Shrink Wrap – Sydney Aquarium Shark Tank

Recently Stronghold Hire were engaged to provide containment for paint and blast at Sydney Aquarium. Sydney Aquarium is one of Sydney’s top tourist attractions. It is a public Aquarium that has over 700 species of aquatic life. Located in Darling Harbour, it’s a must see for anyone visiting Sydney.

Shrink Wrapped Shark Tank!

We have been asked to provide scaffolds at the Aquarium in the past but this time it was our shrink wrap service that was required. The client required walkways to be blasted and painted, part of their ongoing maintenance being so close to the salt water. The fun part yet scary part of this project was that the walkways were directly over the SHARK TANK!!!

This area is very sensitive, the water below the walkway is regularly tested, flushed, filtered, and treated to maintain the very best environment for the sharks. Any contaminants entering the water could be extremely harmful, so it was important that the blasting process was contained correctly.

The Shrink Wrap Process

We used the existing handrails of the walkways to erect a scaffold frame with suitable head clearance. We worked on ideas with the blasting contractors who decided on a large plywood skirt fitted to the outside of the walkway up turns using the existing fastening positions. This method meant that they were able to get access to as much of the structure as possible to limit the amount of localised prep (grinding, sanding, etc).

Split Shifts For COVID Planning

With the aquarium needing 24-hour attention it was decided that the split the shifts due to COVID, with ‘Shift A’ given access Monday to Wednesday and ‘Shift B’ given access Thursday to Sunday. This way they could remain operational if one of the shifts had to go into isolation. This meant that we had to install in two stages, to ensure that we did not run over our allocated time slots.

Shrink Wrap To Contain The Dust

The remote location of the shark tank within the Aquarium meant that getting the right amount of dust extraction was extremely difficult. This put a little more pressure than desired on the shrink wrap encapsulation, however, after a test run and a few minor alterations the containment held strong and the project was another success.

No Scaffolder Was Hurt In The Making Of This Shrink Wrap Project

I think our installers had a bit of fun with this one, having to work from a small boat at times, well within ‘biting’ distance! Luckily the sharks are well fed there and had no intentions of eating a scaffolder and no scaffolder was hurt in the making of this shrink wrap project!

If you need any shrink wrap services for an upcoming project – be it for boat shrink wrap or vaccination center shrink wrapping give us a call now on 02 89852020 or contact us online for more info!