Shiver Me Timbers helps bring Portsea Pub back to life

The long-overdue Portsea Hotel refurbishment on the Mornington Peninsula took six months and was completed in December. The $7 million facelift has transformed the 142-year-old pub with a contemporary image and Accurate customers Shiver Me Timbers were a major supplier. Spotted gum was used in the construction of the decking, 68 x 19 blackbutt battens for the pergola at the rear and 488 square metres of recycled messmate was chosen for the floors. The company’s Directors, Mark Snow and Sam Lewis are understandably very proud of the result, even if the messmate did require a little discussion.

“Messmate is a naturally featured timber with prominent crimson coloured gum-veins and quite stark knots, which is what the client was looking for from the outset,” Mark says. “At the time of installation of the flooring, they decided on less featured boards for the more open large areas and they went with the heavily featured wood for other spaces. The result is spectacular throughout.”

The use of recycled wood was an important element of the refurbishment, as Sam explains. “Given that it’s such an old property, the use of repurposed timber is a way to reflect the pub’s history and retain its traditional character. The wood we used came from reclaimed roof purloins from demolished houses, and now it gets to live on in this revitalised building for many more decades.”

Project Managers, Directitude visited the Shiver Me Timbers showroom to view what was on offer. “They were pleased with what we could supply and since we’d worked with them before, they knew we could deliver exactly what they wanted, on time and perfectly finished,” Mark says.

Coming up for Shiver Me Timbers is the next phase of the Lendlease Docklands North Wharf development. Having supplied timber for the whaler beams, timber fascia, seating and other fixtures of the forecourt for one of the initial stages, Mark and Sam look forward to their company’s continued involvement. “It’s so satisfying,” Sam explains. “We very much enjoy seeing our product performing so well – aesthetically and functionally – outdoors in these high-profile locations.

Shiver Me Timbers purchases a range of products from Accurate Australia and Mark and Sam agree that the service, communication and advice they receive from their Accurate rep is invaluable. “The visits have taught us how best to optimise the use and operation of our machines. Having such a dedicated supplier on board helps us to maintain our very high standards.”