Builder in Lake Macquarie

Eleebana — addition and exterior renovation

New living and entertaining spaces, an outdoor kitchen and a generous alfresco area, all organised around the home’s elevated lake views. Carefully positioned openings bring daylight deep into the house while keeping its privacy. View the Eleebana project.

Belmont — alfresco addition and kitchen joinery

A sheltered outdoor room with a clean-lined roof and skylights, a frameless-style glass balustrade to keep the garden in view, and black-stained timber cladding. New kitchen joinery connects the kitchen, living and outdoor spaces. View the Belmont project.

Floraville — additions and alterations

A series of additions and alterations with natural stone, feature wallpaper and brass tapware through the kitchen, bathroom and powder room. View the Floraville project.

Charlestown — whole-home renovation and extension

A complete internal and external renovation with new living spaces, custom joinery and a large outdoor entertaining area that extends the house into the garden. View the Charlestown project.

Lake Macquarie sites bring their own considerations. Understanding them before design is finished saves time and money:

• Mine subsidence. Much of the city sits within mine subsidence districts, including the Lake Macquarie, West Lake and Swansea districts. Building or extending a home there needs approval under Subsidence Advisory NSW guidelines, which can affect footing and structural design.
• Flooding and the foreshore. Low-lying land around the lake can be flood-affected, and Lake Macquarie City Council plans for future sea level rise on foreshore land. Floor levels, materials and the approval pathway may all be affected.
• Bushfire-prone land. Many suburbs border bushland. A Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessment sets requirements for materials, glazing and construction, and the highest ratings rule out fast-track approval.
• Slopes and ground conditions. Hillside blocks may need retaining, suspended floors or piers, and some areas need geotechnical assessment. Low-lying foreshore land can also have acid sulfate soils.
• Salt air. Close to the lake and coast, corrosion-resistant fixings, flashings and finishes are part of building something that lasts.
• Views and orientation. Designing for the lake outlook while managing afternoon sun and privacy is often the heart of a Lake Macquarie brief — as it was in Eleebana.

New homes and extensions go through either a complying development certificate (CDC), which suits designs that meet set state standards and can be issued in as little as 20 days, or a development application (DA) assessed by council on its merits. Flood, bushfire, foreshore and heritage constraints commonly push a project to a DA. Your planning certificate is the place to start, and we confirm the pathway with your designer and certifier during pre-construction. See DA or CDC? Approval pathways for NSW homes.

• Home extensions and second storeys — including alfresco and indoor–outdoor additions.
• Home renovations — whole-home, structural and character renovations.
• Custom new homes — architecturally designed homes for lakeside and hillside sites.
• Knockdown rebuilds — keeping the location, replacing the house.
• High-performance homes — airtight, well-ventilated homes that are cheaper to run.

We work right around the lake, including Eleebana, Belmont, Belmont North, Floraville, Charlestown, Warners Bay, Valentine, Speers Point, Toronto, Redhead, Whitebridge, Swansea and Caves Beach. If your suburb isn’t listed, ask — we build across Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Maitland and Port Stephens. See all areas we build.