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Guides from a local builder

Straight-talking advice on granny flats, renovations and extensions — costs, council approvals and getting the most out of your block.

New Home Handover in NSW: Practical Completion, the Occupation Certificate and the Defects ListNew Homes

New Home Handover in NSW: Practical Completion, the Occupation Certificate and the Defects List

The last three weeks of a build produce more phone calls than the first three months. Most of them come from mixing up two dates that aren't the same thing: the day the house is finished and the day you're allowed to live in it.

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Owner-Builder or Licensed Builder in NSW: What the Permit Actually Signs You Up ForNew Homes

Owner-Builder or Licensed Builder in NSW: What the Permit Actually Signs You Up For

A bloke at Dapto had the permit, the white card and a spreadsheet that said he'd save a fifth of the build. Eight months later he rang me to take over at frame stage. This is the maths he hadn't done.

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How Long Does a Renovation Take, and Can You Live in the House Through It?Renovations

How Long Does a Renovation Take, and Can You Live in the House Through It?

The couple at Corrimal wanted one number: how long. The honest answer was two numbers, the weeks on site and the weeks before we start, and the second one was the bigger surprise.

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How Often Should You Oil a Deck, and When Is It Time to Sand It Back?Decking

How Often Should You Oil a Deck, and When Is It Time to Sand It Back?

Two decks we built the same month, three suburbs apart, came due for a re-oil eighteen months apart. Where the deck sits decides the schedule, not the calendar. Here's how to read yours.

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Sunroom Extensions: What Changes the Moment You Close In the PatioExtensions

Sunroom Extensions: What Changes the Moment You Close In the Patio

"We just want to put glass around the pergola." It sounds like the cheap version of an extension. Most of the time it is an extension, built on foundations that were never asked to hold a room.

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Pergola, Patio Roof or Verandah: What to Put Over the Back of the HouseDecking

Pergola, Patio Roof or Verandah: What to Put Over the Back of the House

A client in Woonona asked for a sheeted roof over her back patio. It would have looked great and turned her lounge room into a cave. What you put over an outdoor area is really a decision about the rooms behind it.

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Where You Actually Live While the House Is Being RebuiltNew Homes

Where You Actually Live While the House Is Being Rebuilt

A family in Woonona signed a twelve-month lease the same week we booked the demolisher. They moved twice. The rent was never the problem — the lease term was, and nobody had put the build program next to it.

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BASIX and the Energy Rating: What a New Home in NSW Has to ProveNew Homes

BASIX and the Energy Rating: What a New Home in NSW Has to Prove

A client sent me a plan he'd bought online and mirrored to suit his driveway. The mirror put the kitchen, the dining and the living room all facing west. Fixing that in glass would have cost more than redrawing it the right way round.

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Transportable or Site-Built? An Honest Comparison from Someone Who Builds on SiteNew Homes

Transportable or Site-Built? An Honest Comparison from Someone Who Builds on Site

We build on site, so read this knowing which side of the fence I'm standing on. That said, I've seen transportables work well on the right block, and I've seen people spend a year finding out theirs was the wrong one.

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Building on a Battle-Axe Block: What the Handle Does to Your HouseNew Homes

Building on a Battle-Axe Block: What the Handle Does to Your House

The land is behind another house and it's cheaper per square metre than the lot in front. That discount is real, and most of it is sitting in the strip of driveway you have to build before anything else happens.

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What's Actually in the Base Price: Reading a New Home Inclusions ListNew Homes

What's Actually in the Base Price: Reading a New Home Inclusions List

A couple in Figtree brought me two new-home quotes and asked which builder was cheaper. Neither, as it turned out. The whole gap sat in the tiling allowance and a driveway one of them had left off the list.

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Subdividing a Duplex in NSW: Torrens, Strata, and What Each One Costs You LaterNew Homes

Subdividing a Duplex in NSW: Torrens, Strata, and What Each One Costs You Later

A bloke I met at Unanderra had built a perfectly good duplex and then discovered he couldn't Torrens-title it, because both halves ran off one water meter and shared a stormwater line under the party wall. The design had made the decision for him.

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Site Costs on a New Build, and What the Allowance Is HidingNew Homes

Site Costs on a New Build, and What the Allowance Is Hiding

Two identical houses, two blocks four streets apart in Corrimal, and about thirty thousand dollars between them before either slab was poured. None of that difference was in the house. All of it was in the ground.

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The Knockdown Rebuild Process in NSW, From Decision to SlabNew Homes

The Knockdown Rebuild Process in NSW, From Decision to Slab

Everyone plans the house. Almost nobody plans the demolition. The gap between signing off on a design and standing on a cleared block is longer and fiddlier than people expect, and it's where most of the rebuild budget surprises live.

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Split Level Home Designs: How the Steps Actually WorkNew Homes

Split Level Home Designs: How the Steps Actually Work

Split level homes get quoted at ten to fifteen per cent above a flat-pad build. That figure is real and mostly useless, because on the blocks where a split makes sense, the flat-pad version doesn't exist at a comparable price either.

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Granny Flat Kits: What the Price Covers and What Lands on YouGranny Flats

Granny Flat Kits: What the Price Covers and What Lands on You

A kit advertised at $85,000 and a custom build quoted at $190,000 aren't two prices for the same thing. Here's what sits inside a kit price, what gets added later, and when a kit genuinely wins.

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How to Choose a Home Builder in NSW Without Getting BurntNew Homes

How to Choose a Home Builder in NSW Without Getting Burnt

Three quotes, three very different numbers, and no obvious way to tell which one is honest. Here's how I'd compare builders if I were the one signing, including the parts of a quote where the cheap number usually hides.

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Duplex Floor Plans: What Actually Works on a Real BlockNew Homes

Duplex Floor Plans: What Actually Works on a Real Block

Most people bring me a duplex plan they found online and ask what it would cost. Here's what I look at first, and why the garage usually decides the rest of the layout.

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Narrow Block House Designs That Actually WorkNew Homes

Narrow Block House Designs That Actually Work

On a skinny block the frontage isn't the number that matters. Here's how the buildable width, the driveway and the light decide the plan, and what tight access does to the build.

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CDC vs DA in NSW: Which Approval Do You Need?New Homes

CDC vs DA in NSW: Which Approval Do You Need?

Every job starts with the same fork in the road: complying development or a full DA. Here's what actually separates them, what pushes a block off the fast path, and where the Construction Certificate fits in.

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Building on a Sloping Block in the IllawarraNew Homes

Building on a Sloping Block in the Illawarra

How a sloping block shapes a new home in the Illawarra, the three ways to sit a house on a slope, and what the fall of the land really adds to the cost.

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How Long Does It Take to Build a House?New Homes

How Long Does It Take to Build a House?

How long a new home really takes from first sketch to handover, why the approval stage catches people out, and what quietly blows a build timeline out.

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How Much Does It Cost to Build a House in NSW?New Homes

How Much Does It Cost to Build a House in NSW?

A plain-English look at what it costs to build a new house in NSW in 2026, why quotes vary so much, and the site and soft costs that catch owners out.

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Is Your Block Right for a Duplex or Dual Occ?New Homes

Is Your Block Right for a Duplex or Dual Occ?

Some blocks suit a duplex or dual occ, and some that look perfect don't, for reasons you can't see from the street. Here's how to tell before you spend a cent on plans.

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Small Bathroom Renovation IdeasRenovations

Small Bathroom Renovation Ideas

A small bathroom doesn't have to feel cramped. The right layout, tiling and fixtures can make a tight space work harder, and here's how to plan it without wasting money.

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Knockdown Rebuild Cost in the IllawarraNew Homes

Knockdown Rebuild Cost in the Illawarra

A knockdown rebuild means keeping the block you love and starting the house fresh. Here is what it really costs in the Illawarra, and how to know if it beats renovating.

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How Long Does It Take to Build a Granny Flat?Granny Flats

How Long Does It Take to Build a Granny Flat?

Most granny flats in the Illawarra take about six to twelve months from first sketch to handover. Here's where that time actually goes, and what pushes it either way.

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Home Extension Cost per m² in NSWExtensions

Home Extension Cost per m² in NSW

Cost per square metre is a handy way to size up a home extension, but it is a starting point, not a fixed price. Here is what the rate covers, how single and double storey differ, and why your block moves the number.

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Renovating Kitchen & Bathroom at the Same TimeRenovations

Renovating Kitchen & Bathroom at the Same Time

If your kitchen and bathroom are both tired, doing them together usually costs less and takes less time than two separate jobs. Here is why, and how the trades line up.

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Dual Occupancy Designs for Illawarra BlocksNew Homes

Dual Occupancy Designs for Illawarra Blocks

Two homes on one block sounds simple, until the block starts making the decisions. Here's how attached, detached and corner-block dual occupancy designs actually play out on Illawarra land.

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How Much Does a Granny Flat Cost in NSW?Granny Flats

How Much Does a Granny Flat Cost in NSW?

A plain-English look at what a granny flat costs in NSW in 2026, and why two quotes for the same flat can land thousands apart.

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Granny Flat House Plans & Layouts That WorkGranny Flats

Granny Flat House Plans & Layouts That Work

Two granny flats can both hit 60 square metres and feel nothing alike. The plan is what makes one feel open and full of light and the other feel cramped, so here's how to get the layout right.

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Do You Need Council Approval for a Deck, Pergola or Carport?Decking

Do You Need Council Approval for a Deck, Pergola or Carport?

Not every deck, pergola or carport needs council sign-off in NSW, but plenty do. Here is how to tell which path your job falls under before you order the timber.

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Bathroom Renovation Cost: What to Budget in 2026Renovations

Bathroom Renovation Cost: What to Budget in 2026

Metre for metre, the bathroom is the most expensive room you'll renovate, and most of the cost hides behind the tiles. Here are honest 2026 ranges and what really moves the price.

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Custom Home vs Project-Home BuilderNew Homes

Custom Home vs Project-Home Builder

Two builders can look at the same block and offer you completely different things. Here's the real difference between a custom home builder and a project home builder, and when paying for custom actually pays off.

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Do You Need Council Approval for a Granny Flat in NSW?Granny Flats

Do You Need Council Approval for a Granny Flat in NSW?

CDC or DA? The two NSW granny flat approval paths explained in plain terms, with the key rules that decide which one your block needs.

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Granny Flat Size & Setback Rules in NSWGranny Flats

Granny Flat Size & Setback Rules in NSW

NSW caps a granny flat at 60m², and your block sets the setbacks and whether you need council or a certifier. Here is what those rules mean before you start on plans.

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Small Laundry Renovation IdeasRenovations

Small Laundry Renovation Ideas

Most small laundries were never really planned, just squeezed in by the back door. Here's how to make a tight one work harder without knocking out a wall.

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Rear Extension vs Second-Storey AdditionExtensions

Rear Extension vs Second-Storey Addition

You have outgrown the house but not the street. Here is how a rear extension and a second-storey addition really compare on cost, disruption and what they do to your block.

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Merbau or Composite Decking When the Deck Is Part of a RenovationDecking

Merbau or Composite Decking When the Deck Is Part of a Renovation

On a standalone deck the board is the whole decision. On a deck that comes off a new extension, it's the last decision, and the structure, the flashing and the floor levels are the ones that matter first.

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Renovate or Knock Down and Rebuild?Renovations

Renovate or Knock Down and Rebuild?

A clear-headed framework for choosing between a renovation, an extension and a full knockdown rebuild, weighing cost, the house you've got, and how long you'll stay.

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How Much Does It Cost to Build a Duplex in NSW?New Homes

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Duplex in NSW?

A duplex is one of the few homes that can help pay for itself. Here's a rough guide to what a duplex costs to build in NSW, what moves the price, and why owners take the two-home route.

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1-Bedroom Granny Flat Floor PlansGranny Flats

1-Bedroom Granny Flat Floor Plans

A one-bedroom granny flat is often the sweet spot: enough room for a real home, small enough to stay simple. Here is what fits in around 50m², and who it suits best.

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Kitchen Renovation Cost in NSW (2026)Renovations

Kitchen Renovation Cost in NSW (2026)

A kitchen renovation in NSW can run from a light refresh to a full custom rebuild. Here's what sits behind the price, and where your money actually goes.

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Built-In Wardrobe Ideas & What They CostJoinery

Built-In Wardrobe Ideas & What They Cost

Sliding, hinged, and walk-in robes each suit a different room and budget. Here is how they compare, what they are made from, and the rough numbers before you get a proposal.

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What Does It Cost to Add a Second Storey?Extensions

What Does It Cost to Add a Second Storey?

What a second storey costs, whether your home's footings and walls can carry it, and how going up compares with extending out on the ground.

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Ground-Floor Extension Ideas & CostsExtensions

Ground-Floor Extension Ideas & Costs

Extending out into your block, rear, side or wrap-around, is often the simplest way to buy space. Here is what each type suits, what it roughly costs, and when going out beats going up.

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What Is Dual Occupancy? NSW Rules ExplainedNew Homes

What Is Dual Occupancy? NSW Rules Explained

A dual occupancy home is two separate homes on one block of land. Here's what that means in NSW, attached vs detached, the planning basics, and whether your own block might suit one.

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What a Home Renovation Costs in the IllawarraRenovations

What a Home Renovation Costs in the Illawarra

Two people can renovate what looks like the same house and end up with very different bills. Here are honest Illawarra cost ranges, and what actually moves the number.

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2-Bedroom Granny Flat Designs & Floor PlansGranny Flats

2-Bedroom Granny Flat Designs & Floor Plans

Two proper bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living space, all inside the NSW 60m² cap. Here is how the good two-bedroom granny flat floor plans actually come together.

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How Much Does a Timber Deck Cost in 2026?Decking

How Much Does a Timber Deck Cost in 2026?

A plain-English look at what a timber deck costs in 2026, why quotes vary so much, and where treated pine, merbau and composite actually land.

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Thinking about a granny flat, reno or extension?

Tell us about the project and we'll come out, talk through your options and put together a fixed proposal. No pressure, no obligation.

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