposition commonly occurring in extreme climatic conditions. And the pigments provide extraordinary colour retention despite weathering and sunlight.
As Ivan McCutcheon pointed out, a testament to the quality of the product is that it is backed by a five-year warranty, whereas other mesh style materials generally only have a three-year warranty.
“Not only does it do a great job for the customer, it is probably the best material I have ever welded. Everyone in our workshop comments on how easy it is to work with.”
The residents of the retirement village now have a delightful, comfortable room they can enjoy all day and every day… and the management are so pleased they now have McCutcheon and his team working on other projects.
