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Project Background
Nukemea Primary School marks an exciting milestone for education in the vibrant community of Orewa. With keen foresight, the Ministry of Education recognized the need for expanded educational facilities to accommodate for the rapidly growing Orewa area, 30 minutes north of Auckland City.
Initially announced in the 2018 Budget by the Government, the school’s opening was scheduled for February 2021. However, due to delays in land purchase, consent requirements and COVID-19 lockdowns, the opening was postponed until 2023.
Moddex supplied our handrail and balustrade systems to various applications around the school.
Structural integrity and NZBC Compliance
Structural integrity and compliance with the New Zealand Building Code (NZBC) are fundamental considerations in every Moddex project to ensure we deliver safe and reliable solutions for our clients. Solutions need to be structurally sound and must not compromise on performance or design. Points to consider are fixing substrates, loading requirements, fixing requirements and application.
Balustrades must be built so that they can withstand the loads (such as imposed and wind loads) they will likely encounter throughout their lives without collapsing or becoming unstable, and without deflecting intolerably. AS/NZS 1170.1 “Structural design actions – Permanent, imposed and other actions” is applicable for handrails in areas that are accessible to the general public.
The project scope at Nukemea Primary included a large retaining wall with uneven fixing points and varying gradients. To ensure adherence to NZBC standards, particularly F4 – Safety from Falling, Moddex had to design and manufacture custom base plates to suit the application. Our Design capability allowed us to site scan and the design a balustrade with a custom base plate to keep the balustrade straight and true for an end solution that meet compliance requirements and achieved an aesthetic finish.
Why was Moddex selected?
Leigh Construction, having previously worked with Moddex, had experienced the quality and ease of our handrail systems. With strict project timelines in place due to previous delays at the consent stage, Moddex’s ability to deliver on-site promptly was crucial for meeting project deadlines. Additionally, Moddex provided cost savings and offered a wide range of systems to cover various scopes, for stairs to retaining walls.
