Building in Seven Hills
Seven Hills is an established Western Sydney suburb with good rail access, and a housing stock largely built for a different era of family living. Blocks here are often a size that will carry more than the single house standing on them, which is why so much of the activity in the suburb is rebuilds and dual occupancy rather than renovation.
The catch is that smaller resulting lots are unforgiving. Get the layout wrong and you end up with two compromised houses instead of two good ones.
The project we built here
Our Seven Hills project took a single block, subdivided into two properties, and delivered two genuinely distinct family homes rather than a pair of matching units. One is moody in navy and timber, the other crisp and light filled. Each has open plan living flowing to a covered alfresco, a landscaped yard, walk in robes and the storage a real family actually needs.
That project came to us with plans already approved, and at the time we substantially reworked them before building, because approved is not the same as good. Layouts, orientation and storage were all rethought until both homes were materially better. We no longer take on design work ourselves, but the lesson holds: on a subdivided block, the plan is the whole ball game, and it is worth getting a builder’s eyes on it before it is locked.
What we build in Seven Hills
Dual occupancy
Two homes on one block, built as two homes rather than two halves of a compromise. The site constraints that come with new titles, from drainage to boundaries to driveway geometry, are the things that decide whether the finished pair feels generous or cramped.
Knockdown rebuilds
A rebuild keeps the location, the schools and the neighbours and replaces an ageing house with one built for how families live now. We manage demolition, site preparation, construction and the landscaping that finishes the block.
Custom homes
Single new homes on Seven Hills blocks, built to the same standard as everything else we take on. We deliberately limit how many projects we run at once so each gets our director’s attention from first quote to handover.
Pools and gardens
Where there is room, the pool and the landscaping are designed with the house rather than squeezed in afterwards. Concrete pools and gardens under the same contract.
Making a smaller block live large
On a subdivided block every metre has to earn its place. Lot shapes rarely suit a template floor plan, so forcing a standard design onto each half is where most dual occupancy projects lose their liveability.
The things that make the difference are unglamorous: where the living areas face, how light gets into the middle of a narrow plan, where the storage actually goes, and how drainage and boundaries are resolved on paper instead of on site. Those are the questions worth arguing about before construction starts, and they are the ones we will raise when we look at your plans.
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 you build 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 all get resolved together, and there is no second contractor arriving months later to dig up finished work. See how we build concrete pools.
Do you build on tight or awkward blocks?
Regularly, and Seven Hills has plenty of them. Narrow frontages, difficult access and geometry that fights a standard floor plan are the projects we tend to enjoy most. Bring us the block other builders have been vague about.
If we are building two homes, do they have to look the same?
No, and we would argue they should not. Duplicating one design across both halves is the quickest way to make a pair of homes read as units. On our Seven Hills project the two ended up with quite different personalities, one moody in navy and timber, the other crisp and light filled, while sharing the same build standard and the same program.
Get in touch
Call 02 8014 8962 or email enquiry@refinedgroup.com.au. Or start with a no pressure intro call with our director.
