Behind The Scenes of Building The Ashton Residence

The architectural photographs of the Ashton Residence in Coolbinia have been really popular on Instagram, for all the good reasons.

Klopper and Davis Architects did an amazing job at designing it with the Ashton family, and Peter Douglas put all his expertise, passion and project management skills in play to build the Ashton family’s $2.5M dream home on time and within budget.

I sat down with Pete to get some behind-the-scenes information on how the project went. With a beaming smile on his face, this is how he recalled this building adventure:

“There was an existing house on the block which we demolished in December 2015. We started earthworks on the 15th January 2016, finished the whole project on the 20th September 2017.

Overall, we brought in 2,500 m3 of sand to build the block up to the right levels, because it’s on a slope with eight meters difference from the front to the back, so we had to dig it out and then build it back up. There’s more concrete, bricks and steel under the house than in the house itself.”

What challenges did you face?

“It’s a unique built so there were obvious concerns along the way. Klopper and Davis Architects did a great job on the drawings, so we knew we would overcome all of the challenges. Waterproofing was a major element because firstly, all the basement is completely underground, secondly because it’s on a hill, and of course the water runs downhill, and third because there’s a 130,000 litres pool up against the house. And that’s one of the main features of the house: a 25 metres lap pool running into a 3×3 metres kids pool.”

What was your favourite part of the job?

“One of my favourite part of the project was probably the timber work because I did that myself and that was very rewarding. Also I enjoyed working on the steel structure that I did myself.

On the job we also had 15 bricklayers, 7 concreters, steelworkers, earth workers, plasterers, renderers, texturers, carpenters, roof sheeters, tilers, specialised trades, plumbers, electricians, specialised metal workers. To be able to supervise them of course you have to know what they’re doing and what the building codes are in order to make sure they’re doing what’s required.”

Before and after progress photographs of the pool area of the Ashton Residence

 

What is your secret for being on time and within budget?

“Being a cost plus job it takes out a lot of the guess work for people quoting jobs. People are daunted by the set of plans so they just add a percentage on for the “what if” factor. You take that away with a cost plus contract. Whatever the costs, that’s what it costs. If someone is to quote you the concrete they would inflate the figure just in case they had any dramas. Whereas in this case if you had all the preparation work done for them, it’s probably less than what they would have normally charged. And that’s probably what it is. Because I was there all the time, preparing everything, people would just come in and do the work and then move on. There was a lot less cost. And that’s probably one of the biggest attribute why we were on budget and on time. Actually, before time. The contract was estimated at 500 working days to build it which equates to two years, but we finished in 18 months of real time.”

What do you love most about your job?

“I love this industry. It’s a hands-on job. Creating something out of nothing is a fantastic feeling and overcoming challenges is what keeps me going.”

We wish Pete all the success he deserves, and I look forward to seeing his new projects very soon.

Check out the full architectural photo gallery here.