In Pymble the garden is most of the property
Pymble blocks are large, established and heavily planted, and on a block like that the house occupies a surprisingly small share of the land. Everything else, the terracing, the retaining, the lawn, the driveway, the planting and the way the living areas open onto all of it, is the rest of the property, and it is the part you look at every day.
Most builders treat that part as somebody else’s job. The house finishes, the fencing comes down, and the owner starts a second procurement process with a landscaper who was not in the room when the levels were set.
We started in landscaping, not in houses
Refined Group began in 2005 as a landscape construction business. Homes came later. That order matters on a block like this, because it means the outdoor work is not something we subcontract at the end. It is the trade the business was built on, and it is still done by our own team under the same contract as the house.
What that changes in practice: the levels inside the house are set against the levels outside it, drainage is solved across the whole block rather than at the back wall, machinery comes in once, and nobody arrives eight months after handover to dig a trench through a finished lawn.
Our Westleigh home shows the result on a leafy sloping block: a house stepped across three levels to follow a five metre fall, with terraced retaining outside holding a level lawn that the block did not originally have. The house and the garden are one design decision there, not two.
What we build in Pymble
Structural landscaping
Retaining, terracing, levels, drainage, driveways and paving. On a Pymble block this is a substantial build in its own right and is best resolved with the house rather than after it. Gardens and outdoor living.
Pools
Fully engineered concrete pools designed into the garden rather than dropped into the middle of the lawn. On a treed, falling block the access and the levels usually decide where a pool can go. See how we design and build concrete pools.
Custom homes
New homes positioned around what is already growing and the way the land falls, rather than clearing the block and starting flat.
Knockdown rebuilds
Replacing a house that no longer suits the family on a block that would be very difficult to buy today, with the landscaping put back properly as part of the same job.
Trees are the constraint worth planning around
Mature trees are much of why Pymble looks the way it does, and they are usually the constraint that shapes the build. Protection zones dictate where machinery can track, where you can excavate and sometimes where a pool can physically sit.
Worked into the plan early they are simply a design input. Discovered once the job is running they are expensive. A site visit is the cheapest way to find out which trees are going to matter.
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 you take on landscaping on its own?
Yes. Structural landscaping is where this business began and we still take it on as its own project, particularly retaining, levels, terracing and outdoor living rather than planting alone.
Can you build around established trees?
Regularly, and in Pymble it is usually the defining constraint. Protection zones affect excavation, machinery access and pool placement, so they belong in the plan from the beginning rather than surfacing mid build.
Get in touch
Call 02 8014 8962 or email enquiry@refinedgroup.com.au. Or start with a no pressure intro call with our director.
