Knockdown rebuild and custom home builders in Castle Hill
Castle Hill has more knockdown rebuild activity than almost anywhere in Sydney, and the reason is simple arithmetic. Much of the suburb was built out through the 1970s and 1980s on blocks of 700 square metres and up. Those blocks are now worth considerably more than the houses sitting on them, and those houses are reaching the age where the kitchen, bathrooms, wiring, roof and layout all come due at once.
Refined Group builds the replacement. We are new home builders first, a boutique, director led team that takes on a limited number of projects a year, and we handle the home, the pool and the landscaping under one contract so your block arrives finished rather than sitting in dirt waiting on a second trade.
Why Castle Hill suits a rebuild
A knockdown rebuild keeps every reason you chose Castle Hill in the first place. The schools stay the same, the neighbours stay the same, the commute stays the same, and the Metro at Castle Hill station keeps doing what it has done to values since it opened. What changes is the house: a floor plan designed for how your family lives now, insulation and glazing that actually perform, and a garage that fits the cars you own.
The alternative is buying the same lifestyle further out, paying stamp duty on the way in and agent fees on the way out, and still inheriting somebody else’s compromises. For a lot of Castle Hill owners the numbers land on rebuilding.
Renovate or rebuild?
We take on select renovation and extension work where it genuinely suits the house, and we are happy to look at yours. But we build new homes for a living, and our honest experience in the Hills is that once a renovation grows past a certain scope, a knockdown rebuild delivers a better home for similar money. Because we can price both paths, you get to make that call with real numbers in front of you rather than a guess.
What we build in Castle Hill
Custom homes
We build one off homes, not repeat plans off a shelf. You deal with our director from the first conversation to handover, and because we cap how many projects run at once, that is a promise we can keep. Our Kellyville custom home, a few minutes up Old Northern Road, was a finalist in the 2023 HIA NSW Awards for both Custom Built Home and New Kitchen.
Knockdown rebuilds
The core of what we do in this suburb. We are involved from the design stage onwards, then construction and landscaping run under one contract and one program, so trades are not tripping over each other and nothing stalls waiting on a decision nobody owns. How a knock down rebuild works with us.
Dual occupancy
Castle Hill block sizes make dual occupancy worth testing, whether the plan is to keep both, sell one or house family next door. We can tell you early whether your block stacks up. See our Seven Hills dual occupancy for how one comes together.
Pools and gardens
If a pool is part of the picture it gets designed with the home from day one, not squeezed into whatever space is left over. Levels, drainage, access and the sight lines from your living areas all get resolved together. Structural landscaping is the work this company was built on, and it is why our homes arrive complete. See how we build concrete pools and what we do with gardens.
How a build works with us
Start with a conversation. An intro call, then a site visit. We look at your block, listen to the brief and give you a straight early read on scope and budget.
Design input and pricing. We no longer draw plans ourselves, but we sit in the design process with you and your architect, because we did design for years and we know what drives cost. We price what is drawn and tell you where the drawings and the budget disagree, while changes are still lines on paper.
A detailed, fixed quote. Inclusions spelt out line by line. We price what is documented and flag the gaps other builders quietly price around, so the number you sign is the number you build to.
The build. Our director runs the site from demolition to handover, and you deal with him throughout.
Why a director led boutique builder?
- The person who quoted your home is the person running the site
- Home, pool and landscaping under one contract, one point of responsibility
- HIA NSW Finalists 2018, 2019 & 2023
- 20+ years building across Sydney, with a 5 star Google rating
Common questions
How much does a knockdown rebuild cost in Castle Hill?
Clearing the block generally runs $25,000 to $45,000 on a standard Castle Hill block, depending on size, asbestos and access. We engage the demolisher and manage that stage, and we put the figure in front of you at the first conversation rather than letting it turn up later as a surprise. The home itself is priced on its design and inclusions rather than a rate per square metre, and our new homes generally start from $1 million. We quote the whole finished result, including the landscaping and the pool if there is one, so you are not discovering the real number in variations later.
Who arranges the demolition?
We do. We are not a demolition contractor ourselves, so we engage the demolisher and manage that stage for you, the same way we manage every other trade on the job. You are not chasing quotes or coordinating who turns up when. It matters more than it sounds on a rebuild, because the block has to be cleared, the services disconnected and the site ready in the right order or the whole program slips before a slab is poured.
How long does it take?
The front end depends on design and approvals. We do not draw the plans or lodge the approvals, but we stay involved through that stage so what comes out of it is something we can actually build to budget. Once there are approved plans we give you a construction program with the quote, and we tell you early if something starts tracking behind.
When should we talk to a builder?
Earlier than most people do. The expensive decisions are made during design, and once plans are approved your choices narrow to selecting finishes. We do not draw plans, but we sit in the design process alongside you and your architect and price what is being drawn while it is still lines on paper. That is the stage where we save people the most money, and it costs you nothing to have us there.
Do we need to move out?
Yes, from demolition through to handover. Worth factoring rent into the budget from the start, and it is one of the numbers we raise in the first conversation rather than letting it surface later.
What is actually included in your quote?
The finished result. Home, pool and landscaping under one contract, with inclusions spelt out line by line rather than left as allowances you discover later. What sits outside it: clearing the block, the design and documentation, council fees, and anything we have specifically listed as an exclusion. We would rather show you those separately than fold them into a headline number that looks competitive and is not.
Do you build on battleaxe and sloping blocks?
Regularly. Slope, tight access and awkward geometry are design problems rather than dealbreakers, and they are the projects we tend to enjoy most. Bring us the block other builders have been vague about.
Can we keep the existing pool?
Sometimes, and it is worth asking before you assume either way. A sound concrete shell in the right position can stay. More often it is in the wrong place for the new home, because it was positioned around a house that is about to come down. Since we build concrete pools ourselves, you get a straight answer rather than one shaped by who stands to do the work.
What about the trees on our block?
Check before you plan around removing anything. The Hills Shire Council protects a good deal of vegetation, and the rules catch trees people assume are theirs to take out. Established trees also do more for a finished Castle Hill block than most owners expect, so we look at what is worth designing around rather than treating every tree as an obstacle. Your architect and the council settle it, and we raise it early because it can shape where the house sits.
How do we know if our block suits a dual occupancy?
Block size, frontage, the shape of the land and what the council permits all decide it, and Castle Hill has a lot of blocks that qualify. We can give you an early read on whether yours is worth testing properly. Better to know before you commit to a single dwelling design, because it is an expensive thing to discover late.
Do you build outside Castle Hill?
Yes. Castle Hill is one of our busiest areas, and we work across the Hills and the north shore including Kellyville, Baulkham Hills, West Pennant Hills, Glenhaven, Dural and Norwest. Being local matters on a rebuild. Knowing the block types, the older housing stock and who to call saves time you would otherwise pay for.
Get in touch
If you have plans for a knockdown rebuild, custom home, dual occupancy, pool or landscaping project in Castle Hill, start with a no pressure conversation. Call 02 8014 8962, email enquiry@refinedgroup.com.au, or use the contact form.
