Frames made from TRUECORE® steel, apartments at Mount Buller, Victoria

Top level wall frames and trusses made from TRUECORE^® steel were detailed, engineered and fabricated in-house at SBS Group to withstand heavy snow, and delivered in time before the winter season set in.

Overall construction time reduced

Impressive strength-to-weight ratio

Strong and dimensionally accurate

Straight and true to help deliver a beautiful finish

Project Goal

To deliver an LGS framing system for the top level structure in one of the highest snowfall areas of Australia.

Project Summary

VIC-based builder, One Construction Group awarded SBS Group the Light Gauge Steel (LGS) framing contract for the top level of a six-storey luxury apartment complex. The timing was tight due to constrained construction periods imposed by the snow season and resort management. The construction methodology of the rooftop chalets required a frame-design that would accelerate construction and reduce onsite fabrication to allow for completion prior to the snow season.

Top level wall frames and trusses made from TRUECORE^® steel were detailed, engineered and fabricated in-house at SBS Group to withstand heavy snow (up to 7.5kPa snow load) and delivered in time before the winter season set in.

Key Challenges

The prefabricated LGS system designed by SBS Group needed to fit the following criteria:

Withstand anticipated heavy snow loads without jeopardising height restrictions.
Achieve the required Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating.
Enable fast erection due to the tight program timeline (which was driven by the impending winter season).
Minimise cranage time.
The top level needed to be as light as possible to not impact the lower floors, however, they also needed to be able to support heavy snow loads.

Project Information

Project

Bella Vista Apartments

Location

Mt Buller, Victoria

Builder

One Construction Group

Steel Frame Fabricator

SBS Group*

Architect

Salter Architects and SL Architects

Principal Steel Products

Over 25,000m of framing made from TRUECORE^® steel

Case Study

January 2020

Framing

Commercial

Residential

VIC

Key Benefits Delivered

Speed

The prefabrication of the framing system reduced the erection process by four to six weeks (when compared to traditional stick-built methodology).

Efficiency

Services and finishing trades were able to rough in without any framing straightening being required since, once installed, LGS framing does not bow or twist.

Integration

By using an LGS solution, One Construction Group was able to avoid using the portal-framed system with the infilled framing and still satisfy the fire engineering requirements.

Outcomes

When discussing the project, Angus Kay said this about the SBS Framing System made from TRUECORE^® steel.

“The frames were prefabricated which halved our erection process when compared to ‘stick building’. We saved at least half the time by prefabricating and erecting onsite – approximately four to six weeks were saved.”

Sources

Angus Kay, Project Manager, One Construction Group (AK)
Nigel Grimshaw, Sales Manager, SBS Group (NG)

*SBS Group now trades as Cortek
The content of this case study is based on statements made by the sources listed above and is a reflection of their views and experience on the above project. Same/similar results are not guaranteed for each user and outcomes may vary across projects.

Search

SBS Group - Bella Vista Apartments