A Truedek Case Study worth another lap.

Truedek Steel Decking (formerly called Trussdek II) was instrumental in fast-tracking the construction of the luxury resort at the Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit at Bathurst, NSW.

As the spiritual home of motor racing in Australia, visitors to Mount Panorama for races like the Bathurst 1000 are now able to enjoy the spectacle in the comfort of this complex of luxury apartments.

The 131 room, 7 storey complex incorporated a day spa, conference areas, pool and gym facilities and overlooks the famous Conrod Straight on the lower eastern side of the race circuit.

Facing a tight construction schedule, the Mount Panorama Resort Consortium chose the Truedek Steel Decking permanent formwork system for the flooring, in conjunction with architectural framing system (AFS) prefabricated walls to speed construction.

The regional location three hours drive west of Sydney meant some limited local resources, so any way to minimise the labour component of the job was a major advantage and a factor in incorporating modular systems like Truedek.

The resort had a circumferential footprint, which required many of the Truedek panels to be skewed when placed to accommodate the curved design in the building’s profile. To simplify identification of the Truedek panels on site, each one was colour coded and matched the panel layout schedule, which sped up the installation for installers, knowing which panels spanned between walls and/or structural beams.

Building suspended slabs for a conventional multi-storey project would normally means huge amounts of formwork but as Truedek is able to span up to 7.5 metres unpropped, it meant the cycle time was much shorter, allowing faster access as each level was completed. The Truedek panels are lightweight and easy to handle and the steelfixer/formworker team was able to install upwards of 300m2 in a day.

An additional benefit of the Truedek system is that as the panels are placed and locked together, they form a very safe working platform, that is also strong enough to store other materials, which was a major advantage on this project with limited mobile crane access.

The panels are also manufactured with an engineered pre-camber which ensures a flat soffit which was an important aesthetic feature for the ceilings in the underground carpark.

The building company reported a huge saving in time, effort and money associated with formwork. The Resort, now called Rydges Mount Panorama Bathurst, has become a major attraction for people visiting the area.