Builders · the construction
Find a Builder
A licensed builder prices the drawings, signs the building contract, and delivers the homes. On a duplex or terrace project the builder is the largest single cost, so who you choose and when you bring them in matters more than anything else on the job.
Type your suburb or your address.
What they do
The builder takes the construction drawings and the approval and turns them into a fixed-price contract (a Home Building Act contract for residential work), obtains Home Building Compensation Fund cover, runs the site, engages the trades, arranges the inspections and hands over with an occupation certificate. Design-and-construct builders carry the design and the approval as well, so there is one contract and one point of responsibility.
When you need one
Earlier than most owners think. A builder pricing at the sketch stage will tell you whether the design is buildable for the money before you spend on the full drawings. Once the approval is in, you go to tender or negotiate with the builder you have already worked with.
How to choose
Check the licence on the NSW Fair Trading register and ask for the last three jobs of the same type — then go and look at one. Compare quotes on the same drawings and the same scope; the cheapest number usually has the most left out. Ask what their provisional sums and prime cost items are, and make sure the contract is fixed-price for the work that can be fixed.
Are you a builder who works here? Apply to represent your suburb — one builder is listed per suburb, chosen on local track record.