Steel Standing

Being proved right is a great feeling, especially when it means your house being saved from a bushfire.

Also, if you happen to be Western Australia's leading builder, Dale Alcock, it's probably an even better feeling. This explains the huge relief felt by Dale and his wife Jan whose Dwellingup weekender amazingly survived February's devastating bushfires in the area.

The steel framed, three bedroom retreat, clad in ZINCALUME® steel, survived practically unscathed when eight other buildings in its immediate vicinity were destroyed by the bushfires that raged for three days.

The deck was the only exposed timber surface on the house but luckily the rest of the structure sheltered it from the flames. Indeed, the only damage sustained was the electrical and plumbing cable work beneath the house, the only area not protected by steel, something Dale has since remedied with extra ZINCALUME® steel sheeting!

Dale and Jan built the weekender southeast of Perth between Pinjarra and Dwellingup 10 years ago and it has been a favourite family retreat ever since. While the region has faced other bushfire threats in the past, the latest was the most extreme for many years.

"Our environment, statewide, can be very punishing on buildings, so everything we make needs to be extremely durable," explains Dale, founder of Dale Alcock Homes and Director of Western Australia's leading building group, Alcock Brown Neaves Group. "Of course nothing makes that more obvious than when a fire sweeps through an area causing enormous damage."

"Over the years you expect buildings to take a bit of a bashing from harsh weather conditions. Whether it's the sun, the rain, the wind, or the occasional bushfire, there are always things you need protection from."

"Our weekender, being clad in a non combustible material, survived the recent fires on its own with no help from anyone. Obviously we were thrilled," Dale said.

Further to the external steel cladding, Dale believes that other steel products can play a part too in reducing the overall amount of combustible material in a home. "On my house the steel roof and walls were obviously the primary barrier to keep out the fire," explained Dale, "but having steel frames too helps offer additional protection, in this instance from embers from the bushfire."

Also, house frames made from TRUECORE® steel, recently launched by BlueScope Steel, offer numerous other benefits to Western Australian homeowners in additional to their non combustibility. They can't be damaged by borers, they won't rot, warp or twist over time, and they are quick and easy to erect.

Indeed the benefits of steel played a part in the decision of Alcock Brown Neaves Group to buy Western Australian builder T&R Homes last year.

"Bringing T&R Homes into the Group gives us greater market coverage into remote areas with a type of house eminently suited to rural Western Australian conditions," said Dale.

T&R Homes build a range of stylish but strong steel framed houses, suited for urban living as well as rural and remote environments. They come in various designs to suit all lifestyles and, given the tough environmental conditions they'll be facing, they offer protection through durable building materials, such as cladding made from COLORBOND® steel which can be used for the roofing and walling, and TRUECORE® steel which is used for the house frames.

Another significant benefit offered by T&R Homes is the availability of transportable concrete slabs for flooring or steel floor frames, which is convenient for both for urban and remote locations.

"I think suitable, durable building products are definitely the way forward for Western Australia," concludes Dale, "as a way to give homeowners the best possible housing options, which they can then enjoy for years to come, whatever their environment. And I can say that, luckily, with first hand experience."

For more information visit:
www.trhomes.com.au