Service

Knockdown rebuild builders

Demolishing a house you own and rebuilding on the same land. The land question is settled; the planning question is everything.

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When this is the right path, and when it is not

Suits you if

You own land in a location you want to stay in, and the house on it no longer suits.

Think again if

It is usually the wrong path where a demolition control applies, where the existing house is sound and the layout works, or where you need to stay living there throughout.

How the job actually runs

01
Check what the overlays allow
Before anything else. Heritage, character and vegetation controls decide whether a demolition is even permissible, and they are the reason a knockdown rebuild takes longer than a greenfield slab.
02
Get a demolition quote separately
Demolition, asbestos removal, service disconnection and site clearing are their own contract. Builders quote them very differently and some exclude them entirely.
03
Confirm what is behind the walls
Pre-1990 houses commonly contain asbestos. It changes the demolition price and the timeline, and it is not something to discover at knockdown.
04
Design to the controls, not around them
A facade drawn for a flat estate lot usually needs reworking. Builders experienced in the council design to its requirements from the start.
05
Plan where you will live
Twelve months of rent plus a mortgage is the cost most people underestimate on a knockdown rebuild.

Where these jobs go wrong

The four things that most often cost people money on a knockdown rebuild job specifically.

Assuming demolition is included
It usually is not. Demolition, asbestos removal, service disconnection and site clearing are commonly excluded from a headline build price, and they are not small. Get them quoted as their own line before you compare builders.
Designing before checking the overlays
People fall in love with a design, then discover a heritage or character control will not permit it. The overlay check costs nothing and takes an afternoon. Do it first.
Underestimating where you will live
Twelve months of rent alongside a mortgage is, for most households, the largest single cost of a knockdown rebuild — and it is the one least often written into the budget.
Forgetting the neighbours
On an established street, machinery access, scaffolding, dust and noise are all negotiated with people who will still be there when you move in. Builders who work in the area routinely handle this; ones who do not, do not.

What moves the price

No figures — a number without your site and your specification is a guess. For a knockdown rebuild job, these are what actually move it.

Demolition and site clearing
Asbestos, if present
Service disconnection and reconnection
Site access for machinery on an established street
Planning permit timeframes
Existing levels and retaining

Where we cover this, and what the planning data says

Heritage mapped is the control that most often decides how a knockdown rebuild job runs. Read from state planning data.

Suburbs covered for Knockdown rebuild and their mapped planning controls
Suburb	Council	Heritage mapped
Ainslie	ACT Government	0
Lyneham	ACT Government	0
Watson	ACT Government	0
Baulkham Hills	The Hills Shire Council	37
Carlingford	City of Parramatta Council	35
Castle Hill	The Hills Shire Council	33
Cherrybrook	Hornsby Shire Council	17
Cronulla	Sutherland Shire Council	71
Dee Why	Northern Beaches Council	20
Figtree	Wollongong City Council	6
Gordon	Ku-ring-gai Council	103
Killara	Ku-ring-gai Council	182
Lindfield	Ku-ring-gai Council	108
Manly	Northern Beaches Council	354
Merewether	City of Newcastle	41
Miranda	Sutherland Shire Council	15
Newcastle	City of Newcastle	145
Pymble	Ku-ring-gai Council	315
St Ives	Ku-ring-gai Council	136
Sutherland	Sutherland Shire Council	51
Turramurra	Ku-ring-gai Council	316
Wahroonga	Ku-ring-gai Council	439
West Pennant Hills	The Hills Shire Council	19
Wollongong	Wollongong City Council	131
Ascot	Brisbane City Council	0
Aspley	Brisbane City Council	0
Bulimba	Brisbane City Council	0
Carindale	Brisbane City Council	0
Indooroopilly	Brisbane City Council	0
Kenmore	Brisbane City Council	0
Mount Gravatt	Brisbane City Council	0
Nerang	City of Gold Coast	0
Paddington	Brisbane City Council	0
Rangeville	Toowoomba Regional Council	0
Sunnybank	Brisbane City Council	0
The Gap	Brisbane City Council	0
Malvern	City of Unley	36
Prospect	City of Prospect	116
Toorak Gardens	City of Burnside	20
Unley	City of Unley	71
Lenah Valley	Hobart	2
New Town	Hobart	5
Sandy Bay	Hobart	3
Balwyn North	City of Boroondara	29
Balwyn	City of Boroondara	107
Brighton	Bayside City Council	453
Camberwell	City of Boroondara	97
Canterbury	City of Boroondara	86
Glen Iris	City of Boroondara	97
Hampton	Bayside City Council	63
Hawthorn	City of Boroondara	298
Kew East	City of Boroondara	41
Kew	City of Boroondara	218
Newtown	City of Greater Geelong	389
Sandringham	Bayside City Council	83
Surrey Hills	City of Boroondara	101
Canning Vale	City of Gosnells	0
Claremont	Town of Claremont	0
Mount Tarcoola	City of Greater Geraldton	0
Nedlands	City of Nedlands	0
Thornlie	City of Gosnells	0

Suburb-level, read from state planning data. Not a report on any individual block.

What to ask a builder about a knockdown rebuild job

Specific to this kind of job. The general list is in questions to ask a builder.

How many demolitions have you run in this council area, and what did the approval take?
Is demolition inside your contract or a separate one I arrange?
What happens if the site turns out to have asbestos, and who pays for it?
How do you handle the neighbours — protection works, notices, access?
What did you find under the last slab you took up on a street like this?

Questions people ask

Do I need a planning permit as well as a building permit?

Often yes, and that is the main difference from building on a new estate. Where heritage, character or vegetation controls apply, demolition and the replacement design are both assessed.

Can I stay in the house during the build?

No. Budget for twelve months or more of alternative accommodation, and treat any builder's timeline as the optimistic case.

Is a knockdown rebuild cheaper than renovating?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on the house. We will not put a number on it — anyone who quotes you a rule of thumb without seeing the building is guessing.