IT'S orange. That's the first thing you notice about the slow reveal transformation of the Endeavour Place toilet block in Taree.
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But if you're a professional concreter, Tidy Up Taree organiser Graham Brown OAM, thinks there will be a second feature that will catch the eye when they look to the floor.
"Concreters will say, 'you can tell an accountant did that job'," he laughs. "But I promise, it's level!"
This week Graham and Colin Robb have had "a mad go" to concrete the floor of the toilet block and to build framework for wall panelling in a bid to get the public amenity open as soon as possible.
Graham says wet weather at the beginning of the Tidy Up Taree project created a few challenges and pushed the completion date into December. However, the announcement that Taree Powerboat Club would have its two-day club event on December 5 and 6 meant that extra hours were needed to be done by someone to try to get at least some of the toilets open.
Colin Robb stepped up to the carpentry challenge to get things ready for RSF Commercial Interiors and Graham decided to "move a few things around in his diary" to enable him to refine his concrete slab skills.
This week Graham says he thought he would be working in the air-conditioned comfort of his accounting firm, GBP Partners in Taree; not pouring and levelling concrete in a gutted toilet block.
"It's level, I promise! but that's what you get when you have to use volunteers to do trade work," he laughed.
Graham and Colin hope RSF Commercial Interiors will be panelling the walls today (Friday) with volunteers set to finish off painting and general tidying over the weekend.
"The final, final job will be to paint the floor and to put an epoxy resin on it," he explained.
Graham hopes the toilet doors will go on next week and says "they will be as vibrant as the outside of the building!"
He is looking forward to the completion of the project and says "community support has been phenomenal."
"So many people stop to comment on the work and say that it's long overdue, that work should have been done to improve the toilets years ago," Graham said.
"It's great that we can do something that will have a huge impact and it is very clearly supported and wanted by our community."
ainslee.dennis@fairfaxmedia.com.au