Lightweight construction specialist Empower Construction was contracted to supply and install their lightweight concrete system for a major residential development in Sydney.
Lightweight construction substantially reduces the time and costs of construction projects, with builders constantly under pressure to deliver faster, optimise cost, maintain quality and meet green objectives. Lightweight construction helps streamline the construction process and creates a great looking finish that rivals traditional methods of building.
Empower’s system employs a strong, structurally robust product such as AAC from Hebel, which is made from concrete reinforced with steel, making it as strong and tough as bricks. The lightweight system is cleaner to work with, resulting in less mess to be cleared up at the end of a day’s work. Labour and site costs are significantly reduced, as the same team provides construction through to finish, requiring fewer trades people.
Sunland Group contracted Empower to supply their lightweight systems when it developed its ‘Parc’ project, a three-stage residential development consisting of around 300 designer town homes in Sydney’s Kellyville. With the vast majority of homes pre-sold before building began, it was vitally important that construction was completed efficiently and on budget. Sunland also needed to ensure it maintained its strong reputation for attention to detail in the quality of building finishes.
According to Ashley Mullen, NSW Site Foreman for Sunland Group, Empower’s lightweight construction products and finish offer many advantages. Appreciative of both Hebel products as well as the new polystyrene products, he also praised Empower’s speed of installation and quality of work. The installation speed factor was especially important because the sooner Empower delivered their part in the project, Sunland could hand over the finished home to their customer.
Given the design and features of these town homes, traditional building methods would have taken around four times longer to complete 15 houses. The greatly reduced construction time lowers site vulnerability to poor weather and cuts labour and site costs. The customer also benefits from the expert finish, and being able to enjoy their new home sooner.
