Most people in the Portsmouth area have heard of New Franklin School, one of Portsmouth’s 3 public elementary schools. But the original “Franklin School”, now a residential building, is on Maplewood Avenue, just up the hill from Dennett Street. Last year, Mike Brown, a longtime Ricci Lumber customer, purchased what was once the playground of the old Franklin School and built a single-family home on the site with his company, MB2 Development, LLC. Since the zoning of the neighborhood is in the City’s historic district, Brown had to present his plans and receive approval from the Historic District Commission and indeed, the exterior of the building looks historic.
The interior is classic contemporary according Jeanne Hayes of the Design Center at Ricci Lumber, who designed much of the home’s interior. “With its downtown location, I really wanted the interior of the home to be a calming influence that would represent timeless elegance. Even though the home is large, it definitely feels warm and comfortable. Mission accomplished.”
Many of the products used in the new home were sourced through Ricci Lumber, to include:
Nordic open web floor trusses, Zip Plywood and Advantech by Huber, Certainteed Roof Shingles, Maibec Cedar Siding, Thermatru Prefinished Exterior Doors, Andersen 400 Series Black Exterior-Black Interior Windows, Kleer PVC Trim, 1-3/4” x 7/0’ Masonite Interior MDF Doors, Windsor Interior Molding, Wickham Engineered 7” wide White Oak Flooring, Emtek Locksets, Showplace Cabinetry and LG Quartz Countertops.
Mike was thankful for the help he received from Ricci staff members. “When MB2 starts a project, it likes to add good teammates to our projects and Ricci fits the mold very well from frame to finish. They seem to have all the bases covered with their Yard, Front Desks, Millwork, Design Center and certainly last, but not least, a helpful Billing Department. Their team helps our team to become a stronger organization. Thank you,
Ricci, for helping make another MB2 project a success with your teamwork!”
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- Post written by Ed Hayes