Custom home and knockdown rebuild builders in Kellyville
Kellyville is two suburbs in one. The older part, around the village and along Windsor Road, was built out through the 1980s and 1990s on big blocks, and those homes are now reaching the age where the kitchen, the bathrooms, the roof and the layout all come due at once. The newer release areas toward North Kellyville and the Metro were built in the last ten to fifteen years, mostly with project homes, by families who are now ready for the home they actually wanted.
We build for both. Refined Group is a boutique, director led builder based a few minutes away in Bella Vista. We take 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.
Our Kellyville home
When people ask what finished looks like, this is the home we point to. A 65 square architect designed house with five bedrooms, two master suites, a double height living space and a triple garage, delivered with its pool and landscaping as one build through the middle of Covid, on time and on budget. It was a finalist in two categories at the 2023 HIA NSW Awards, Custom Built Home and New Kitchen. See the Kellyville project.
It also answers the question we hear most in the newer parts of Kellyville: can a custom home work on an estate block? It can. The difference is in the design, the finishes and the fact that the pool and the garden were part of the plan from day one rather than an afterthought squeezed in later.
Why Kellyville suits a rebuild
A knockdown rebuild keeps every reason you chose Kellyville in the first place. The schools stay the same, the neighbours stay the same, and the Metro at Kellyville 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. On the older Kellyville blocks, where the land is worth considerably more than the house on it, the numbers usually land on rebuilding. How a knock down rebuild works with us.
Renovate or rebuild?
We take on select renovation 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 Kellyville
Custom homes
One off homes, not repeat plans off a shelf, on older blocks and estate blocks alike. 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. The Kellyville home above is what that produces.
Knockdown rebuilds
The core of our work on the older side of the 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.
Dual occupancy
The bigger blocks in old Kellyville 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. Why we recommend fixed price for most homes.
The build. Our director runs the site from the first day 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, including our Kellyville home
- 20+ years building across Sydney, with a 5 star Google rating
Common questions
How much does a custom home or knockdown rebuild cost in Kellyville?
Our new homes generally start from $1 million, priced on the design and the inclusions rather than a rate per square metre. 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. What sits outside the quote, such as design, council fees and clearing an existing house, is listed separately so you can see it.
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 build to budget. Once there are approved plans we give you a construction program with the quote. A custom home typically takes 12 to 18 months from contract to handover, and we tell you early if anything 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 for a rebuild?
Yes, for the length of the build. 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: 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 the newer Kellyville estate blocks as well as the older ones?
Both. The older part of Kellyville has big blocks with 30 and 40 year old homes on them, which is classic rebuild territory. The newer release areas have smaller, flatter blocks where a family bought land or a project home and now wants something built for them. Our Kellyville home sits on a block like that, and it is proof of what a custom build can do on an estate lot.
Do you build on sloping and battleaxe blocks?
Regularly. A good deal of older Kellyville falls toward the creek lines, and slope, tight access and awkward geometry are design problems rather than dealbreakers. They are the projects we tend to enjoy most.
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 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 older Kellyville 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 Kellyville?
Yes. Our office is in Bella Vista, a few minutes away, and we work across the Hills and the north shore including Castle Hill, Bella Vista, Norwest, Beaumont Hills, Rouse Hill, Baulkham Hills and Glenhaven. Being local matters on a rebuild. Knowing the block types, the housing stock and who to call saves time you would otherwise pay for.
Get in touch
If you have plans for a custom home, knockdown rebuild, dual occupancy, pool or landscaping project in Kellyville, start with a no pressure conversation. Call 02 8014 8962, email enquiry@refinedgroup.com.au, or use the contact form.
