Client: Body Corporate
On St Kilda Road, the problem was plain to see: decades of weather had bitten hard into the external balustrades and corrosion was advancing. The Body Corporate needed a full replacement across multiple levels—but in a live, high-traffic CBD setting where pedestrians, residents and trams share the same corridor, there’s no such thing as an easy lift. Baillie Industries was engaged to deliver the job end-to-end: design intent, fabrication, traffic and lift planning, removal, installation and handover.
Planning the Works
We began with the basics done well—site walks, measurements, lift studies and a traffic management plan—so every move on the footpath and roadway was deliberate. While permits and lift windows were locked in, our Reservoir workshop prepared the build sequence and install methodology to suit restricted street time, resident access and the rhythm of St Kilda Road.
Fabrication & Coatings
In the shop we fabricated the new balustrades in Australian Orrcon DuraGal RHS, keeping tolerances tight so panels would land cleanly against existing structures. Each piece received a Dulux three-coat protective system to stand up to wind, salt and grime. Assemblies were racked, tagged and loaded in the order we would install them, cutting crane minutes and avoiding double handling once on site.
Access, Lifting & Traffic
Removal in a live, occupied building demanded choreography. We staged works balcony by balcony, isolating each area, making safe, and bringing the old rails down under crane control during approved windows. Below, our traffic team managed lanes and pedestrians; above, EWP crews worked from boom lifts with exclusion zones, rescue plans and edge protection in place. Every lift was planned, briefed and supervised to maintain control in a tight streetscape.
Weather & Live-Environment Constraints
Weather kept us honest—wind triggers and wet-coat limits were built into the program. On gusty or wet days we pivoted to shop touch-ups, fixings prep and resident coordination rather than forcing a risky lift. The live environment—deliveries, noise windows, resident movements—was managed through clear notification, short workfaces and tidy day-end demobilisation.
Installation & Quality Assurance
Installation ran like a rolling production line. Panels arrived just-in-time, were rigged, flown and set onto prepared fixings; our crews aligned, torqued, sealed and finished each run before moving to the next. Where the existing structure deviated from drawings—as old buildings often do—we adjusted on the tools, keeping the façade line true and drainage paths clear. Quality was held at formal checkpoints: substrate verification, fit-up, fixings, coating thickness and final clean, all backed by ITPs and photographic QA for handover.
By close-out, the building had a renewed face to the boulevard—compliant, durable balustrades that lift the street presence and restore confidence in the edges residents lean on every day. Just as important, we achieved it with minimal disruption: coordinated crane windows, clear resident briefings and disciplined site control. In a place where traffic, height, weather and neighbours can undo a good plan, the difference was discipline—fabricate once, lift once, install once—and a crew that knows how to build safely in the city.
