Design Review | Façades | Drawings for Council & Builders
BUILDING CUSTOM
5 Reasons to Build Custom
And How Building Custom Differs to Domestic Volume Building
Design Opportunities:
Not restrained to a Volume Builder's catalogue, you have full design flexibility, only limited by what you'd like to invest in the build. Even many council zoning regulations can be relaxed, allowing you to make the most of your property's views and buildable area.
Opportunities go far beyond the arrangement of your floor plan, to the individual features of the building and rooms. You might want a statement staircase, a feature raised or sloping ceiling, clerestory (high-level) windows, Hotel style built-in cabinetry or a bespoke fireplace.
Check out our Design Opportunities Blog Post - Coming Soon
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Materials & Components: (The Ingredients of your house)
Our trusted builders and their trades don't like to use cheap building supplies when constructing your house. Everything from the structural materials to the plumbing connections inside the wall is chosen because of its benefits as a material or component, not because it's the cheapest option on the market.
Think about the difference between a supermarket's lasagna vs a homemade lasagna, where every ingredient from the beef to the tomato sauce, cheese and fresh herbs is of higher quality and prepared with love. It's not just the taste, but everything about the latter is arguably better, and your family can tell.
Are you prepared to put in the extra time and money when it comes to building a home for your family? - Don't worry somebody can still build it for you!
Craftsmanship & Care
The Builders we work with really care about their clients as they only take on 1-10 projects per year. That allows them to take pride in delivering a quality product that will last long past the mandatory warranty period. Subcontractors like plumbers, electricians and tilers are not the same companies that work for Dixon Homes, GJ Gardner or Metricon. These small businesses have consciously decided that they don't want to be doing things with the Australian Standards' acceptable tolerances being the guide for what is deemed sufficient. We see a higher level of craftsmanship, real interest in achieving the best result and they are respected and hired for the unique skills and advice they can offer. More about the custom build industry below
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Choice of Finishes
Working with us, we help you understand the key finishes we know look great and last the test of time. While we like to specify Australian made or assembled products, building custom means you have almost endless options with the finishes, fixtures and fittings (visible products) that make up your home.
The interior finish makes a home, and not being tied down to a couple of colour packages is what allows excellence, individuality and a chance for you to be more involved in the look and feel of your design.
Option to be an Owner Builder
About 30-40% of our clients are owner builders, Both men and women! However not the kind who buy second-hand building materials and appliances on Facebook Marketplace or want to build a shed that has a house hiding inside it.
We specialise in catering to serious owner builders. Many of our clients are licensed tradespeople themselves who have been in the building industry for decades and have always dreamed of putting their knowledge and management skills to use to build the home of their family’s dreams.
For them, it’s not that they can’t afford an entry-level custom builder, it’s that they’d prefer to oversee the project themselves and use the best and team of professionals & subcontractors possible to make sure the job is done right!
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The World of Custom Builds
A different industry & market segment altogether
It's a Different Industry (To Domestic Volume Building)
Working with us opens you up to a second and larger sector of the construction industry, made up primarily of small businesses of custom builders and independent subcontractors that cater to one-off projects whether that be residential or multi-residential or commercial.
Think of it like the grown-ups' table at Christmas,
the food and drinks are better!
Professional Approach
Projects are designed by independent architects, building designers and other specialist disciplines, where materials are sourced from all over the world, construction methods are more intricate and things are constantly being done for the first time.
Typically everyone involved is paid more as they have proven they can perform at a high standards and problem solve with the builder and designer, but in return, they expect a high level of design consideration and documentation to work from.
Unique, Challenging & Raising the Bar
In this realm, the types of construction systems/methods, building materials, utilities, finishes and customer service are on a whole new level and essentially anything is possible if you have the money. Council regulations are pushed, Building Codes are worked around with specialist reports and the outcomes speak for themselves.
This industry caters to a market with the highest expectations for craftsmanship and quality and there are plenty of clients who are willing to pay for it, especially when real estate is seeing such huge returns. This is the industry we work in and are happy to guide you through it based on how much you’d like to invest.
We've had multiple clients joke about going on the Grand Designs TV show, but most don't want the pressure!
It's a Team Effort
Gone are the days when all you need to do is take your basic plans to council, get them stamped and hand them to your builder.
Building a well resolved and bespoke house, duplex or renovation requires a team of preconstruction professionals to collaborate around a principal consultants' design - That being where we come in.
We liaise with engineers, certifiers, council officers any specialists required to get your project ready for construction.
We have an established network over over 100 professionals across Gold Coast, Tweed, Byron, Ballina and the Whitsundays who are ready support you in your custom build efforts whether that be reducing your Bushfire BAL rating, Designing around flood levels, providing legal arguments to council or Obtaining deeper soil test results to save $100K on screw peers.
Custom Home Real Estate (Not a commodity)
A well-designed, custom-built house is not a commodity that will just sell for a comparable price to other 5 bedroom 3.5 bathroom homes in your area. The allure of our homes is the way they embrace the unique characteristics of property you’ve chosen to invest in and deliver the most enjoyable spaces for living, working, entertaining and retreating.
Our homes, don’t just look like the neighbours' or have rooms that copy photos on Instagram. The combination of sophistication, flow and craftsmanship allow our homes be a sheltered extension of what our clients love about the natural surrounds and built environment, with curated views, natural light and opportunity for breezes.
They have sense of place, personality and story, that makes them more than a house & land package.
This is why, when building in the right location, you’ll see custom homes regularly smash the suburb median value on the first open home or auction. Buyers instantly see and feel the difference, being captivated by the quality and elegance of the home that is on offer. And while most of our clients aren’t building to sell, they trust in us that the finished result will make them a pretty profit if they do one day decide to move.
It's a Journey (Rome wasn't built in a day)
Only about 5% of houses in Australia are truly custom-built, so good on you on for not wanting to settle for the status quo or the mediocrity of typical volume build.
While we won't have your house ready to build a number of weeks, we do have an amazing efficient and cost effective method to resolve the design and approval of a project, which is months faster than a traditional architect would.
Over the past 10 years our director has developed a fast-tracked and effective process to do this methodically for clients and the number of projects we have under construction speak for themselves.
Let us guide you through the design and approval process and align you with one of with one of our trusted builders.
