Stage 2 Rydges Mackay Suites
Project Overview
“We couldn’t have asked for a better contractor.”
High praise indeed from the manager of Rydges Mackay Suites, following a complete repaint of the busy seven-storey hotel located in Mackay’s city heart.
Painting a 90-suite facility inside and out is one thing. Doing it while the premises is operating around the clock is another entirely.
According to Rydges manager Armie Astridge: “The professionalism was top notch, in addition to work that was very well executed.
“We have had a lot of tradespeople on site during 12 months of renovations and I think we would have to place Grant Painters’ level of communication at the top.
I don’t think we could have asked for a better contractor.”
Following the successful completion of an internal repaint as well as rooftop waterproofing in Stage One, Grant Painters returned to the 4.5-star waterfront hotel to deliver the second and final stage of a 12-month refurbishment program – a full exterior repaint.
A regional silver medal winner in the 2025 Queensland Tourism Awards, Rydges offers 24-hour service for business and leisure guests. The premises remained fully operational at about 80 per cent occupancy throughout the works, adding to the challenge.
Apart from the live hotel environment, the project involved significant technical demands, with more than 50 per cent of the painting completed on “spider lifts” perched on suspended slabs.
At one point, one of these specialist elevated work platforms had to be set up on a such a slab atop an adjacent building (supported by a network of Acrow props underneath) to access parts of the hotel’s northern exterior.
Challenges and solutions
Above: Acrow props were installed in the car park of an adjoining building to ensure an overhead suspended slab could handle the weight of an elevated work platform, and below: a Grant Painters spider lift bridges the gap from the building to Rydges.
Maintaining normal hotel operations:
Working in a live hotel environment – in addition to onsite seasonal winds and rain – demanded constant planning and adaptability.
The building was divided into 16 vertical “drops”, allowing crews to work methodically from the roof down while limiting the number of guest rooms temporarily taken out of service at any one time.
Access across the seven-storey facade required up to three elevated work platforms operating simultaneously, while specialist abseilers were engaged to complete a section of the front of the building.
According to Grant Painters Major Projects foreman Nathan Booth: “We were working in a wind corridor, so that was also a significant challenge.
“The building is beside the water and is one of the highest structures in Mackay, making it exposed,” he said.
“We were working out of boom lifts and on the balconies. When the boom bucket was being buffeted too much, the job had to be managed so there was always other work to move onto.”
Rather than allowing the weather to dictate progress, the crew planned each day around the conditions. Spraying was typically completed during the calmer early morning hours, while masking, taping and preparation work filled the afternoons when the sea breezes strengthened.
This flexible approach ensured productivity continued even when wind prevented work at height.
The hotel’s exterior received a contemporary refresh in Benjamin Moore’s Balboa Mist, replacing the tired existing coat with a clean, modern palette. Black window frames and handrails provided striking contrast, with the handrails finished using an HVLP spray gun to achieve a durable, mirror finish.
Above: Abseilers were brought in to complete the front of the building.
Access:
As outlined earlier, one of the project’s most technically demanding tasks involved positioning spider lifts on the rooftop car park of a neighbouring two-level building, which shares a carpark entrance with Rydges.
From this elevated position, the machines were able to span across to sections of the hotel’s northern side that would otherwise have been difficult to access.
Because the spider lifts operated on a suspended slab supporting the neighbouring building’s upper-level car park, structural engineers were engaged to assess the loading requirements. An extensive network of Acrow props was then installed beneath the slab to provide support.
The props were regularly inspected and tightened throughout the project to account for vibration from the machinery, ensuring the work could proceed safely.
Working in the shared access area also required careful coordination to minimise disruption to hotel guests and neighbouring businesses.
“Although we had to close the car park a couple of times, we generally worked on days when demand for parking was relatively low, such as Monday and Tuesday between 10am and 2pm,” said Nathan.
In total there were around 80 parking bays, so there was plenty of scope for disruption if the timing wasn’t right.
“It took a lot of careful planning and managing to ensure that no guests were caught in the car parks while the painting was under way,” said Ms Martin.
Site management also extended to a day-long shutdown of an Optus antenna attached to the hotel while the team painted around the structure. Permits meanwhile had to be obtained to close sections city footpaths (Gregory and Woods streets) to safely manage pedestrian access during parts of the project.
Above: An HVLP spray gun was used to achieve a durable, two-pack mirror finish on black door and window frames.
Above: Meticulous attention to preparation, and below, the results.
Above: A perfect mirror finish on the frames.
The exterior work completes the full building repaint.
Stage one incorporated the painting of 90 rooms and hallways, and waterproofing work on the seventh-storey roof.
A five-coat system was applied to this area including hydrostatic primer, two acrylic polyurethane topcoats, and a UV-resistant, trafficable membrane for safe foot traffic and longevity.
All perimeter areas were bandaged, and over 150 hours of work was completed over three weeks.
Grinding machines with industrial vacuums ensured dust control during surface prep, with surfaces misted before priming for optimal adhesion. Hard-to-reach places, such as under pipes, had to be grinded by hand.
Above: Following extensive prep work, a five-coat waterproofing system was applied to the rooftop.
In addition, the team carried out a critical repair to the expansion joint at the ramp leading into the Level One car park.
The joint – measuring 80mm wide and 8 metres long – was suspected of leaking and required remediation to ensure long-term durability and waterproofing integrity.
Results
Hotel Manager Armie Astridge said that being able to keep the hotel operating during the repaint was a critical component of the project’s success.
“Nathan from Grant Painters is an excellent communicator. Organising the exterior into 16 ‘drops’ so that we only had to close six rooms at a time worked really well.
“Part of this came down to the fact that he was very time conscious, and worked around our schedule, which was appreciated.”
The Project at a Glance
Client: Rydges Mackay Suites
Scope: Full interior and exterior repaint (Stage One – 90 rooms + hallways; Stage two – exterior)