The thundering pace of commercial development in Albany won’t rock Ramada, who have installed state-of-the-art expansion joints in the forecourt and build seams.

The Ramada Inn opened in April this year as a purpose-built 4-star hotel aimed squarely at the skyrocketing business market in the burgeoning industrial epicenter of Albany.  The site includes not only a 66-room hotel, but also 18 residential apartments and a shopping centre comprising of 11 retail outlets.

Safari Construction who built the hotel was focused on sound building practices and a high-quality finish which would project the image of this hotel for years to come. And like so many big projects, it’s the smallest items which so often have a massive impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the build.

One such aspect of the build was the incorporation of expansion joints. These had to be robust enough to withstand moderate traffic conditions for many years, and yet must fit with the sophisticated nature of the build. So Safari opted for Unison Joints, supplied and installed by Neuchatel NZ.

Neuchatel Managing Director Brian Mohan says “Unison Joints are precision engineered to measure, and supplied factory-tested and fully assembled. They are ideal for high traffic areas which need to be functional and easy on the eye. They’re a natural extension to our range of sealing and paving products, as they’re top quality, low maintenance and there’s very little that can go wrong with them”.

There’s more than 20 styles of joints, covering almost every aspect of your build, from lightweight spacers for internal walls, through to heavy-duty highway joints, And each is fabricated to measure, and ready to set in place. “The only thing the builder has to worry about is getting the levels right.” Mohan added.

Ramada used two types of joints in the Albany complex. The first was UADJ – a tarmac joint – designed to absorb the vibrations and the movement due to daily heat fluctuations in the surface area. It is low profile, and very effective in preventing cracks or stress bumps in the tarmac. The second was a NUNC joint between the structures (the hotel, apartments and the shops) and the pavement outside. This provides a fully watertight seam, which can move both laterally and longitudinally. It provides a perfect solution to the need for visually appealing and functional seams.

The Unison Joints range is supplied in NZ by Neuchatel Limited. For the last 100+ years Neuchatel has been protecting tens of thousands of surfaces from deterioration caused by heavy machinery and the elements. In this time they’ve refined their products and services to be more durable, environmentally friendly and affordable – especially for large scale projects. For more information, click the links above, or call us on 09 441 4595