Our Simpson Strong-Tie New Zealand branch was established in 2010 and helps provide Simpson Strong-Tie products to our friends in New Zealand. Recently, the branch had the opportunity to help a local scouts club build a new den to accommodate their growing club. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
In 2004, Simpson Strong-Tie acquired Quik Drive® fastening systems, a company based in Gallatin, Tennessee, USA. Quik Drive was available in New Zealand prior to the acquisition and has since continued to be distributed along with a wide range of Simpson Strong-Tie products following the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary of Simpson Strong-Tie in New Zealand in 2010. This product range now includes fasteners, mechanical and chemical anchors, lateral systems, powder-actuated tools, and connectors. The Simpson Strong-Tie sales team operates nationally and is backed with technical support and training experts to assist customers with specification and jobsite support.
The Motutara Waimauku Scout Group, a nonprofit group located in West Auckland, is home to 80 Keas, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers and many enthusiastic leaders and volunteers. Their group is part of the Scouts Aotearoa who form the largest informal education institution in New Zealand, serving more than 13,000 young people all across the country. The WSG’s purpose is to empower youth through adventurous experiences to lead lives that make a positive difference. They welcome all young people between the ages of 5–26 and are open to all genders, ethnicities, and religions.
The Motutara Waimauku Scout Group has been growing steadily and has now outgrown its little “den,” with well over 100 youth and leaders. Five years of persistence and planning have placed their new den site on its forever home on council land at the top of Pollard Lane in Waimauku. Because WSG are a nonprofit group, they rely heavily on local and regional support to enable them to complete these projects, so when they received the rebuild plans and could see that the structural elements were using Simpson Strong-Tie HTT4 tension ties, they reached out to us directly.
Their structural engineer had specified Simpson Strong-Tie HTT4 heavy-duty tension ties as part of a strong cross-bracing system for their rebuild project after fire damage. The manager contacted us to say they require 32 total brackets and wondered if Simpson Strong-Tie New Zealand would be able to help as they rely heavily on local and regional support to complete the project. We were happy to donate the products and help them out.
We donated 32 HTT4 tension ties as requested. The HTT is designed for heavy‑duty holdown applications on single or double studs and offers a solution for resisting tension loads. These holdowns provide high-strength, post-pour, concrete-to-steel connections. The HTT is also suitable for residential and commercial projects, sub-diaphragm floors, seismic upgrades, and mid-floor vertical connection applications.
The scout group has now commenced the mammoth project of rebuilding the den to make it a space that the scouts and the community can be proud of. Structural work, replacing beams, and re-roofing are in progress. But there is still a huge amount to do — complete rewiring, plumbing, installing water tanks and septic systems, and painting, after which there will be the outdoor area, including the parking lot. They still have a long way to go and have a GoFundMe page to help raise needed money for the their new Scout den.
We are very proud to be supporting an organization that gives back to the local community and our youth.
The article, Contributing to a New Youth Scout Den in New Zealand, appeared first on Simpson Strong-Tie Building Strong Blog. To sign-up to receive the Building Strong Blog in your inbox, go to blog.strongtie.com. Copyright © 2023 Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. All Rights Reserved