Client: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville
Completion: November 2021

The bell tower at St Columba’s Church is a timber framework set on a concrete base and supports a Burns & Oats bell. It was constructed in 1897 and was believed to be designed by Charles William Smith, the architect of the now-demolished church. St Columba’s church was listed by the National Trust of Queensland in 1973 along with the presbytery and bell tower. The tower is now the only building left from the nineteenth-century complex of buildings on site. It was repaired and painted when the new church was built in 1974 and this may have been when the weatherboards that originally enclosed the
base of the tower as a small shed were removed. WRD was engaged by Townsville Diocese in late 2015 to conduct a condition inspection of the legs of the tower as there was some concern among the congregation regarding these. Subsequent to the Diocese considering the report and sharing it with Heritage Queensland, WRD was then engaged to design the refurbishment and restoration works for the tower.

Following several iterations and the Diocese and Heritage Queensland’s interaction with WRD in the design process, the restoration project was modified to become an exact replica replacement of the tower to support the existing bell and roof system. Under the direction of Heritage Queensland, WRD mimicked each element in the replacement design and has also validated the member capacity under cyclonic wind loadings. Once reconstructed, the bell tower has taken on the persona of the original tower but now can
be expected to last another 100 years or more.

Client: Allnorth Construction
Completion: June 2022

In July 2020, Wood Research and Development (WRD) was commissioned by
Allnorth Construction to inspect the Gitlaxt’aamiks Recreational Center in
response to concerns raised on the current performance of the glulam rafter
system. A Level II Inspection and Condition Assessment techniques were utilized by WRD in the inspection of the structure to evaluate the current
condition of the upper rafter glulam system. Based on the inspection data, the
Rec Center required a moderate level of refurbishment to enhance the upper
rafters that had delaminated. (This delamination was mostly due to
manufacturing defects). The objective of the recommended repairs is to
improve the structural integrity of the elements inspected and restore the
elements to their original capacity. In addition, the proposed repairs will
provide longevity to the structure, while keeping cost efficiency in mind. A
two-man restoration crew was sent to the project site. The Technicians
installed Retroshear® shear panels to strengthen the glulam girder elements in
all areas of concern and give the roof system many more years of life.

Client: Queensland Dept. of Housing and Public Works
Completion: December 2020

Located in Queensland, Australia within the Barakula State Forest, Waaje Fire
Lookout Tower majestically stands above the State forest treetops. Initially built in1964 to allow the spotting of fire from the first smoke, the lookout tower was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in January 2018. The Waaje Fire Lookout Tower is a four-legged timber fire tower with a cabin at the top and was built with four 30m single-length grey ironbark poles. It was the first Queensland fire tower to exceed 30 meters in height and is now the tallest surviving intact four-legged timber fire tower. WRD proposed the fire tower needed repairs to the 4 columns as required, repair, replacement, or augmentation of the cross-bracing between the columns, and the installation of anchor blocks and guy wires to reduce the tower’s deflection. The specified restorative works for the lookout cabin, due to the 50-plus years of braving high winds and storm events, consisted of repairs to the louvre frames to return all to a closed position and to install new glass louvres where required, thus again keeping the cabin watertight. To ensure the cabin stayed intact and that future access is restricted, the lowest set of stairs starting at the first lateral tie were also removed.

Client: 
Completion: 

The Penticton Memorial Arena is a 2,212-seat multi-purpose arena in Penticton, British Columbia. It has hosted several decades of hockey, and figure skating events, training camps, and various dry-floor sporting and entertainment events. It continues to serve as a significant ice surface for local minor hockey teams, the Okanagan Hockey School, and many recreational leagues.

As a popular and long-standing sports arena, it is critical the structure is preserved to continue as a much-loved center for sports gatherings. TRS was able to restore the arches in the arena and preserve them against decay to ensure the arena is here for a long time.

Client: Dunwoody Country Club
Completion: December 2022

The Dunwoody Country Club is a vibrant and exclusive private country club. Dunwoody boasts a variety of recreational facilities and dining services for members, guests, and families. The men’s lounge in the club had just been updated and renovated when the roof support system and its truss and other supporting members were inspected and it was discovered they were failing.

After inspections were carried out by Wood Research and Development (WRD), TRS was brought in and hired to restore the roof truss system and support members. These repairs were completed by our experienced technicians and ended up preventing the client from spending nearly $1 million dollars. 

Client: 
Completion:

The Nest is a unique recreational building within the Robinson Preserve in Manatee County, FL shaped to represent a bird’s nest. As the roof rafters and floor beams extend out past the building envelope, moisture wreaked havoc on the ends of the timber elements.

Glulam beams were procured from the Southeastern US to match the species already in the structure. We then manufactured the required beam lengths in the shop. This restoration required removing the existing damaged wood and installing new joists. To save costs in materials and installation, only the ends of the joists were to be removed. We used a mortise and tenon connection to attach the new joists to the existing elements. The end result was a structurally sound timber connection that was not visible from the outside.

Client: Municipality of West Gray
Completion: December 2018

The original structures was in use by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company for many years, with the last train passing over the bridge in 1985. Many local patrons and tourists use this bridge to cross over or stop to look at the beautiful views of the river and the falls over the dam. The bridge is 75.3m long and was required to conform to the current codes and practices and in keeping with the heritage theme. Large portions of the sub and superstructure appeared to be in poor shape.  Based on this information Engineering recommended replacement of the caps, superstructure, deck and railings onto the existing piles.  Our method of using the EPHOD® Stress Time Wave system would have picked up the pile decay before any engineering recommendations were made, which would have resulted in a savings to the client. This added expense to the project and was a disappointment to the client who understood that this was a necessary extra cost to make this project a success.

Client: Waga Waga City Council
Completion: September 2022

Wagga Wagga City Council launched the Wiradjuri Trail Master Plan in August 2021, setting out a 10-year improvement blueprint that includes more than $6 million worth of proposed development.  The aim is to “connect the local community and environment, highlight places of significance to the Wiradjuri and First Nations peoples, and transform the trail into a major tourism asset that will benefit our local economy”. The Flowerdale Lagoon pedestrian footbridge was one of three high-priority projects identified for the popular 42 km walking track that surrounds the city.

Promoting a sustainable, pre-machined, pre-assembled, specially treated engineered glulam timber structure that has a design life of 100 years with little to no maintenance, Council felt the right combination of aesthetics, materials and functionality was in the Timber Restoration Services (TRS) proposal.  Being ISO 9000 accredited, TRS provides a quality assured timber structure that Council can have confidence in its long term performance. The treated engineered glulam side girder superstructure configuration brought together a package of strength, curvature and natural elegance that blended well in the bushland environment of the Flowerdale precinct. The angled handrail and balustrade design naturally guides cyclists to not ride close to balustrading, preventing their pedals from being caught.  A timber top rail of dressed 200×100 hardwood softens the visual presence of galvanised steel posts and balustrading whilst providing a warm natural texture as pedestrians walk along the bridge

Client: Somerset Regional Council
Completed: June 2018

Jimmy Gully Pedestrian Bridge crosses Jimmy Gully along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) near Harlin, Queensland. Jimmy Gully Bridge was a 6 span timber railway bridge that was decommissioned in the early 1990’s. Each span consisted of three girder lines with the two middle spans comprised of double stacked hardwood log girders. Each pile bent has three hardwood timber piles with the middle two bents consisting of five piles with the outer (batter) pile on each side providing lateral stability to the structure.

An extensive inspection of Jimmy Gully Bridge was completed by Wood Research and Development (WRD) technicians on 24 May 2016. The aim of the inspection was to complete the visual and EPHOD® (Electronic Pulse Highlight and Outline Diagnostic) compression wave technology analysis of the in-situ condition of the major structural elements of the bridge. The design of any restoration refurbishment, upgrade and repair strategies was then taken into account based on the inspection data collected.

Client: Snowy Valley Regional Council
Completion: December 2019

Snowy Valley Regional Council recognised the growing trend and applied for NSW Government’s Restart NSW Regional Tourism Infrastructure fund and Stronger Communities grants.  Through this funding, the 21km Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail, a walking and cycling trail that runs through a non-operational railway corridor, became the pilot for the State and a working model for future New South Wales rail trails.

For more information, see our blog post on this project.

Client: Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD)
Completion: July 3, 2019

This glulam all-timber bridge is 21.2m long, spans 20.6m an has a 5.5m deck.  The bridge sits on a 2 percent grade and has a 20-degree skew.

This resource road bridge is designed for an L100 loading and comprises five Douglas Fir glulam girders reinforced with aramid fibers for shear and bending.  These are overlain by a glulam subdeck and solid running planks.

This bridge was designed, fabricated/preassembled off-site and reassembled on-site, as a demonstration of what is possible for timber bridges in British Columbia.

Client: City of Greater Bendigo
Completion: October 12, 2019

Timber Restoration Systems has this week commenced work on Sugarloaf Road Bridge in Axedale, Central Victoria.

Work includes replacing log girders, driving new piles, repairing old piles, and installing a new transverse deck.  The bridge will be closed for the period of the works.

Client: Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Completion: December 22, 2019

Timber Restoration Services (TRS) was awarded the contract to produce a
design/build bridge to replace the existing 48-year-old steel arch bridge
just outside of Amherst, NS. Located in the highest embedded and exposed
corrosion zone in Canada, many elements of the bridge were rusted out
and failed. The bridge was taken out of service and slated for replacement
in 2017. TRS contracted Wood Research and Development (WRD), to
design a unique state-of-the-art timber bridge. Due to the uniqueness of
this bridge, WRD was also responsible for construction oversight for the
project. WRD’s first step in the design work for this project was to test the
existing 80-year-old timber piles used in the old bridge.

TRS  manufactured the bridge in our state-of-the-art plant in Jefferson, Oregon with the aid of several Canadian technicians who spent three months in Jefferson to aid in the construction of this bridge. The bridge components were shipped to the project site in
25 tractor-trailer loads. The structure consists of two 12-meter jump spans and a 39-meter three-pinned glulam timber arch. The design included the placement of the arch span using a 500-tonne crane, sitting on one of the jump spans, with a smaller crane on the opposite jump span helping guide the arch in place.

Client: Snowy Monaro Regional Council
Completion: September 9, 2020

TRS entered into a contract with Snowey Monsaro Council in June of 2020, to carry out repair upgrades to the Delegate River Bridge. The upgraded design is based on a Level 2 inspection and condition report that was carried out in 2018.

The work done on the bridge was comprised of constructing a new sill beam foundation, as well as the fabrication of two new frame bents. Our certified timber technicians also completed pile repairs, and the replacement of six corbels, as well as sixteen girders. A significant portion of the deck was renewed as well.

Client: Byron Shire Council
Completion: October 2020

Timber Restoration Services (TRS) won the contract to upgrade the 63m bridge from 10-tonne to 44-tonne traffic loading. As part of the rehabilitation process, TRS recycles the existing timbers where possible and reuses the log timbers at the Council stockyard.

To ensure the recycled timber receives the best protection, TRS applies Copper Naphthenate Oil Emulsion (CN oil) and uses a paraffin-based sealant, Anchorseal®, to seal the cuts. The cuts are treated with Decaystop®, borate salt rods, to inhibit fungi growth and maintain easy access to the bridge elements.