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Rebuilding with ICF's Post Bushfire Devastation with ZEGO

Rebuilding with ICF's Post Bushfire Devastation with ZEGO

David and Caroline were faced with the distressing decision of where to start when they lost their beautiful home - located on a picturesque 2.5 acres at Crib Point on the stunning Mornington Peninsula - in the devastating fires that ripped through in 2016. Their predominantly timber-clad home was a treasure trove of years of racing car memorabilia, trophies, and eclectic collectibles acquired over many years of David's racing and travelling.

"In the wake of losing all your worldly possessions, you cannot even begin to imagine the undertaking of starting all over again," were the words reflected by the Tootell's after the fire, and emotions that would resonate with many others who have recently lost their homes to the fires.

With the threat of fire on their door step, the Tootell's set about packing their important possessions and sought refuge for the day in the nearest evacuation centre. To their great relief, they received the good news that all was well and safe to return home. Later that day, with no warning and no time to spare, David and Caroline were notified to evacuate immediately. Unbeknown to them, the wind had suddenly changed direction and the fire was heading their way rapidly. What can only be described as a "harrowing experience," the safest exit out of their property was across land and paddocks as they literally ran over multiple stock fences to make a hasty and safe escape whilst literally watching their home explode into flames behind them.

David, determined to "get on with it," approached ZEGO in early 2016 with the idea of re-building the footprint of his original home, whilst considering alternatives to build more efficiently, and to incorporate the use of building materials suitable for a BAL-FZ location. This was a task David undertook as an owner-builder to re-invent and re-build his beloved home under quite traumatic circumstances.

Rebuilding with ICF's Post Bushfire Devastation with ZEGO

David and Caroline did get on with it... and completed their home re-build in just under 4.5 months, quite an achievement by anyone's standard. David commented that others would say: "you'll be messing about for years!" But; "From the day we poured the slab to the day we dropped the final steel rod into the back of a 1,110kg cast iron antique weighbridge," one of the few sentimental items salvaged from the fires and a focal point of their new home, "we had moved in to our new home."

David appointed experienced ZEGO installers out of Melbourne who set up camp on site for a week to build the ZEGO walls. The simplicity of the interlock and intersect of the modular formwork design allowed for quick and straightforward install, erecting the super structure in 7-10 days. Due to the flame zone location of their home, they built with ZEGO FireFORM with a 150mm concrete core to achieve maximum fire rating. The added bonus of the 120mm of insulating foam panels created a thermal insulating envelope to create a highly energy efficient structure saving thousands on heating and cooling for all the years to come.

The Tootell's were thrilled with the ZEGO process during their build.

"ZEGO provided the highest level of technical service and support throughout the whole building process giving us the confidence that we were building a home for the future and should a fire ever come through again, this time around the home would withstand the fire."

If you have recently lost your home or been affected by the bushfires, the team at ZEGO Building Systems are here to assist you.



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1300 139 346

GPO Box 4774, Sydney, NSW, 2001

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1300 139 346

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