The American restaurant business, Chili’s, have opened a new eatery in Penrith. Construction had to proceed according to strict design perimeters and guidelines, consistent with Chili’s aesthetic values. John Bills of Truss-T-Frame Timbers, along with Timberbuilt and Lanskey Constructions, got together to deliver a restaurant exactly to their client’s taste.
The key design feature was the roof inside the restaurant, built from large exposed and stained timber rafters. The American company had to ‘ok’ the look of the product before the project could be given the nod.
Bills’ first problem was accessing the timber beams in the size required. The job could not be achieved using traditional trusses, and while Hybeam Engineered I-Joists by futurebuild were considered, the standard range of beams did not include a size large enough for this job. This is where Timberbuilt were able to step in. Timberbuilt specialises in the design and supply of components for commercial structures. They interpreted requirements established by Truss-T-Frame and proposed a roof system using a custom made Hybeam size manufactured by futurebuild to their specification. Cameron Rodger, from Timberbuilt explained that the package despatched to Truss-T-Frame included design details, the I-beams, and all the associated special connection and lateral restraint components.
The beams then needed to be stained, but because this would be awkward post-construction, the staining happened prior to installation. Again, the client was very specific about the look of the rafters, says Bills: “No glue, no labelling, that all had to be sanded off before use. A little glue overrun is unavoidable…so it had to be sanded off. The staining came up really well.”
Source: Building Products News.
