The Horse & Trap is a pub housed in a heritage building on Enfield Street in Mt Eden. Originally built as a store in 1914, the building was damaged by fire in 1927 and again in 1936. It was converted for use as a bar and restaurant in the early 1990s.

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We were engaged by the new building owner to bring the building up to 67% NBS. The client wanted to keep the middle floor, which houses the main bar, of this three-storey building open throughout the works and to retain the original features including old brick finishes on the interior.

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Benefits of having us on the team:

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• Strengthening the building without touching the middle floor, required us to innovate. We used fibre reinforced sprayed on concrete, a relatively new product to New Zealand, all around the building’s exterior to strengthen the brick walls. We had used this product once previously and it had worked well. We knew it would be an ideal part of the solution here.

 

• The client refurbished the building at the same time as the earthquake strengthening work was carried out. This included adding on a deck next to the main bar on the first floor. We partially used this new deck to brace the building.

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• All original features, including the old brick finishes were retained and the pub remained open throughout the works, allowing the client to earn money off his investment.