Project: Fire-damaged church make-safe
Location: Hebersham, NSW
Sector: Make-Safe / Demolition
Client: Perfect Contracting
Services Provided: Temporary works design, propping supply & installation
Equipment Used: Legend Hire Steel Tilt Props, structural LVL walers, interlocking concrete counterweight blocks
Project overview
Following a severe fire at a church in Hebersham, NSW, Perfect Contracting was engaged to carry out make-safe demolition works. The fire had destroyed the roof structure and its tie connections, leaving the external masonry walls laterally unrestrained and at risk of collapse. Legend Hire designed and installed a long-term temporary propping solution using structural LVL walers and Legend Hire Steel Tilt Props, restraining the walls on both faces so demolition could proceed safely and the structure remains supported until reconstruction begins.
The Challenge
The fire destroyed the church’s roof framing and the ties that restrained the tops of the external masonry walls. With the roof removed during the make-safe demolition, the tall gable and perimeter walls were left free-standing and laterally unrestrained, a significant structural risk under wind loading.
The site was also contaminated with asbestos, so controlled demolition works had to be completed before crews could gain safe access to install the propping. The system needed to remain in place long-term, supporting the walls through the entire period between make-safe and rebuild.
The Solution
Legend Hire designed a lateral restraint system using vertical structural LVL walers fixed to the brickwork, braced by Legend Hire Steel Tilt Props. The walers spread the prop loads across the masonry, avoiding point loading on the fire-affected brickwork.
Props were installed to both faces of the walls, restraining the masonry against movement in either direction. Where props could not be anchored to the existing slab, they were footed onto interlocking concrete counterweight blocks stacked to provide the required ballast, eliminating the need for new footings on a contaminated site.
Installation was sequenced around Perfect Contracting’s staged asbestos removal and demolition works, maintaining safe access throughout.
The Outcome
- The fire-damaged masonry walls are fully stabilised and restrained on both faces.
- Make-safe demolition, including the removal of the destroyed roof structure, was completed with the walls supported throughout.
- The engineered system requires no permanent fixings to ground and will remain in place until the new building works commence.
- Perfect Contracting has certified long-term structural support through the reconstruction planning period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Make-safe propping is temporary structural support installed after fire, storm or impact damage to stabilise a building until it can be repaired, rebuilt or demolished. Systems are engineered to restrain walls or floors that have lost their permanent structural support.
Fire-damaged masonry walls are typically restrained with steel tilt props fixed through waler beams, which spread the load across the brickwork. Where roof ties or floor structures have been destroyed, props can be installed to both faces of the wall to restrain movement in either direction.
Engineered propping systems can be certified for long-term use, from months to years, subject to periodic inspection. This allows damaged structures to remain safely supported while insurance, approvals and reconstruction planning are completed.
Not always. Where fixing to an existing slab isn’t possible, props can be footed onto interlocking concrete counterweight blocks that provide ballast without excavation or new footings, useful on contaminated or heritage-sensitive sites.