Truedek accommodates students in Melbourne

Truedek® Steel Decking was the system used for a 13 storey student accommodation building in Swanston Street, Melbourne and was a significant part of the fast-track construction cycle.

Retaining the external facade of the historic Canada Hotel, the 219 unit MiCasa 8 building was completed in just 15 months, two months ahead of schedule and a major contributing factor to the efficiency of construction was the use of the Truedek® system, manufactured by Premier Steel Technologies in Sydney.

Truedek is a lightweight permanent formwork system made up of 250mm panels that lock together and can span up to 7.5m unpropped. It is easy to handle and install and the panels form a strong working platform with a load rating of up to 5Kpa even in the formwork stage. The panels can be manufactured in four different heights to suit varying slab requirements and in some designs can be voided with a concrete saving of up to 30%.

Each panel is colour coded and matches a comprehensive layout design, so easy to install, and as they are manufactured to size, there is no onsite cutting or waste.

Due to a highly compressed construction program of the project, the construction company was keen to save time and one of the major advantages of Truedek is that once poured, the floor slab below can commence internal fit-out the following day without interference from any back propping, saving a considerable amount of time and labour, which can take up to 21 days using a conventional system.

The use of Truedek as a part of the concrete slab solution on this project was estimated to have saved around six weeks over the course of the project.