Builders in Castlecrag
We renovated the Bernard family home in Castlecrag: new bathrooms, a new kitchen, a rear extension and a large entertaining deck with a BBQ and pool area, built around a house that had water problems.
- Featured in Home Beautiful
- NSW builder’s licence 313669C
- 5.0 on Google, 9 reviews
- Northern Beaches, North Shore & South Coast
Building in Castlecrag
Castlecrag was planned by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin in the 1920s as a suburb that fitted the sandstone and the bush rather than flattening them. Many of the Griffin-era buildings are heritage listed and the suburb is a heritage conservation area.
Controls here are stricter than in most of Sydney. Height, scale, materials and how a house sits in the bushland all get looked at closely, and steep sandstone blocks bring water, access and excavation problems with them.
How we workFour things that shape a Castlecrag project
Heritage and character
The conservation area limits complying development and shapes the design. We plan for a DA where the site calls for one.
Water on sandstone
Water moving through the rock is common here. Fixing it was central to the Bernard house, and it has to be solved before finishes go in.
Steep, tight sites
Access, excavation and retaining are planned and priced up front.
Bushland setting
Some blocks back onto bush and carry bushfire requirements as well as heritage ones.
Four things you get in writing.
A flexible pricing structure
A complete itemised price before the job starts, so you can see what each part of the job costs before you commit to any of it, and a pricing structure that suits you.
One site supervisor who is on your job
Not running six others. The person who answers your call was on site that morning.
A published programme and a weekly meeting
You always know where the project is up to, and what is happening next week.
A defects walk, warranties, manuals and a twelve month check
Handover is a process with a date on it, not the day the last trade drives away.
Services
Residential building and construction in Castlecrag
New homes, renovations and extensions, top storey additions, granny flats, studios, tiny homes, cabins, bathrooms, kitchens, small works and landscape construction. One team from first site visit to handover.
02Design and approvals in Castlecrag
Architectural and interior design, documentation, landscape design, and DA and CDC approvals, handled by the team that will build it.
03Carpentry services in Castlecrag
Decks, pergolas, framing, panelling and wainscoting, custom joinery and fit-off, by carpenters who are part of the team.
5.0 on Google, across 9 reviews.
Client review · Castlecrag
“We love our renovation. Together, we have created our dream home. Thank you. Your attention to the details, the workmanship, the creative solutions to challenges, your thoughtfulness, flexibility and tolerance of the two hounds were outstanding. We are very happy to recommend their work.”
Google review · Balmoral
“Jared is knowledgeable across all building fields and works with excellent support specialists. He is great to work with, providing helpful solutions to difficult problems (he is also frank enough to say it how it is). Strongly recommend him. He just finished supervising a multi year complex renovation of our home.”
Building in Castlecrag
Have you built in Castlecrag?
Yes. We renovated and extended the Bernard family home, with new bathrooms, a new kitchen, a rear extension and an entertaining deck with a BBQ and pool area. Pauline Bernard's review is on this page.
Is Castlecrag a heritage area?
Yes. Castlecrag is a heritage conservation area and many Griffin-era buildings are heritage items. That usually means a DA rather than a CDC, and a design that respects the setting.
Can you fix water problems in a Castlecrag house?
Water was one of the main issues on the Bernard house. The fix is usually drainage, waterproofing and detailing that deals with water coming through the sandstone, done before new finishes go in.
Which council covers Castlecrag?
Willoughby City Council, under the Willoughby LEP and DCP, which include the heritage controls for the suburb.
Building in Castlecrag?
We will come and look, and tell you what it will really cost. The site visit is free.