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Abacus Engineering

Surveying & Engineering
Auckland
5.0
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1 Review
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2 Jobs completed
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Cross-Laminated Timber Garage / Sleepout on Waiheke Island
Cross-Laminated Timber Garage / Sleepout on Waiheke Island
Inside Cross-Laminated Timber Garage / Sleepout on Waiheke Island
Inside Cross-Laminated Timber Garage / Sleepout on Waiheke Island
Construction Observation for new Hospitality Venue at St Lukes Mt Albert Church
Construction Observation for new Hospitality Venue at St Lukes Mt Albert Church
Strengthening of Whangamata Surf Life Saving Club
Strengthening of Whangamata Surf Life Saving Club
Site for temporary canopy for repairs on Great Barrier Island
Site for temporary canopy for repairs on Great Barrier Island
About

Our director Mike Lake has been a registered Engineer since 1976. He previously ran Lake Engineering Consultants from --- . Following the closure of Lake Engineering, Abacus Engineering Ltd was formed. Highlights from Mike's extensive career include Principal Consultant for the highly successful New Zealand Expo Pavilion at the 1992 World Expo in Seville, Spain. He has also worked on historically significant buildings in Auckland's CBD such as the Imperial Hotel, Windsor Castle & the St Laurence House.

Abacus Engineering is primarily a structural engineering consultancy, while maintaining a broad capability across a range of specialised engineering disciplines. The Abacus Engineering team brings expertise in temporary structures (stages, tens & towers), forensic investigations, fatal accident reporting, and fire engineering, providing a well-rounded and highly experienced consultancy

Abacus Engineering has joined Builder's Crack in the hopes of meeting new clients and finding new work opportunities. We hope to provide services in a range of structural engineering issues whether it is advice or design for removal of load bearing walls, complicated extensions or strengthening of existing structures. With respect to Fire Services, our aim is to provide up to date advice and reporting on a range of commercial, residential and industrial businesses.

What we do
Architecture & Design, Residential Building, Management, Planning & Consent, Surveying & Engineering, Fire Services, Foundations
Areas served
Auckland, Franklin, Hauraki Islands, Manukau, North Shore, Papakura, Rodney, Waitakere, Waiheke Island
Business type
Company
Free quotes
Provided
Contact name & address

Kieran Lake

46F Stanley Street
Auckland CBD
Auckland 1010
Verification
Shield ID verified
Shield NZBN verified
Credentials
Trade licences
Chartered Professional Engineer
Insurance
Public Liability & Professional Indemnity
Projects
Tai Ping Supermarket – 203 Lincoln Road, Waitakere City.

Abacus Engineering was engaged as structural engineer for the conversion of an existing warehouse into a new Tai Ping Supermarket located on Lincoln Road, Henderson. Our key achievements included the design of a new, cost-effective mezzanine level for critical storage and office space, supported by shallow foundation pads to minimise site impact. A core challenge was strengthening the existing lightweight Posi-STRUT truss structure to meet new commercial loads. Our targeted design provided a safe, code-compliant solution without costly over-engineering. This project, one of five completed for the client in Auckland, demonstrates our ability to deliver practical, value-driven engineering for retail expansions.

Michael Jones Statue - Eden Park

Sir Michael Jones scored the first try at the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987 against Italy at Eden Park, New Zealand. This was photographed by Geoff Dale. His sculptress daughter Natalie Stamilla was commissioned by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) to create a bronze statue that was later erected at Eden Park that was 1 ½ times the life-size image and 1 ½ tonnes. Difficulties encountered during design was the single support at one end of the statue so that the stainless steel armature which goes through Michael’s wrist into the rugby ball had to be made from high-strength ductile stainless steel welded to hollow stainless tubes within the body. The prospect of half a dozen burly forwards from a local Super Rugby team hanging off the statue for photo opportunities meant Abacus Engineering Principal Mike Lake had to hold the line when the artist requested to make the wrists smaller. As of 2026, the statue which was up for sale for a brief amount of time, has now been bought by Eden Park with the help of sponsoring partner Coca-Cola and will continue to remain at Eden Park.

Red Bull Cliff Diving Platform

The Red Bull Dive Platform was a large temporary structure made from tube and clip scaffolding. The Red Bull Cliff Diving Event was located on the Princess Wharf in downtown Auckland during the weekend of 27 – 28th January 2024. The scaffold tower was 27m tall and clad with impermeable material to provide advertising for Auckland Council. It was an octagonal shape in plan measuring 9m x 9m from opposing octagon edges. The tower contained several stairs with 4 dive platforms cantilevered off one side at heights of 6m, 10m, 21m & 27m, with each board being longer than the one below. Initially the client informed Abacus Engineering that there would be no cladding on the diving boards, which would reduce the torsional effect on the tower. However as the project progressed, they wanted to utilise this space for advertising. These were 750mm deep and increased the torsional wind load on the tower. Abacus Engineering used a complicated model in multiframe to check the structure for overloading (see picture of model below). Many tonnes of ballast was required to keep the structure from overturning or twisting due to the exposed site. Mike Lake the director of Abacus Engineering was on top of the tower as the platforms were craned into place

88 Wairau Road - Reclad

This stylish commercial unit was a rebuild and upgrade of an existing small office attached to a warehouse. The building is located on Wairau Road in Wairau Valley and was an urgent project following the January 2023, Anniversary Weekend floods. Wairau Valley was significantly impacted. The owner of this building thought it would be a good chance to give the upstairs and facade a facelift. Abacus did the structural work and fire report. Major leaks prior to the flood had led to deterioration of the existing framing. Auckland Council allowed us to mark the frames which were decayed and after reinspection we instructed the builder to replace the timber and relined with Gib Fyreline to improve the fire rating. The upstairs space had its bracing system redesigned and strengthened to accommodate the new upstair office layout. The upper floor was redesigned to support a new cantilevering canopy over the front door, replacing the former canopy which had failed. This turned out to be a very successful and rather handsome small project built in a short time frame. In 2026 the building exists as a coffee roastery for “New Grounds” coffee. The production occurs out the back which was largely untouched by Abacus, however the stylish shop front that is street facing are the upgrades Abacus Engineering were involved in.

CLT Garage / Sleepout - Waiheke Island

2025 This one-bedroom sleepout and garage at an existing property on Waiheke Island was proposed to be constructed out of CLT (cross laminated timber). Abacus Engineering initially undertook the design in 2022 and a building consent was obtained, however the old owners decided to sell and thus the project was never completed. In 2025 Abacus Engineering were contacted by Fitzjames Construction who were assisting the new owners to complete the project. Cross laminated timber (CLT) is an emerging wood engineered product. By laminating sheets of timber in alternating directions, it allows to overcome the critical weakness of timber which is being weak against the direction of the grain. This allows for a high strength timber product to be achieved which can be more cost effective than other alternatives like steel & concrete. CLT floor panels are strong enough to act as structural members. Panels interlock with one another which also allows for fast construction and assembly. The final product has a nice dressed timber finish on both the floors, walls and ceiling. As all the CLT sheets are pre-fabricated before being transported to site, accuracy of dimensions is crucial. Changes in panel widths due to lap lengths from 2022 to 2025, including direction of the floor panels, meant a large proportion of the calculations had to be amended for what was a small change. As CLT is still an emerging product, the design phase is yet to be streamlined and the calculations are more time consuming and complicated than other timber structures.

Verified work reviews
Verified work rating 5.0
Verified work rating 5.0
Quality of work
5.0
The quality of workmanship provided
Cost
5.0
How well they kept to the quoted cost
Schedule
5.0
How well they kept to schedule
Communications
5.0
Their professionalism and responsiveness

Review date: 14-07-2026

Fire Engineer Report
New Cladding Birkdale, North Shore
5.0

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent service. Keiran is professional, responsive, and delivered the fire assessment report promptly. Great communication throughout the process. Highly recommended.

Google reviews
Google review rating
4.9
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Chinara Sharshenova
1 week ago

Reply: Thanks Chinara

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Richard Wilkinson
5 months ago

Have been using Abacus Engineering for over 10 years. very good company to work with and they always have practicality in mind when doing their design Richard Wilkinson WBC LTD Reply: Thanks Richard! We have enjoyed working with you over the past 10 years +

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David Evans
5 months ago

Have worked with Mike Lake Engineer owner of Abacus for over 25 years on our projects across NZ. Such a great inventive engineer along with his staff. Can’t recommend them enough! Reply: Thanks David, We always appreciate working with you.

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Bob Wilson
5 months ago

My go to engineering firm. They always take the time to fully understand the project and use-case to ensure we get the best results for both safety and keeping costs under control. Our first project with Mike and the team was back in 2010. Reply: Thanks Bob, always a pleasure to work with you!

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Justin Boyce
1 year ago

Great team to deal with, Mike's expert knowledge and friendly manner is second to none. Reply: Thanks Justin!

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ian ashton
2 years ago

Helpful, knowledgeable staff Reply: Thanks Ian

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