Steel Strong and Trendy In The Sunshine State

External feature walls made from COLORBOND® steel are emerging as a key trend in new homes being built in South East Queensland. John Franklin of Franklin Constructions says his company builds 25 to 30 homes a year in and around the Beaudesert Shire, about 64km south of Brisbane.

"More buyers are using steel to create striking features in their homes," John says. "COLORBOND® steel is ideal for exterior cladding, and some buyers are also requesting features made from LYSAGHT MINI ORB®."

Franklin Constructions is a family run business which sells off the plan and custom designed homes, and commercial buildings.

"Most of our work is custom designing three to five bedroom homes for people who come to us with a pencil sketch of what they want," John says.

Homes built by Franklin Constructions sell from A$130,000, take six weeks to design and 12 to 14 weeks to build.

The company, a member of the National Association of Steel Framed Housing (NASH), uses the LYSAGHT® Welded Steel Building Frame System, a termite resistant, high strength framing system that doesn't warp, twist or shrink.

"This system is ideal for wall, roof and floor frames in all of our residential and commercial projects," John says.

"We order the LYSAGHT® Welded Steel Building Frame System in standard [1.2mm] or stiffened plate [1.6mm] thicknesses, allowing us to build roofs with wider spans, and construct buildings that meet cyclonic wind loadings."

Franklin Constructions assembles the framing components using Henrob rivets in the company's 700 square metre workshop at Beaudesert.

"We pride ourselves on our ability to do most of the design, construction and fit out work in house," John says. "Unlike a growing number of builders, we don't rely solely on sub contractors to get the work done."

Franklin Constructions, which employs 13 people, won a 2002 regional Master Builders award in the A$200,000-A$250,000 category, for a home using fencing and roofing made from steel.

Franklin Constructions is also a dedicated user of rainwater goods made from BlueScope Steel products.

"We've been using BlueScope Steel products for 30 years, and have always been happy with their consistency and quality," John says.

Franklin Constructions is a member of the STEEL BY™ Brand Partnership Program.

"We wanted to align our company and its quality products with the reputation of Australia's largest steel manufacturer, and the STEEL BY™ Brand Partnership Program allows us to do that," John says.

"We use the STEEL BY™ stickers on all our frames to show we proudly support Australian made steel."

For more information contact:
John Franklin
Franklin Constructions
Ph: 07 5541 1301
www.franklinsteelhomes.com.au