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The interior of both units speak: for themselves ith very modern w ng pi slo gh hi m 6 5 ceiling.
ow long have you been operating? My business, GW & SL Spalding, is in and always has been in the building trade. My wife and I moved back to Port Macquarie after around 17 years in Sydney and started up our building business in the Hastings, as we thought this was and is a great growth area. What are the types of building that you specialise in? We specialise in all types of building, from the small insurance job up to building family homes and town houses. We do a lot of pergolas, decks, additions and alteration work as well; this keeps us busy most of the time. What are some of the featured design elements of these units? These units are unique in as much as the outside design feature, bricking up to the top of window heights and weather board cladding to eave, giving the outside a real modern look. This, along with the skylight windows at the front of the skillion roof, create a different facade. The interior of both units speak for themselves: very modern, with 5 - 6 m high sloping ceilings, an open plan living area and large kitchens. This, together with the main bedrooms’ open ensuite,
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add to the uniqueness of the design. If potential owners have specific requirements, do you accommodate, and are your designs flexible? Myself, wife Sharon and Josh, the main carpenter, along with Mark from Plumbing Experience, who are specialist roofers and plumbers, accommodate all designs and are flexible in our approach to home owners’ wants and needs when it comes to building. We work closely with Architect Steve Lockhart of ArchiEco, who is very versatile in his design. His work is relatively user friendly, which makes our job just that bit easier. Steve puts it all together for you and is there every step of the way, from design to completion if needed. How do we go about commissioning you to build for us? What is the process? Just give us a call, and we will come out and give you a free quote on whatever building work you need. You can contact either myself on 0405 701 340 or Mark on 0412 758 627. If you want, we can also sit down with our Architect or draftsman to go over your next building project. By using only the best trades and suppliers in the local area, you are assured a top quality job, on time and on budget every time. Thanks Greg, Josh and Mark.
A word from Designer Steve Lockhart The Kingfisher Road Duplex Project is part of a longer term property investment strategy. Prior to this site being selected, we carried out some feasibility studies on a couple of other vacant sites. During this process, we had the assistance of Builder Greg Spalding to carry out budget estimates for the construction, while the Developers crunched the numbers and did some early stage talking with their bank. This project was planned just after the GFC and was ready to go as soon as some stability had returned. It was also recognised that constructing in quieter times can offer some advantages, with some more competitive pricing by the trades and the ability to have trades available and flowing better on site. Greg Spalding ran the job very efficiently and completed on time and on budget. The main goal was to construct a duplex development whose rental return stacked up, rather than marketing two dwellings for sale in a flat market. Therefore, the property would become part of a portfolio of investment properties, with the opportunity of returning a capital gain in more buoyant times.
This north to rear corner site allowed us to place all of the living spaces to the north, leading out onto some lovely sunny decks. Internally, these duplexes really do impress. Open space living, dining, kitchen spaces enjoy raking ceilings that provide some nice internal volume to these spacious layouts. Kitchens, bathrooms and ensuites also provide some innovative ideas that will appeal to those who like something not so ordinary. My design goals aim for an outcome that is simple, functional, interesting, cost and energy efficient. For me, the built environment, including the homes we live in, should have ‘triple bottom line’ outcomes. By this, we mean that our buildings must be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. They need to tick these three boxes. Environmentally, with efficient material and energy use. Socially, in providing accommodation that suits a particular market and is pleasant to live in. And economically sustainable, in that the project is a strong long term investment for the owner, or delivers a reasonable return for an investor. This project achieves all of these outcomes.