Colgate Palmolive Building
Higgins recently secured an exciting new 5-year maintenance schedule for this unique residential complex situated next to the water at Mort Bay in Sydney’s Balmain. The Colgate Palmolive site consists of 109 apartments and 10 townhouses across 4 separate buildings (two 4-storey apartment buildings, a block of terrace type apartments, and a car parking building). The two main
buildings were originally the Colgate Palmolive soap and detergents factory – a piece of history living on with a conversion into apartments.
The project scope involves exterior painting in year 1, which is soon to be completed, and interior painting of common areas in year 3. We are also carrying out various remedial works projects in addition to the painting schedule. The majority of the painting has involved swinging stages, with access to balconies via fixed scaffold and a boom lift (cherry picker) being used for necessary replacement of mesh screens.
This is a major job, which has not been without its challenges, but these have been met along the way by our experienced and adaptable team. The harbour-side location is regularly used by residents and public for jogging and dog walking, so warning signage and cordoned off work areas were used to ensure the public’s safety. We also carried out exterior works in a timely manner so as to limit inconvenience to residents wanting to enjoy use of their balconies. The site is frequently windy, which can also make swing stage access a challenge as the wind can push it back and forth.
The paint specification was prepared by Wattyl, utilising the Granoimpact coating system. No information on the building’s existing colour scheme was available, so Wattyl undertook a colour match and it was so close to the original 6 colours that long-term residents were amazed by the exact results.
