Scope
What we repair
Concrete spalling: broken out to sound material, reinforcement cleaned and treated, patched and finished to match.
Drummy and delaminated render, cut back to a sound edge and rebuilt rather than skimmed over.
Cracking in render, precast and blockwork, opened up, filled and flexibly sealed where it is moving.
Rust staining on precast and GRC panels, chemically treated and rinsed at low pressure so the panel face is not damaged.
Sealant joints cut out and replaced, including the window perimeters and control joints behind most water ingress.
Corroded balustrade and handrail fixings, treated or replaced where the substrate allows.
Make safe: anything loose removed on the first visit and recorded, before it becomes somebody's problem on the footpath.
Photographs of every repair before, during and after, for the maintenance record and the levy discussion.
Process
How a repair runs
01
Inspect and make safe
Every elevation is worked close up and tapped. Anything that could come down does, on that visit, and goes in the report with a photograph.
02
Scope and quote
You get a defect list with locations, quantities and a timeframe against each item, so the committee can stage the work across budget years instead of approving it all at once.
03
Repair on rope
Break out, treat, patch, cure and finish, one elevation at a time. Nothing on the footpath and no scaffold tying into the facade we are trying to repair.
04
Finish and report
Repairs are coated to match and photographed. Anything we found while we were on the building that was not in the original scope is reported rather than quietly added.
Defects
Three problems that look similar from the ground
Staining, cracking and spalling all read as a tired building from the footpath. They have completely different causes and completely different costs.
Concrete spalling
Reinforcement corroding inside the slab and pushing the cover concrete off.
The visible patch is always smaller than the affected area behind it.
Has to be broken back to sound concrete and the steel treated, or it comes straight back.
Gets more expensive every year it is left, and eventually drops onto something.
Render and coatings
Drummy render sounds hollow under a tap long before anything is visible.
Usually water getting behind the coating, so the repair means fixing the entry point too.
Cut back to a sound edge and rebuilt. Skimming over a drummy area buys about a year.
Cheap to fix early and the most common thing we make safe on an inspection.
Rust and staining
Often cosmetic, running off a fixing, a planter drain or steel above the panel.
On GRC and precast it responds to chemical treatment and a low pressure rinse.
High pressure will damage the panel face, so the tempting fast answer is the wrong one.
The stain comes back unless whatever is dripping gets dealt with as well.
Photos
On site
Why us
Why building managers call us back
Abseil Pro has been working Brisbane buildings since 2017. This is what that actually buys you.
Certified and insured
IRATA certified technicians on every job, supervised by a Level 3.
$20 million public liability and $10 million professional indemnity.
Work carried out to the Australian Standards for rope access and height safety.
SWMS, JSA and a job specific rescue plan in your hands before anyone arrives.
One crew, many trades
Rope access plus real trade tickets: arborist, painter and height safety installer.
Cleaning, gardening, painting, repairs and inspections from the same crew on the same ropes.
One mobilisation instead of four, which is where most of the saving actually comes from.
The same faces each visit, so nobody has to relearn your building.
It all gets documented
A free photo inspection at the end of every job, not just the big ones.
Anything we notice on the facade, flagged with a photo and a location.
Fixed prices, with variations quoted before the work rather than after it.
A fixed price with the assumptions written down, and a free on-site consult if you would rather we looked first.
FAQ
Questions building managers ask
Do we need an engineer?
For isolated patch repairs, usually not. Where spalling is widespread, where it is on a structural element rather than a facade panel, or where the cause is not obvious, yes, and we will say so rather than patching over a structural question. Our report records what is there. An engineer diagnoses why and designs the fix.
What does facade repair cost?
It is priced in technician days rather than per patch, because the access is the same whether we fix one defect on an elevation or six. A team of two is $2,400 a day and a typical defect list off an inspection runs two to five days. Staging the work over two budget years is normal and we scope it that way if you ask.
Something is loose right now. How fast can you come?
Make safe is the one thing we treat as urgent and we can usually be there within a day or two. Removing loose render or a failing fixing is a small job. Leaving it over a footpath is not a risk worth carrying while a quote gets approved.
Will the repair match the existing finish?
On a painted or rendered facade, close, and it blends properly once the elevation is recoated. On exposed precast, GRC or off form concrete an exact match is difficult and we will tell you that before the work rather than after. Where appearance matters, repairing and then coating the whole elevation is usually the better answer.
Can you do the repairs while you are cleaning the building?
Often yes, and it is the cheapest way to get them done because the access is already paid for. Small patch work and sealant replacement fit neatly into a facade clean programme.
Is the builder still liable?
If the building is inside its defects liability period, quite possibly, and it is worth finding out before anyone spends levy money. Our report photographs and locates each defect, which is what a body corporate needs to put it to the builder.
How do we get a price?
Start with the free quote, or book an on-site consult if you would rather we looked at the building first. Most jobs can be quoted without a site meeting. Either way you get a fixed price with the assumptions written down, usually within two business days, with no charge and no obligation.
What areas do you cover?
Brisbane and south east Queensland, from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast, which is where the great majority of our work is. We travel further for portfolio clients and for buildings that are hard to get anyone else onto, including interstate. If you are not sure whether your building is in range, ask.
Is concrete cancer the same as spalling?
Mostly, yes. Concrete cancer is the common name for what engineers call spalling: steel reinforcement inside the slab corrodes, expands and pushes the cover concrete off the face. The rust stain, the drummy patch and the lump of concrete on the footpath are all symptoms of the same process. The repair is the same either way, break back to sound concrete, treat the steel, patch and coat. What changes the cost is how far it has gone before somebody looks.