Our process

Site visit

We meet on your site to talk through what you'd like to build and to check site-specific conditions, including access, existing structures, slope and services.

A contour or feature survey is useful at this stage to confirm existing levels and boundaries.

Preliminary brief

We'll ask about your design goals, how you want to use the home and your budget. This helps us match you with the most suitable architect or building designer.

We give early cost advice based on the type of design and the level of fixtures and finishes you're expecting.

Preliminary agreement

Once your goals are clear, we sign a preliminary building agreement and engage the design team. This covers the design and pre-construction stages before the building contract.

Concept design

The concept design sets out the layout and look of your home. At this stage we confirm:

• engineering and technical design requirements
• compliance with council planning controls and the National Construction Code
• an updated cost plan.

The cost plan is the first detailed pricing of the project. We consult specialist suppliers and subcontractors where needed, and give you an itemised breakdown of construction costs so you stay in control of the budget.

Design development

With the concept approved, the design team completes the technical detail and documentation.

We review the architectural, structural, electrical and hydraulic documents together to pick up clashes, buildability issues and inefficient details before they reach site. This step is often skipped in residential building, and it's where a lot of cost and time is saved.

Once your selections are confirmed, the completed drawings and schedules allow a final pre-contract price check. Anything not yet fully resolved is covered by agreed Prime Cost or Provisional Sum allowances.

Construction contract

Towards the end of design development, and before we apply for building approval, we finalise the construction contract.

Building approval

The last step before starting on site is getting the required approvals. We'll manage the process on your behalf.

Depending on the approvals needed, this can involve several rounds of information and occasionally design changes to achieve approval.

Construction

With approvals in place, we start on site. We sequence and manage all the trades, and apply our quality assurance process to every trade's work through to completion.