QLD · Inner Brisbane
Home builders in Alderley
A builder’s licence is permission to trade. It is not a solvency test. 2,361 construction companies entered external administration last financial year, more than any other industry in the country — and no regulator checks whether the one quoting your Alderley job can still pay its framer on Friday. We run the Four-Point Builder Check™: licence with QBCC, insurance sighted, still trading, and genuinely working in Alderley. Then one name and the reasoning behind it — or a straight no.
- Costs you nothing, ever
- No obligation to use them
- Details never sold
Why this is harder than it looks in Alderley
- Alderley is not a generic block
Mapped here: 7 overlay families, bushfire-prone land. A builder who prices the house and discovers the site is a builder whose quote moves — and the variations land on you, not on them. The ones who work Alderley regularly already know which of these reach which streets.
- A current licence tells you nothing about solvency
Every one of the companies behind that figure held a valid licence the day before it failed. The certificate on the wall says they are permitted to build. It does not say they can pay their framer on Friday.
What building in Alderley actually involves
Alderley carries both of Brisbane's character overlays — the Traditional building character overlay and the Dwelling house character overlay. They are constantly conflated and they do different jobs.
One protects what is there; the other shapes what replaces it
The Traditional building character overlay is about retention. It applies where pre-1946 housing gives a street its character, and its sharpest effect is on demolition: taking down or substantially altering a pre-1946 house is assessable.
The Dwelling house character overlay is about new work. It applies to how a dwelling house is designed in a character area — form, roof, materials, how the building addresses the street — so that what gets built sits within the existing pattern. It does not stop a house being replaced; it governs what the replacement looks like.
The practical consequence is that these two answer different questions, and a block can sit under either or both. "Is it character?" is not a single question, and the answer determines whether your issue is whether you can build or what you can build.
An unusually short hazard list
No Landslide overlay, no Erosion prone area, no Storm tide hazard area is mapped in Alderley. For inner Brisbane that is a notably clean set — the slope and coastal-hazard questions that shape neighbouring suburbs are not live here, which leaves character and water.
Flood, in two forms
A Flood overlay is mapped in two parts, which describe different events. Creek and waterway flooding is water rising in a watercourse; overland flow is stormwater running across the surface when the drainage system is overwhelmed. They are modelled separately and answered separately, and a lot can carry both. Quarry Park and the local creek lines are what the first reflects.
Bushfire and biodiversity
One bushfire-prone feature is mapped — worth an address check rather than an assumption this close to the city. A Biodiversity areas overlay applies, which constrains clearing rather than construction.
One zone
General residential covers Alderley under the Brisbane City Plan 2014. With one zone across 2.57 km², what distinguishes one lot from another is entirely which overlays reach it.
What to establish first in Alderley
Which of the two character overlays covers the lot — they decide different things. If it is the traditional one, the age of the house next. Then the two flood layers, separately.
What you are dealing with in Alderley
Six things a builder prices differently. This is the suburb-level picture — which of them reaches your block is an address check.
- Bushfire Mapped BAL assessment; glazing, decking and screening spec.
- Flood Mapped Sets a minimum floor level. Flood report first.
- Heritage 1 record Impact statement; limits demolition, form and materials.
- Slope Not mapped Geotech report before footings can be priced.
- Soil None mapped Below trigger depth: management plan, treatment, disposal.
- Density controls 1 zone What may be built, and how much. Set parcel by parcel.
What is mapped in Alderley
Read from Queensland Government open spatial data + individual councils, not a summary of it.
- Council
- Brisbane City Council
- Planning scheme
- Brisbane City Plan 2014
- Overlays mapped here
- Bushfire overlay · Heritage overlay — local heritage area · Traditional building character overlay · Dwelling house character overlay · Flood overlay — overland flow · Flood overlay — creek and waterway · Biodiversity areas overlay
- Residential zones mapped
- General residential
- Bushfire-prone land
- Mapped in this suburb
- Acid sulfate soils
- None mapped
Planning data from Queensland Government open spatial data + individual councils (CC BY 4.0), read 2026-09-14. Suburb-level, not a report on your block — check your address on the Queensland planning portal.
Overlay families mapped here
The mechanism
The Four-Point Builder Check™
Every one of them is something you could do yourself. What we sell is that it has been done, dated and published — and repeated on a schedule, because a check that happened once is worth nothing.
- 01 · Licence
Looked up on QBCC's own public register — number, class and status, with the date we looked recorded.
- 02 · Insurance
Public liability plus whatever warranty or indemnity cover QLD requires. Sighted by us, not self-declared on a form.
- 03 · Still trading
Solvency re-checked on a schedule. A licence stays current right up until the day a company fails.
- 04 · Works in Alderley
Confirmed with the builder against the suburbs they genuinely service — not a radius drawn on a map.
How this works
- 01Tell us about the build
Six questions, about three minutes.
- 02We match it against Alderley
Against the 1 residential zone mapped here, 7 overlay families, bushfire-prone land — and against which builders hold the right licence class for it, have done it before, and actually work under Brisbane City Council.
- 03One recommendation, with the reasoning
Not six quotes to sift. We negotiate on your behalf; you deal with the builder directly. Builders pay us, only once you sign.
What you get, and what it costs you
- One builder, not a list
We read your brief against what is actually mapped in Alderley — 7 overlay families, bushfire-prone land — and against which builders hold the right licence class, have built under these constraints before, and genuinely work under Brisbane City Council. You get one name and the reasoning in writing.
- Or a straight no
The same business day you get one of two things: our recommendation, with the reasons — or a plain email saying we have not got a builder in Alderley we would put our name to yet, and what we are doing about it. No drip campaign, no being passed around.
- It costs you nothing, ever
The builder pays us, and only if you sign with them. You are never charged, and you are never under any obligation to use the builder we name. How the fee works.
We are not a builder, we do not manage your build, and we do not hold your money.
Fair questions before you send anything
- You have no builders listed in Alderley yet. What use is that?
A fair question, and the honest answer is that a list is not what we do. We do not publish a builder until the licence is checked, the insurance is sighted and we have confirmed they are still trading — so an empty list here means we have not finished that work in Alderley, not that we cannot help. Send the brief and we go and find one for your block. If we cannot, you get told that, the same day, rather than being added to a mailing list.
- Why not just get three quotes myself?
You can, and for a simple job you probably should. The difficulty on a block in Alderley is that quotes are only comparable when they assume the same things — and with 7 overlay families mapped here, two builders can price the same house against different assumptions about the site and both be quoting honestly. Sorting that out is the part we do.
Builders serving Alderley
Questions about building in Alderley
What is the difference between the two character overlays?
The Traditional building character overlay is about retention — its sharpest effect is on demolishing or substantially altering a pre-1946 house. The Dwelling house character overlay is about new work: the form, roof, materials and street presentation of what gets built.
Can both apply to my lot?
Yes, either or both. Which applies determines whether your issue is whether you can build or what you can build.
What hazards are not mapped here?
No Landslide overlay, no Erosion prone area and no Storm tide hazard area. For inner Brisbane that is a notably clean set, leaving character and water as the live questions.
Why is the flood overlay in two parts?
They describe different events. Creek and waterway flooding is water rising in a watercourse; overland flow is stormwater running across the surface when drainage is overwhelmed. They are modelled and answered separately, and a lot can carry both.
Does the zone distinguish lots here?
No. General residential covers the whole suburb, so what distinguishes one lot from another is entirely which overlays reach it.
What to ask a builder about a block in Alderley
Each one is here because of something mapped in Alderley. Take them to whoever quotes.
- 01
Confirm the zone at the address is General residential — and what it permits without a planning permit.
- 02
What bushfire attack level have you built to in Alderley before, and what did it change in the glazing, decking and screening?
Local landmarks in Alderley
- Alderley Grove Park
- Banks Street Reserve
- Quarry Park
- Greenhills Park
- Sedgeley Park
- Bermingham Street Park
- Willmington Park
- Shand Street Park
No catch
What you are agreeing to
- Nothing. There is no contract with us, no account to create, no card, and nothing to cancel.
- No obligation to use whoever we recommend. Take the name and the reasoning and do what you like with it, including nothing.
- No phone number needed to start. Give us one if you want to be called; otherwise we write.
- One builder contacts you, not six. And only after you have seen the brief and said yes.
- Your details go to that builder and nobody else. Never sold, never auctioned, never shared with a panel.
- If we have nobody in Alderley, we say so. That is a real answer we give, and the empty builder list above is the proof we mean it.
Building in Alderley?
Licence checked with QBCC, insurance sighted, still trading, genuinely working in Alderley. If we cannot find one worth recommending, we will say so.
Find my builder — free →Free · about 3 minutes · no obligation · your details are never sold