The floods of 2022 hit much of Australia, but particularly Northern NSW hard. HTS Group has been involved in refurbishing several homes used to house regional public servants.
Members of the regional public service in Australia such as teachers, police officers and fire brigade members spend their lives serving our communities, frequently in conditions that many of us wouldn’t accept. HTS Group are proud to be able to play a part in ensuring their lodgings are safe, functional and comfortable to support their needs while they’re posted to our regional communities.
Refurbishments of teacher and police lodgings can be a complex task requiring hazardous materials management, partial demolition, structural rejuvenation, and internal re-lining. Refurbishments at times provide opportunities to create more useful, practical living spaces for those living in the homes.
What does a ‘typical’ refurbishment involve?
There really isn’t a typical refurbishment, as every home is different, has varying levels of damage, and different requirements for those living in it. Our first port of call is to ensure the condition or removal of dangerous materials such as asbestos and lead paint. Most older homes have at least a small amount of asbestos in bathrooms and wet areas, with some containing asbestos cladding, asbestos eaves, asbestos floor coverings and sometimes even asbestos garages and asbestos fencing and roofing.
Mould and lead paint are other issues that we commonly encounter in these older homes. All these hazardous materials are assessed for safety and generally removed. Considering that HTS Group has an unrestricted demolition license and Class A Asbestos Removal ticket, we can provide comprehensive results quickly and affordably without relying on subcontractors for these integral aspects of the job.
Foundations
Frequently the older homes that we refurbish were not built adequate ventilation or drainage to their foundations. This has the potential to lead to structural rot, internal mould, and sinkage or piers and footings. Before we begin internal renovations, any foundational damage will be assessed and addressed, including installation of drainage more suitable to the building and environmental needs. Often at this point we can also upgrade plumbing needs to suit the needs of the home.
Internal Refurbishments
Our internal refurbishments could be as small as replacing water damaged floor coverings, and retiling a bathroom, or they could be a complete strip and replacement of walls, ceilings, and all internal linings.
We enjoy refurbishments where we can completely upgrade kitchens and bathrooms to modern standards and give a fresh feel to the entire home. We employ plasterers, painters, waterproofers, and tilers so that we can ensure high quality standards and effective turnaround times on our refurbishment projects.
On these most recent flood refurbishments, most homes have needed the lower walls replaced, new wiring, and we’ve used fans to dry the wall frames in a more timely manner, getting people back in their homes sooner.
External Repairs
Unfortunately, the recent floods brought too much water for many of the house’s stormwater drainage systems. We’ve been busy improving the drainage where possible, which in some cases will help protect these homes against minor flooding.
While no one can humanly stop flooding from occurring, we’re doing our best to help with the clean-up and ensure our hard-working public servants have clean, comfortable usable homes to live in while they serve our regional communities.
If you need help with disaster recovery cleanups, we regularly work with insurance companies, government agencies, businesses and individuals to help get your property back to use.
