This is a custom designed commercial warehouse we designed to suit the needs of our client: http://ift.tt/1P0f20y

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Here’s an interesting design and addition to an existing premises that we completed in Northward http://ift.tt/1EUFWH2

We are on facebook, instagram & twitter

We've changed our name from Dan Thomson Architectural Drafting to ETCHD Building Design. New name, same passion & commitment we have always provided our clients! http://ow.ly/WcM0C

We are on facebook, instagram & twitter

This two storey residential project that was designed by Etchd here in Townsville encompasses clean lines, strong features and a stunning aspect over the water: http://ift.tt/1LMGBqo

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Check out these 5 top tips for a more energy efficient home design! http://ow.ly/U4XFn

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Let us remember everyone who has served this country today #remembranceday

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Our experts provide building design in new homes, & renos of existing homes, multi-dwelling designs, & commercial offices, shops, or sheds. We can create plans for builders or developers. http://ift.tt/1GWWMWK #buildingdesign #etchd #newhome #renovation #commercialdesign

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We have won numerous awards for our work in the industry, including HIA North Queensland Residential Building Design of the Year – North Queensland 2 years in a row! Check out our website for more!

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This family home at Springbrook Parade, Fairfield Waters balances living spaces with a focus on open entertaining for the family that enjoy the outdoors: http://ift.tt/1ROP3La

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Designing the commercial fire station at the Townsville Airport had a lot of considerations to account for. The finished product is one of form and function that accommodates the custom needs for what can be a challenging work environment: http://ift.tt/1Ooj6Lg

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Another residential design. This striking design can be found at Lakeland Boulevard, Fairfield Waters:http://ift.tt/1JInNYp

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Residential building design at Goicoechea Drive, Bushland Beach: http://ift.tt/1LAPAjv

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This commercial design was created for the dynamic legal offices of Fredericks Heywood in the CBD. The style creates impact with statement pieces like the slab of local Mango wood #commercialdesign #etchdbd

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This is a custom designed commercial warehouse we designed to suit the needs of our client: http://ift.tt/1P0f20y

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Here’s an interesting design and addition to an existing premises that we completed in Northward http://ift.tt/1EUFWH2

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We've Changed Our Name! http://ow.ly/RMACO

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This build was a challenge because we had to navigate a particularly difficult fall and services that ran through the middle of the main pad. The outcome was something that the builder who constructed this structure was able to enter into the QLD master builders awards and was awarded second place against larger builders in the industry. He attributed the high placing to the quality of the design and the great relationship between the builder and designer to create such a stand out home. See more: http://ift.tt/1EElbQ2

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PROJECT SNAPSHOT: Dalle Court Financial Services Dalle Cort Financial services building located at 221 Ross River Road. It was the intent to share clients with the neighbouring building who are accountants and a walkway between both buildings was essential. The design of the building was important to to maintain the corporate style and identity that the business was know for. They wanted an open working floor layout, boardroom, 4 meeting rooms with additional meetings rooms for banking brokers on site. An entry and foyer that was spectacular and made clients feel at ease. It was suggested at the time to design a two storey building with carparking on the ground floor. With that brief in mind, we set out and designed the perfect building that accommodated all of our clients needs successfully.

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Townhouse / Villa Development: Macrossan Street, South Townsville. The design of these units was to incorporate an innovative, energy efficient and be contemporary design that would blend in with the older suburb. The orientation of this design was imperative to have both units overlooking their own private courtyards. This elegant design offers great street appeal with the entry identified by stone cladded blockwork at the crossover. There is enough space for visitors to park their vehicles on site and reverse to exit the site safety. www.etchdbd.com.au

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Based on Ogden Street in Townsville’s CBD, company directors Dan Thomson and Ben Crow both bring different skills to the table to deliver high levels of quality, creative thinking and outstanding attention to detail. The team at Etchd unique expertise and industry knowledge drives their ultimate focus which creates an environment where people feel at home in building their dream. Contact us today www.etchdbd.com.au

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Stockland North Shore's sales office, designed by ETCHD Building Design

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#etchdbd

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A big thank you to everyone who has given us nothing but positive feed back on the new name. Why the new name and what is the meaning behind it? Some of you have asked. Well we chose the word 'Etched' and being the trendsetters we are we dropped the 'e' for aesthetic reasons and spelling words incorrectly is cool. Etched or ETCHD has a few definitions but two that stood out for us were 1. Cause to stand out or be clearly defined or visible. 2. (of an experience, image, etc.) be permanently fixed in someone's memory. "the design of our house will remain etched in the minds of all who visit it" Another aspect of the word ETCHD that we liked is the the letters T & C sit proudly together with both letters representing our two founding directors last names Thomson and Crow, hence the reason they are in black while the remaining letters are in yellow. Also as Max De Pree (CEO of Herman Miller) once said "We cannont become what we want to be by remaining what we are." Thank you again and we are looking forward to what the future holds.

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Hi All We are very excited to announce that Dan Thomson Architectural Drafting has been redesigned! Our new name is ETCHD Building Design. We are still the same friendly building design company run by Directors Dan Thomson and Ben Crow. Our talented staff of building designers are eager to step up and be a part of our bright new future and bring our clients designs that will be forever Etchd in time. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the last decade. We are more determined than ever to provide you all with dedicated service and look forward in growing our business into the future. Thanks The team at ETCHD Building Design

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There are a few options available to build within your budget. These include project homes made from off-the-shelf designs & design & build packages that include all costs from the build through to the design. You can also choose an architect for a custom designed home.

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What’s the most important thing what choosing a builder for your new home?

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No one likes nasty surprises, that’s why a fully costed job outline is supplied before the job starts so there’s nothing unexpected to worry about.

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Lower rates make it easier to borrow & leads to increased activity in the housing market. The new record low interest rate could cut your mortgage payments and give great access to the housing market. http://ift.tt/1E31kDH

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We're currently updating our website - here's a sneak peak!

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This Panorama Court property was a striking design with bold colours overlooking magnetic island and set against Castle Hill.

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The NEW North Shore - There’s more to life Display Village opens this Saturday at 10am, with the Display Village Grand Opening Extravaganza kicking off at 5pm. Dan Thomson Architectural Drafting designed the new Stockland North Shore Lands Sale Office so come out and have a look. The new display village is located at 126 Sunhaven Boulevard, Burdell. See you there!

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What’s the most important thing when choosing a builder for your new home? Previous builds, quality of finishes, capabilities of past projects or cost?

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Here's an interesting design that our team recently addressed with a home on a sloping side block. We decided to reposition it on the pad to save costs for our client, while maximising the view.

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Our team recently addressed a home with a sloping side block. We decided to reposition it on the pad to save costs for our client, while maximising the view

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All the best to the North Queensland Cowboys tonight and for the entire NRL season, top 8 finish for sure. COWBOYS!

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Previous design highlight: Dalle Cort Building on Charters Towers Rd. Conversion and design from an existing structure to modern and multi-use offices. http://ift.tt/1wZ72mV

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Considering orientation

Good orientation, combined with other energy efficiency features, can reduce or even eliminate the need for auxiliary heating and cooling, resulting in lower energy bills, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved comfort. It's important to take account of summer and winter variations in the sun’s path as well as the direction and type of winds, such as cooling breezes. 

Things to consider when planning your home design include:

Orientation of the main living areas towards the north.

Glazing used to trap the sun´s warmth.

Thermalmass to store the heat from the sun.

Insulation to reduce heat loss or heat gain.

Ventilation to capture cooling breezes.

A good orientation will allow better use of the sun’s path and natural breezes which heat or cool the home. Active spaces like living, kitchen and dining should face north to take full advantage of this.

Good orientation for passive cooling keeps out unwanted sun and hot winds while ensuring access to cooling breezes. A degree of passive cooling is required in most Australian climates but in hot humid climates, orientation should aim to exclude direct sunlight and radiant heat (from nearby structures) at all times of the year while maximising access to cooling breezes.

Talk to us about the best positioning and advice for your design.

"Are you having trouble sketching out a floor plan? Try this app which allows you to trade your tape measure for your iPhone to automatically scan walls and draw your floor plan. RoomScan - The app that draws floor plans by itself by Locometric http://ift.tt/1JL11W7"

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Meet the team: Ben Crow Ben has enjoyed a passion for graphics since an early age and now turns the pair’s ideas into accurate drawings. His enthusiasm regularly sees him inspecting new homes and display villages, which keeps him on-top of current trends and styles and allows him to step away from standard designs. http://ift.tt/1vopdai

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Renovation & Extension: behind the scenes

Renovating your home can be a big job. Lucky for our client Lucy, who is blogging about their renovation and extension, her husband is also the builder on the project (Andrew Cato, Cato Constructions). 

Her blog chronicles the ups, downs and the reasons behind layout decisions. It's a fascinating peek behind the scenes at the process once the plans are on their way to becoming reality. The project should be completed in five weeks so if you're about to embark on a similar process or curious to see how it all turns out, you can see the blog here. 

Here's a sneak peak from Lucy's blog:

Welcome to my small space on the internet. This little blog is my journey through my indecisions on our home renovation which I hope turns a sharp 180deg and re-routes down the “you’ve got this in the bag” mental pathway to produce an excellent result on our family home. In turn, I hope you find this read amusing and a good resource for ideas, materials and suppliers for when your turn comes to renovate.

Contact us for renovation, extension or new home design.

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What is the "Queenslander" style of building? This style was originally developed in the 1840’s to survive the wet climate. Queenslander homes are still constructed today, displaying a long lasting durability and practical design. Click through for more... http://ift.tt/1FFG1u1

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Understanding Architecture: What Style of Home Do You Have?

Queenslander architecture is a distinct and unique style originating from Queensland. This style was originally developed in the 1840’s to survive the wet climate.  Queenslander homes are still constructed today, displaying a long lasting durability and practical design. Key features:

• Primarily of timber construction and can be low or high-set, one to two storeys.
• They are typically “tripartite” in sectional composition; underfloor (stumps), primary rooms (can be two levels), and the roof.
• The house is raised off the ground, held up by vertical stumps that give the appearance that the house is ‘floating’.  This is both a stylistic and practical design to accommodate to areas prone to flooding.
• All Queenslanders have one or more veranda spaces (a sheltered edge of the house that is typically only part-enclosed and can be used as another living area).
• The roof is quite large and can be made of slate or tiles, but most Queenslanders are characteristically sheeted with corrugated metal.

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There're lots of styles of homes to choose from. When it comes to deciding the best style to suit your needs, climate, outlook, and the space you've selected, talk to Dan Thomson Architectural Drafting.

Planning for your new house design

Thinking about your new home? Here's five ways you can discover some really great home designs to get inspired and get organised so that when you're ready, you'll be able to communicate your design to get the perfect end product:

1. Inspiration board apps: these days there's lots of different apps out there that help you discover inspiring designs and organise them into separate boards to distill your ideas into things such as facade, living areas, finishes, colours etc. The main players in this market include Pinterest, Houzz and Flipboard.

2. Photo folder: You know that house you always drive past? Snap a pic of it and add it to a folder on your computer labeled "home design". Keep adding pictures when you see homes, rooms, features and designs that interest you. This will give you a great repository of images that you can examine to determine what elements of these you might want to incorporate in your design.

3. Lists: What's the top 10 must have things you want in your new home design? What finishes and features are you most interested in using? Think about floor size for each of the main rooms, energy efficiency, living vs outdoor areas. Actually getting these things down on paper will help you qualify elements and discover other important factors in your new home design.

4. Sketch it out: you might not be the best draftsman, but it's important that you have a basic plan in your head of how you want the different areas of your house design to interact. Do you want a large open plan living area or are outside and bedroom spaces more important? When you understand these ideas, even on a basic level, it will help you communicate your design requirements better.

5. Examine your block: Your design has to fit the land you have and be responsive to your future needs - if you're not ready to put a pool in now, make sure you've planned services to avoid the future pool area and position the house pad to give enough room. Considering things like breeze, light and elevation can have a big impact on how comfortable, and how efficient a house can be.

These are just a few ways you can prepare and make sure you get exactly what you want when you're designing your new home. For more information, contact Dan Thomson Architectural Drafting.

If you need some inspiration, check us out on Houzz http://ift.tt/1A3sn5l

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