Hebel Matters

Decision to “give Hebel a go” has reaped benefits for the Prime Projects Construction team

The group that heads Prime Projects Construction is always on the lookout for quality innovative building products. When they became aware of Hebel wall systems, they were therefore keen to learn more.

“We’ve always used a lot of CSR products, so a few years ago we looked into the Hebel wall systems and decided to give them a go,” said Adam Jamieson, one of the four who started Prime Projects Construction 11 years ago. With bases in Melbourne and Perth, they develop and build houses and low rise multi-residential dwellings across several states of Australia.

Partners in the Victorian side of the business are Adam, Aaron Kirkbride, Cameron Leopold and Joe Passione, with Adam, Aaron and Cameron working from Melbourne while Joe owns and runs the Perth operation.

Connected by family and friendship, they all have strong backgrounds in the building industry. Adam is a carpenter by trade, having worked in his father’s building business before obtaining his own builder’s licence. Aaron is a plumber, Cameron an electrician and Joe is a bricklayer/builder.

Hebel Hoist has made life easier

From the time they first decided to “give Hebel a go” their use of the Hebel wall systems has grown and progressed.

In line with their interest in innovative products, they also recently used the Hebel Hoist for the first time. This had the benefit of speeding up work on a Queensland project where they installed Hebel zero boundary wall systems and also front and rear cladding on nine two-storey and two single-storey units at the Creekwood Caloundra Estate in the Sunshine Coast suburb of Meridan Plains.

The Hebel Hoist, owned by CSR Hebel and based on the Y-Lift system developed by Powerwall Solutions of Melbourne, enables boundary or intertenancy wall panels to be lifted and moved into position from above, so that they can then be slid into place and fixed from inside the building. This facilitates installation in limited access areas, and avoids the time-consuming method of constructing one frame, calling in the contractors to install the wall system, and then repeating the process frame by frame.

“It was fantastic,” said Adam. “It worked perfectly. The more you get used to it, the easier it is to work with it. With the project involving 11 dwellings all joined together, we were able to go through and build all the frames first and then use the hoist to position the Hebel panels before sliding them in the zero lot boundary walls.”

“This made life a lot easier, instead of building one frame at a time. It definitely resulted in massive time saving because of the ease of construction. We’re looking to use it not just for two-storey projects but for single-storey projects as well.”

Putting words into action, Prime Projects Construction has now started work on a single-storey seven unit complex in Melbourne for which Powerwall Solutions will install the Hebel zero boundary walls using the Y-Lift system to speed up the work.

No sign of slowdown in multi-residential market

Prime Projects Construction currently complete 150 to 200 low rise multi-residential projects a year in south eastern Victoria, from small developments comprising between 10 and 20 units to large complexes of up to 60 units. As well as tendering for projects they develop and build, working mainly in Victoria and Western Australia but also at times in New South Wales and Queensland.

Adam does not foresee any slowdown in the demand for low rise multi-residential accommodation.

“It suits the lifestyle of a lot of people who are at work all day and don’t want to have to look after yards and gardens in their spare time,” he said.  “I think the multi-residential living is becoming more and more prevalent because of that.”

He also believes the demand for Hebel systems will continue to increase.

“While we’re experiencing a building boom in Victoria, there’s a shortage of bricklayers so we’re looking to Hebel as an alternative,” he said.