Slabs, slabs, trenches and slabs #2

Computer Repair Shed:

To accommodate the construction of our new Computer Repair Shed, we first of all had to link services into the various underground mains systems (power, telecoms and waste).

The formwork was also laid for the shed's slab, but first, fences were removed and the area was cleared to allow for contractor access.

With the formwork laid the concreting contractors were able to pour the slab in just over 4 hours.

Before...

During...

And, after.

Slabs, slabs, trenches and slabs #1

The last few weeks has seen significant, physical change at the centre.

New Retail Shed:

On the 17th of August, the slab of the new retail shed was formed up, and over 60 tonnes of concrete was poured the following day.

The contractors encountered a number of technical issues with regards to the slab's footings, due in part, to the high level of the underground water table (pictured below).

Fortunately, the technical problems were resolved and the work on the large retail shed's slab pour went ahead without a hitch.

Pictured below is the Concrete truck's "Elephant trunk" pouring concrete directly into the retail shed's formwork.

By mid-afternoon on Tuesday the 18th of August, the pour was complete and we had our first indication as to the eventual scale of the new structure.

500sqm of floor-space is a lot!!! of floor-space to work with, however we are looking forward to stocking the new shed full of freshly-sourced, second-hand material for our valued customers to enjoy.

New computer repair facility approved

The application for new facilities to repair second-hand Personal Computers (PCs) has been approved by Port Stephens Council. Work has commenced, with the ground preparation already underway (shown below).


We have a number of qualified volunteers who specialise in PC maintenance, and due to their sterling efforts we have outgrown the present location where maintenance works are carried out.


At the moment, PCs are repaired in a very noisy workshop area which is obviously not the preferred environment to concentrate on delicate repairs. So as a result, a decision was taken by the Board of Directors to develop a stand-alone facility, specifically dedicated to the repair of PCs.

Businesses, organisations or individuals may be in the process of upgrading office equipment; or they may have items such as old PCs, Fax machines or Photocopiers gathering dust in a store room.

Everyone is encouraged to donate their obsolete equipment for the purpose of extending its lifespan.

Donated hardware is serviced by trained technicians and is channelled back into the community via our onsite store.

For peace of mind; great care is taken to ensure that the hard-drive of every recycled PC is cleared of sensitive data. We guarantee privacy via the procedural installation of a ‘hard-drive eraser’; which permanently removes private files and data.

Our donor's support of this initiative provides a much-needed alternative option for members of the community, unable to afford costly retail prices.

So if you have a PC with an operating system no earlier than Windows 98...we'd be interested in hearing from you.

Don't throw it out... We'll take it!