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As you are no doubt aware, the Omicron variant of Covid19 is circulating in our region. At present we have a number of staff away due to either illness or testing related isolation requirements. Please bear with us and our suppliers over the coming weeks and months as we expect many delays in all levels of the supply chain. Coupled with weather delays we encourage all of our customers to please factor in additional time delays on their construction projects and be patient when dealing with people. 

Thankyou for your understand.

Regards,

Mark Spaulding
Operations Manager
Plaster / Metal / Cladding

What an interesting financial year this last year has been! Who would have predicted last year that in 12 months we'd be facing labour & product shortages.

As you may have heard the construction industry is running at capacity, partly due to covid related shutdowns, partly due to government stimulous creating additional housing demand and partly due to general market (local and international) hype or FOMO (fear of missing out). In the last 6 months alone we've seen a record number of cost increases and product shortages. The instability in global timber and steel prices has meant quoting projects accurately 3-6 months in advance is very challenging.

We are aware this has caught out a number of builders & projects who ultimately get stung with the final cost increase and no one to pass it on to. With regular communication around these changes we can hopefully all avoid that scenario.

At PMC we try to be as transparent as possible and provide you with as much notice around product changes. Our price variations page (https://www.pmcstore.net.au/pages/price-variations) shows a list of increases that we are aware of. Some of these increases (like steel framing in Sep 2021) are significant - around 20%. Most of this is linked to the cost of iron ore, however some is also attributed to a shortage in liquid oxygen which is used in the manufacturing process. At this time we unfortunately cannot hold pricing longer than the quoted 30 days. We will of course endeavour to keep you up to date as much as possible via our socials and web page.

In addition to price increases and product shortages one of our major suppliers of fibre cement sheeting (James Hardie) is consolidating their product offering - partly to keep up with market demand. Unfortunately for the North Queensland market this will mean significant changes to the way we currently work.

The full listing can be found here: James Hardie – Range Optimisation

Table 2: Range Optimisation

^Replacement products are considered a close alternative but not ‘equivalent’. Please consult with your James Hardie™ representative for suitability or contact

 We understand that these changes from Hardies will have a significant impact on your business and the designs that you currently use in construction. We will endeavaour to work with you to find workable and affordable solutions. For more information please contact our office.

 We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you and your business, unfortunately these decisions are outside our control.

 We thank you for your custom over the last 12 months in particular and wish you all the best in the next financial year.

Dear Customer,

As we come towards the end of a challenging year it is with great sadness that we need to inform you of some important changes at the PMC Townsville branch.

For some years now, Townsville, Mackay and the North Queensland construction industry has been struggling through some challenging times. Over the last 20 years we’ve seen a number of ‘boom and bust’ periods come and go however we think it is fair to say the last few years have proven exceptionally difficult for everyone.

Whilst we have made a number of changes at our Townsville branch to accommodate increasing competition these changes have still not been enough to meet the declining market conditions.

Unfortunately, as of January 2021 we will be closing the store at 350 Bayswater Rd, Garbutt. 

The Townsville store will continue to trade up to the 23rd of December 2020 and fulfill any orders and service all requests up to that point. 

If you have any questions regarding what this means for you and your business please contact either Mark or Ted Spaulding on (07) 40311277.  All of our existing contact details will continue to work for the immediate future.

 We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you and your business.

 We thank you for your custom over the years and wish you all the best in 2021.

Yours Sincerely,

Ted Spaulding

Less travel, more time? Whilst the current extra desk time presents a real challenge for us all, there are some positives; catching up on admin tasks, organising future work, and continuing professional development.

Why not join James Hardie to boost your CPD hours at home? We’d be delighted to offer your practice an online CPD, at a date and time convenient to you and your colleagues or simply join one of our national CPD presentations. Details below.

REGISTER HERE

TOPIC: MANAGING WATER AND CONDENSATION

Presented by Timothy Elliott, James Hardie Product Manager

DATES:

Friday 26th June, 1pm.

REGISTER HERE

OVERVIEW: This CPD discusses the way water and condensation have contributed to a large amount of defects in building fabric and cladding within Australia. Learn the importance of good water management in compliance with the Building Code. What causes it, why it’s a problem and how to test and design buildings to prevent it.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

After completing this course, attendees will be able to:

• Understand good water management in compliance with the Building Code of Australia (NCC)
• Understand the elements of a façade and cladding system and estimate the risk level of your façade design and site conditions
• Know the conditions and forces that drive rain into a building and how to test for weather tightness
• Understand what is condensation, the types and what causes it
• Choosing materials and constructions to manage condensation over the life of the building
• Understand the new Vapour Permeable classifications in AS4200 and NCC 2019 updates
  
  
  

TOPIC: SAFE & ENDURING FACADES THAT MEET DESIGN AMBITION

Presented by Timothy Elliott, James Hardie Product Manager

DATES:

Thursday 2nd July, 1pm.

Thursday 16th July, 1pm.

REGISTER HERE

OVERVIEW: This CPD aims to educate you on how tragic building and cladding failures globally have bought on NCC code changes or order to ensure safe and enduring facades. We will take you through how to understand these updates and what their impact has been on the building code in the context of façade cladding selection and façade design.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

After completing this course, attendees will be able to:

• Understand the context of the NCC Updates and their impact on the Building Code
• Understand the compliance layers in the NCC that affect cladding selection
• Determine the required level of fire resistance for your building’s façade
• Understand the compliance pathways and what methods and tests are needed to demonstrate compliance
• Understand any state by state differences in the NCC
• Understand why Fibre Cement cladding is considered fire safe (exempt from additional testing and verification) in the building code
  
  
  

As independent supplier of wall & ceiling building products, we have two fundamental methods of engaging our customers:

1. Source and or supply exactly what you request.

2. Work with our clients to supply products that best adhere to project specifications, designs or budgets.

To ensure our transparency, for both methods, the ownness is on the customer to acknowledge that ultimately the product choice, is always your choice! Our team can provide advice to the best of our abilities, but this is not a representation or guarantee around the suitability, quality or performance of products. Any product information provided is obtained directly from the manufacturer and supplied in good faith without any liability or responsibility on the part of Plaster / Metal / Cladding (PMC) as the Seller.

We empathise with the increasing complexities faced by our customers and the wider industry and will do our very best to provide a supporting role. However, we are not builders, carpenters, plasterers, interior designers, architects, electricians, plumbers, engineers etc. We specialise in sourcing, shipping, timing and logistics. Due to our extensive local history in the marketplace, we are more than happy to discuss your project requirements to identify products for your specific needs, but this does not relinquish you of your responsibility to ensure the product you use in your construction project is indeed fit for purpose.

At the end of the day, you need to follow all of the manufacturer’s guidelines, in order to avoid issues and cover yourself if product failure occurs. In our terms and conditions we state that the “Buyer acknowledges that it has not relied upon or been induced by any representation by the Seller and has carried out independent research to satisfy its own knowledge, that the products are indeed fit for purpose and meet all the relevant regulatory requirements for their state or territory.” What this means is that we cannot/will not advise you on how to construct your project or try and coerce you into using one of our products instead of something else. We’re happy to supply you with whatever you need and to help you understand the capabilities and limitations of the products we sell, however we don’t manufacture the products so ultimately we’re not able to advise outside of the intended purpose & guidelines that the manufacturers state.

As professionals in your own area, you assume accountability (and liability) that you have sufficiently conducted your own research into each and every product you use. Constantly having to update yourself with the latest manufacturers’ guidelines and current standards & regulations can be a pain, we get it. However, this is the new reality the entire industry is heading towards and explaining that you “didn’t know” or “someone told you” can end up with dire consequences.

Our teams in Townsville & Cairns are here help in any way we can, but we need to have this honest conversation that our company is a supplier and distributor of wall & ceiling building products; we are not builders, engineers, designers or surveyors. If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to contact our team.

Whilst many people dislike it, an essential component of securing supply and price surety in the construction industry is in fact project-based quoting.

Project based pricing:

• Is reflective of quantities involved in the project

• Factors in storage/ freight requirements, timelines, and other needs of the project

• States the price, terms and conditions clearly

• Provides security to you as a buyer, which enables you to provide cost and time certainty to your clients

• Help you structure your pricing and the services you offer

• Encourage transparency between all parties


We often receive calls from customers seeking individual price estimates on products. While we are happy to meet your requests, we want to stress that estimations or ‘price checking’, as opposed to project-based quoting, does not reflect our best price offer or provide delivery certainty when it comes time to mobilise your project.

Usually a fixed term offer, ie a quote, gives us the opportunity to:

• Study your project needs carefully

• Guide you through pricing, logistics and material requirements in detail

• Calculate the best price and delivery package that suits your needs and guarantees price and supply

We understand that in our competitive landscape, project particulars are commercially sensitive, and you may not feel comfortable sharing too much detail for us to offer the best package to meet your needs. At PMC, your success is our success. All quotes and project discussions with PMC are confidential but encouraged so that you have the best deal that guarantees price and supply – every time.

When Angelo from Bang Media came to us looking for an easy to install/effective acoustic solution, we quickly walked him through a wide range options from different manufacturers and settled on Autex Quietspace 25mm & 50mm nude white panels.

Here is what Angelo has to say about the effectiveness of the product:

“After building our office I noticed that the main office area had quite a bit of echo, to the point that it sounded like we were in a bathroom when talking on the phone. We tried adding a rug and various other solutions but what made the most dramatic difference was installing some Quietspace 25mm & 50mm ‘Nude’ white acoustic panels on our ceiling. Not only did this dramatically improve the quality of our phone calls but it made our main office a lot more pleasant on the ears when multiple people are talking at once. We now have these panels across our entire workspace. Highly recommended”

Quietspace panels have been engineered to absorb a minimum of 85% of the sound energy it meets. This means annoying and distracting noise no longer feels that way. Intentionally designed in three of the most common interior colours; black, grey and white, Quietspace panel can easily blend into ceilings and walls to simply do its job.

On a different note, if you run a business based in Far North Queensland and you are looking for a Creative Marketing Agency that excel at storytelling, creativity, technology & big ideas.. reach out to Angelo and his awesome Bang Media team.

#plastermetalcladding #cairns #townsville