Backpacking in a big way by Projex Group

Backpacking in a big way by Projex Group

The building at the corner of George and Pitt Sts in Sydney - just opposite Central Railway has some considerable history. The building itself was situated at the main transport terminus for the suburban transport systems - trams, buses and horse-drawn coaches - until the opening of the railway.

In 1906 Marcus Clark opened a Department Store and their offices on the site and stayed there until they moved further north. The building was then occupied by the State Rail Authority until 1997 when it was bought by the Millcrest Backpackers Group.

The building is listed by the Australian Heritage Trust.

Millcrest decided to build a 500-bed backpackers hostel on this very prominent site. This would make it the largest private hostel/backpackers accommodation in NSW. The hotel opened on 20th June 2002 complete with internet café, bar, travel agent and entertainment areas.

The transformation was supervised by CRA Design Associates who have extensive experience in hotel refurbishments.

In considering internal waterproofing (the roof was pitched and was in good shape) the architects were mindful of the timber floors as well as the propensity of backpackers to splash. They also noted that Millcrest's high standards of cleaning the "wet areas" could be best be met if high pressure water could be sprayed directly onto the walls to ceiling level prior to mopping/wiping down.

Accordingly they specified the Wolfin Waterproofing System for the bathrooms, kitchen, bar, cleaners rooms, linen rooms and laundries. The , service ducts were also lined with self-adhesive Wolfin S. In the bathrooms the Wolfin membrane was taken to ceiling height - up to 2.8 metres up.

The Wolfin Stainless Steel System was used as edge termination around the bathroom doors as these would be continuously damp. In the rest the membrane was terminated by standard Wolfinsteel profiles fastened to the metal wall frames. The wall membrane was covered with FC sheet and the tiles were applied over.

The Wolfin System was chosen because of its track record in waterproofing in permanently damp areas and its reliability on projects around Sydney.

The construction works for the whole project were carried out by St Hillers and the waterproofing installation was carried out by Kwikseal. Kwikseal are licensed Wolfin applicators with considerable experience in major construction works and remedial work in Sydney and the Central Coast.

David Seal can be contacted on 4365 4705 or 0414 654 705

Projex, the suppliers of Wolfin, can be contacted on 02-8336-1666 The Projex website is http://www.projex.com.au