Sitting more than 100 metres above sea level on the headland at the western edge of WA’s Geographe Bay, the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse is an incredibly popular tourist attraction in the Margaret River Region. Drawing in 75,000 visitors annually, and having been built in 1904, it was clear that the lighthouse was in need of some remedial repairs to maintain the stunning historical stature.
To ensure its longevity as a vital marine safety aid, and a culturally significant drawcard, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMA) sought a turnkey solution from McElligotts to undertake repainting and repair works of the lighthouse. The project was completed in May 2019.
In order to adhere to the brief of keeping “the lighthouse’s heritage features intact while lifting its appearance and providing the protection this asset needs in such an exposed position, some remedial concrete repairs and protective coating were necessary.
Works we completed in this project included:
Stabilisation and repair of concrete cracks on the balcony and floor support corbels
Repointing of the stone work
Repairs of any severe corrosion damage to metallic substrates
Reglazing of the lantern room
Removal of asbestos materials
Replacement of plastic safety screens
Temporary navigation system setup, with reinstallation of the original system once all works were completed
Although this lighthouse was built primarily using limestone, some structural areas were constructed with concrete, which required attention in order to remain stable. After all toxic materials and miscellaneous repairs were taken care of, we applied a durable protective coating to the internal and external surfaces of the structure. We selected a coating system designed to withstand the corrosive-inducive environment surrounding it for many years to come.
Built in 1978, West Gate Bridge is an iconic structure that’s played a huge part in moving Melbourne for decades. After thirty years of operation, West Gate Bridge had daily traffic of 160,000 vehicles, compared to the 40,000 it was carrying per day after opening. McElligotts was sub-contracted by John Holland Construction for abrasive blasting and other remedial works.
Roles we performed included removing and containing red lead paint, abrasive blasting of the internal and external structures and creating profiles for strengthening steel and carbon fibre to be attached. At the time, this was one of the largest projects in the world incorporating carbon fibre. We enjoyed working on this project and overcoming the challenges it faced, including traffic and fast turnover requirements. At the height of this project, McElligotts had 100 workers per day on-site.
West Gate Bridge 2019-2021:
In February 2019, we were proud to have again been contracted by VicRoads to work on the West Gate Bridge, this time as part of their painting refurbishment project. We are still currently working on this project and are on track to have it completed in conjunction with the set deadline. The scope of work is somewhat similar to the original work we did on the bridge, only this time we are just focusing on restoring the painting and abrasive blasting rather than strengthening.
Our main task is to abrasive blast and paint 55,000 sqm of steel on the underside of the bridge, which included blasting the 9 platforms that are suspended 60m off the ground. In order to do this, the platforms are contained to a class 1 containment system and then abrasive blasted back to bare steel for inspection of the steel condition. In alignment with our sustainable values here at McElligotts, all waste material is vacuumed up and bagged at the bottom of the bridge. After this, the surface is then re-blasted and a 4-coat system is applied to the steel structure and signed off before the platforms can be traversed along the bridge.
Photo Gallery:
Here we see the underside view of the work platforms, (8) in total , that we work from to carry out the containment , abrasive blasting and recoating of the steel section underside . As work is completed the platforms are inched along from East to West across the massive steel spans of this bridge. A truly amazing project to be involved in .
McElligotts performed remedial construction works during the Eastern Treatment Plant refurbishment between August 2011 and November 2013. During construction, major leaks had developed in concrete structures, requiring a strip of the existing coating and a relining. Our team lined over 5000m2 of concrete with Polibrid, using a reinforced coating system we’d developed using geo fabric. Geo fabric was pinned to the concrete to mitigate the potential for future coating failures.
From there, we applied intercrete bands to expansion joints, providing extra strength in the coating system to prevent water pressure leaking through the joints. Ultra-high pressure surface preparation was performed on the external concrete surfaces to ensure the correct surface profile was achieved. As the water treatment plant has some high foot traffic areas, we made sure that the coating selected was non-slip. This was a large project requiring many co-ordinated steps with 200 other contractors onsite working alongside us.
We conduct remedial maintenance programs at oil and gas refineries across Australia, putting together maintenance programs tailored to our client’s needs. Our team have worked on tanks, pipelines, walkways, vessels and exchangers, providing services that include:
Ultra-high pressure cleaning and surface preparation
Abrasive blasting and hand tool surface preparation
From April to September 2013, McElligotts was contracted to work on the Kangaroo Valley pipeline by the Sydney Catchment Authority. It was a large job involving a complete strip and relining of a 1.8Km long, 2.6m wide pipeline.
The pipeline had only two access points, which definitely brought some hurdles throughout the project. Our initial work was to remove the old vinyl ester coating from the steel before abrasive blasting with our robotic blaster system. All waste from the old coating had to be safely removed from the pipeline using a commercial vacuum system. Once the required profile was created, we relined the piping with a solvent-less epoxy lining with robotic spraying equipment. Learn more about our specialised coating application services.
In July 2010, McElligotts erected scaffolding access to a ship fender along a rail beam. Instead of a conventional vertical birdcage design, this scaffolding had to hang from engineered brackets, welded to the rail beam above. As part of the design and engineering process, we prepared a 3D CAD design for our clients, ensuring they had a better idea of what the finished product would look like before approving.
In total, the completed scaffolding access system weighed 232 tonne and spanned 200 metres, allowing for complete access along the rail beam. Learn more about our scaffolding capabilities.
In October 2012 and February 2013, McElligotts worked on two separate conveyor belts at the Oaky Creek coal mine facilities. Oaky Creek has been open since 1982, and although the open cut mine is closed, underground coal mining is still operational. For this project, we were conducting paint remediation and structural integrity works on two 20m tall conveyor systems.
A birdcage scaffolding tower was engineered and constructed for each conveyor system, taking into account requirements for wind loading and other relevant environmental factors. From there, protective painting application was safely conducted by our team in fully encapsulated booths. Learn more about our scaffolding capabilities.
In April 2013, we were contracted by the Caval Ridge Coal Mine owned by BMA, to perform touch up painting and protective coating on their coal stacker reclaimer equipment. Initial surface preparation included abrasive blasting and mechanical cleaning. From there, construction paint damage was repaired and re-application of protective coating systems was conducted to the client’s specifications. In total, we worked on three raw and product coal stackers and two raw and product bucket wheel reclaimers.
During the course of that project, we were also hired to conduct similar paint and protective coating application on their new CAT 7495 Electric Rope shovel. As the rope shovel is a massive piece of equipment, we had an encapsulated on-site painting area, where each individual item was painted before being erected. In 2014, the Caval Ridge Coal Mine was opened and started producing coal a few months ahead of schedule.
McElligotts were contracted to conduct on-site painting and protective coating on the CAT 7495 Electric Rope Shovel at Daunia coal mine in June 2014. The Daunia Coal mine opened in 2013 and is expected to have a lifespan of approximately 21 years. We had worked on a CAT 7495 before at Caval Ridge, the first in Australia in CAT colours, with this one to be the second.
Paint and protective coating was sourced according to the client’s specifications. McElligotts offer off-site abrasive blasting and painting at our Mackay facilities, but for some clients, transporting their specialised and bulky equipment is unviable. In this case, we set up an encapsulated paint site at their Daunia facilities, painting each individual item before the final structure was erected.
McElligotts was engaged to restore some existing mining equipment in October 2014. This included a Hitachi EX5500 Excavator boom and an armoured face conveyor (AFC). Some of this equipment had seen use at the Gregory Crinum coal mine and it was clear it would need extensive surface preparation and specialised protective coating.
Prior to applying protective coating, abrasive blasting was conducted on both the boom and conveyor equipment up to AS1627.9 Class 2.5 (equivalent to ISO8501-1, Sa 2.5: Very thorough blast cleaning). From there, applied Intergard 251 as a primer and Interfine 629 for the final coatings on the boom, and Red Oxide primer on the AFC equipment. By choosing McElligotts, our client received off-site professional paint application, transportation of heavy equipment (the boom was 40-tonne alone) and quick turnaround.
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McElligotts have offices in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales. We work on projects all throughout Australia.
