Refurbishment a success at Bacchus Apartments
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it looked like a dream come true for the new residents.
The 48-unit resort-style development is in the heart of Browns Bay's town centre and a just a short stroll from an excellent beach. The three-storey block has penthouse suites on the top floor and included all the luxuries one would expect.
The blurb from the real estate agent was glowing: 'You can enjoy sweeping sea views, a 24 metre heated pool, petanque court and secure undercover parking, discreetly monitored by a 24 hour security system. It's an environment that creates a rare opportunity to share the very finest qualities of life. Bacchus invites you to become one of the few to experience this exceptional development.'
Unfortunately their new purchase proved to be anything but the paradise the residents had hoped for. Substantial problems with the construction soon revealed themselves and by September 2005, the owners were forced to accept the fact that the building had various weather-tightness issues that had to be addressed.
Responsibility for achieving a solution lay in the hands of a committee of owners, chaired firstly by Lance Hook and later by Paulette Mytton. And ultimately, that meant going to court against the company that built the complex. The residents' case was supported with expert testimony by the property consulting firm, Prendos New Zealand Limited. A settlement was achieved and the owners were then determined to remain positive and look towards refurbishing the property to make it the luxury residence it was always intended to be.
Redesign and refurbishment
The first stage was to levy all the owners to strip the outside of the penthouses and have a new gull wing colour steel roof fitted to replace the existing roof.
An extensive testing process was undertaken because what the committee did not want was a quick fix that might reveal unexpected problems later. "We brought professional people in, such as those from Prendos, who were very conversant with this sort of work," Mrs Mytton said. "They gave us good advice on the costs involved. Prendos staff oversaw the whole project and worked in conjunction with Teak Construction Ltd, the lead contractor for the work." Prendos was heavily involved from the investigation through the design process and contract administration to completion.
Numerous complexities
Sean O'Sullivan was the Prendos engineer to the main and final stage of the project which included re-building balconies and replacing exterior cladding with a drained and vented cavity system along with fitting a better type of flashing, installing smaller canopies, and creating the necessary gradients on the tiled podium area at the building's rear. The wooden decking surrounding the pool was completely removed and rebuilt. "It actually improved the area, which the owners appreciated," he said.
"This project had numerous complexities that required a lot of on-site decision making which for a while was extremely challenging. However, once we got on top of those problems the project proceeded very well with the contractors, Teak Construction, sharing in our philosophy of achieving an enhanced result," said Mr O'Sullivan. .
Good consultation
Said Paulette Mytton: "It took 18 months of hard work but it's now a better building than it was originally because Prendos and Teak have made improvements wherever they could see that they should be made."
She said excellent consultation proved to be a major part of the process. "We were on-site all the time, had fortnightly meetings with the construction people and we dealt with any new issues as we went along. Prendos took a lot of strain off us because we knew we could trust them to oversee the whole project and make sure anything that needed to be done, was done."
The work was completed in September last year. The final result is a new, vastly improved apartment complex, completely brought up to date with modern, attractive and most importantly, durable materials. Prendos also provided a long term maintenance plan to ensure the building is prepared for the future and maintained in premium condition. This also coincided with the new Unit Titles Act 2010 requirements.
So how has the Bacchus Apartment block performed in the year since then?
"Wonderful," said Mrs Mytton. "We've been more than happy with what the people from Prendos and Teak have done for us."
