I have been reading all Metricon threads religiously and following all the blogs! I thought it is about time I share some my building journey to help others building with their building.
As the title suggests we are building a Franklin 40 Resort (47 squares with modifications). We are building in the Northern Sydney suburbs. With a frontage of over 23m it was a challenge finding a house that can fit the block! This is our third and most likely forever home, Mr.F and I with the two kids decided to build our dream home + a pool.
We purchased a property in May 14 and rented it for 6 months. Signed contracts with M in May 15 and had all approvals/selection signed off by end of 2014. Knocked down in Feb 15 and handed over to M in Mar 15. Due to access issues post build and the pool only being 1.2m from the outdoor room, we had to install the pool in after site cut and piering by M. So M had to stop work and start again, albeit a few delays with the pool due to poor weather etc. M started on site again towards end of May 15. We are now almost at the end of the frame stage. SM advised frames will finish by mid this week and we should have the Hebel delivered this week
![Clap ::](./images/smilies/clap.gif)
Some details of the build
Main changes to the floor plan.
1) Added an guest bedroom on the ground floor with en-suite and WIR - mainly for my mum and MIL who stay with us. They can't really handle the stairs.
2) Increased the depth of the first floor at the back added an en-suite to 1 bedroom and WIRs to both bedrooms - Our not so little girl will have the bedroom with the en-suite and WIR and our son will have the other bedroom with the WIR.
3) Upgraded the outdoor room to the Grand outdoor room.
4) Increased ceiling height to 2.7m for both ground and first floor and door heights to 2340
5) Upgraded the stairs to semi-cantilevered with chestnut stain to match front door. Same as the Glendale display in ED Park. The stairs is a feature for Franklin so wanted something nice
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
6) Added a Butler's pantry
7) added shower to the powder room - given we have a pool, our "new friends"
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Ground floor Plans
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First floor plans
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As we preferred the rendered look and after much research we decided to go with Hebel through out the house.
Our façade
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External Selections
Roof tiles - Gunmetal
Gutters - Basalt
Eaves - Surfmist
Outdoor ceiling lining - Lexicon quarter
Main render/Garage/Fascia/Rainwater tank - Surfmist
Feature - Charcoal Light
Portico detached piers - Feature tile Belgique structured dark finish
Aluminium Windows/Doors - Citi
Garage Door Style - Tuscan long plank
Front door - Hume Savoy X26 with sidelights and Chestnut stain (translucent glazing)
Generally really happy with our decisions/selections. A few misses (don't we all have them...real first world problems!!!) and concerns are
1) Forgot to add a window to the garage - very silly but we have a door that leads to the side of the house from garage so not a huge issue!
2) Rebate the stacker doors - kicking myself for this as I read this in one of the blogs when our file had moved to construction and it was too late to add. Wish M had suggested this when we did our initial plans.
3) Room size - Mr F thinks I am nuts, I am keen to have a double bed and a study desk in the kids rooms and preferably a nice chair for them to sit and read (well more like play games on the ipad) a bit worried if a 3.22 x 3.77 and 3.32 x 3.77 rooms are bit too small for this. Given we have WIRs with sliding doors I think it should be ok, thoughts??
3) The opening adjacent to the stairs leading from entry to back of the house - The display homes (with similar stairs leading from the entry like Glendale, Hudson, Phoenix etc) have about a 1.3m opening that from the entry to the back of the house. We had incorrectly assumed our opening would be the same. When we saw the frames it looked like the opening was just over 1m. The wall behind the stairs is load bearing and cannot be shortened. This is how it is showed in the plans
![Shock :::](./images/smilies/Shok.png)
re issue 3) I would really appreciate if you are Glendale/Hudson/Phoenix and have done your plastering please let me know what your opening size is and if it is around 1m does it look small? Please post pics if you can. Those of you still finalising your plans, please check this. The plans don't specifically show the measurement for the entry so double check this.
Other handy hints/upgrades
1) When you do electrical make sure you reduce the height of the power points in bathrooms. They will install it at 1.8m or something above FFL which means it will be about 1m above the bench top.
2) Install power points inside vanity to charge tooth brushes, shaver etc.
3) We have added shelves to one side of the island bench on the end where there was no waterfall. I just loved that look in the M display home
4) added under-tile heating to master en-suite, daughter's en-suite, main bathroom, main living areas down stairs.
5) Used wall cavity spaces to add niches/shelves where possible.
6) add outdoor power points to use for x'mas lights and garden lights.
7) out door taps to the front and back (we added an extra one to the front)
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
I am sure there are few more....but can't think of them now.
We had a change in SM couple of weeks ago, so waiting to meet the new SM and for our walkthrough. Apparently the official 1st walkthrough will only be after Hebel is completed - is this is case for everyone else??
Next post to cover internal selections
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)