Building in Northmead
Northmead sits close enough to Parramatta to benefit from everything happening there while keeping the block sizes and the quiet streets that the CBD fringe has largely lost. For a lot of families that combination is the whole reason to stay.
The housing stock is mostly older than the suburb’s current value suggests. Plenty of blocks here carry a modest house bought decades ago, on land that would now cost considerably more than the building standing on it.
Rebuild instead of moving up
The usual alternative to rebuilding is buying something bigger further out. That trade is worse than it looks once you count stamp duty, agent fees, moving costs and the commute you inherit.
A rebuild keeps the location, the schools and the neighbours, and puts the money into the house instead of into transaction costs. You end up with a home engineered for the next thirty years on land you already own, rather than someone else’s compromise further from town.
Our work is next door
Our Westmead project is in the neighbouring suburb and was named a finalist in the 2019 HIA NSW Awards. A 45 square contemporary home with a self contained granny flat and full landscaping on one block.
The detail worth borrowing from it is the sequencing. We built the granny flat first, so the owners lived on site rent free through the whole 15 month build of the main house and then rented it out once they moved in. Whether that is possible on your block is a planning question for your designer, but if it is, it changes the economics of the whole project.
What we build in Northmead
Knockdown rebuilds
Demolition, site preparation, construction and landscaping managed by one team, so the block is finished when the house is.
Custom homes
New family homes designed around how your household lives rather than a display village floor plan. We limit how many projects we take on each year so each gets our director’s attention throughout.
Second dwellings
Where the block can carry one, a self contained secondary dwelling built to the same standard as the house, for family, for income, or as somewhere to live during the build.
Pools and gardens
Planned with the house rather than after it, so levels, drainage and access all resolve together. Concrete pools and gardens under the same contract.
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 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.
A detailed, fixed quote. Inclusions spelt out line by line. We price what is documented and flag the gaps other builders price around, so the number you sign is the number you build to.
The build. Our director runs the site from start to handover, and you deal with him throughout. We limit how many projects we take on each year, which is why we can promise that.
Why a director led boutique builder?
- The person who quoted your project 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 long does the whole process 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 you get a construction program with the quote, and we tell you early if something starts tracking off it rather than at the end.
Do we need to move out?
For a knockdown rebuild, yes, from demolition through to handover. It is worth putting rent in the budget from the start, and it is one of the numbers we raise in the first conversation rather than letting it surface once you are committed.
Can I live on site while you build?
On the right block, yes, and it is one of the most useful things a second dwelling can do for you. We did exactly that in Westmead. Whether it is permitted on your block is a planning question for your designer or planner, but we can talk through the staging and access side at a site visit.
Can you do the pool and garden at the same time?
That is the way we prefer to work. Pool, home and landscaping under one contract means the levels, drainage and access get resolved together, and there is no second contractor arriving months later to dig up finished work.
Get in touch
Call 02 8014 8962 or email enquiry@refinedgroup.com.au. Or start with a no pressure intro call with our director.
