Constructor
For Australians building a new home
Know what to check before you pay the next stage.
Plain-English guides and stage-by-stage inspection checklists, so you can spot problems while they're still cheap to fix. Explaining what builders don't.
C1 Before Buying Land is free. Just your email, no card.
486free guides
21stage checklists
3,500+individual checks
Where are you in your build?
Pick your stage. You'll get the checklists for it, what to check before you pay, and the guides worth reading now.
Land & planning
Before you buy a block or sign anything. Most expensive mistakes are locked in here, months before anything is built.
Hold pointBefore you buy or pay a deposit: check the site for slope, soil, flooding, bushfire rating and easements.
Checklists for this stage
Guides for this stage
- C21: The Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist (know what your inspector checks, and what the report really means)Checklists
- C1 Before Buying Land Checklist: What to Check Before You SignQuality control
- Making Sense of Your Soil Test: Site Classes ExplainedDesign
- Bushfire BAL Ratings Made Simple: What They Mean for Design, Cost & MaterialsDesign
- Known Unknowns on Your Build: Planning for Rock, Fill and Buried Services
- Construction Cost: How to Estimate the Cost of Your New Home
Related topics
Design & contract
Plans, inclusions and the contract. What you settle now decides what you can argue about later.
Hold pointBefore you sign the PSA or contract: know what the PSA buys, and check every allowance and inclusion.
Checklists for this stage
Guides for this stage
- C13A Waterproofing Design Checklist: Get It Right Before the Membrane Goes OnChecklists
- The Preliminary Service Agreement (PSA): A Quick OverviewBefore Construction
- Thermal Mass and Your New Home: What You Need to KnowDesign
- Insulation for Your New Home: What You Need to Know to Improve Comfort and Reduce Energy CostsEnergy Efficiency
- Your Home Orientation: The Key to Comfort and Energy Efficiency in AustraliaDesign
- C4 - Choosing Your Builder: Find Out Who Is Best for YouQuality control
Site & slab
Site works, footings and the slab. Problems here get buried in concrete, so this is the stage to slow down.
Hold pointBefore the slab pour and the base-stage payment: check set-out, reo, cover, termite protection and plumbing.
Guides for this stage
- C6 Post-Pour Concrete Slab Inspection Checklist: Your Essential GuideChecklists
- C5 Pre-Pour Slab Inspection Checklist for HomeownersConcrete + Driveways
- C4A - The Ultimate Earthworks Inspection ChecklistQuality control
- C3 - Erosion & Sediment Control (ESC) ChecklistQuality control
- Concrete Foundations and Slabs: A Guide for New HomeownersConcrete + Driveways
- A Guide to Termite Barrier Systems: Protecting Your Home from TermitesPest Control
Related topics
Frame & lock-up
Frame, roof, windows and rough-in. The last chance to see inside the walls before they are closed up.
Hold pointBefore the frame and enclosed-stage payments: check bracing, tie-downs, wraps, flashings and rough-in.
Checklists for this stage
Guides for this stage
- C11 Enclosed Stage Checklist: An OverviewChecklists
- C10 Rough-In Stage Inspection Checklist: What to Check Before the Walls CloseChecklists
- C9: Your Guide to Quality Roofing: Tile Roof, Box Gutter, and Flashing Inspection ChecklistChecklists
- C8 Metal Roof, Box Gutter and Flashing Checklist: A Homeowner's GuideChecklists
- C7 - Timber Frame Stage Inspection Checklist: A Detailed Guide for Quality ManagementChecklists
- Brick Veneer Facades for Australian HomesBrickwork + Cladding
Related topics
Fixing & finishes
Waterproofing, tiling, joinery and paint. What you see every day for the next 20 years.
Hold pointBefore the fixing-stage payment: check waterproofing before tiles go down, then tiling and paint.
Guides for this stage
- C15: Your Ultimate Painting Inspection Checklist (from design to execution)Checklists
- C14 Checklist: The Homeowner’s Guide to Ceramic Tile Design & InstallationChecklists
- C12 Fixing Stage Checklist: What to Inspect Before You Pay the Fixing ClaimChecklists
- C13B: Waterproofing Done Right: How to Avoid the #1 Building DefectChecklists
- A Guide to Ceramic Tiling: AS3958.1 Insights for HomeownersQuality control
- Painting Quality Assurance Records for Your New HomePaint + Plasterboard
Related topics
Handover
Practical completion and the final payment. Once you take the keys, getting things fixed gets harder.
Hold pointBefore the final payment: inspect for defects, get them listed in writing, and collect every certificate.
Checklists for this stage
Guides for this stage
- C17: The Handover Stage Checklist (pay safely, take your keys and protect your defects rights)Checklists
- C16 Practical Completion Inspection Checklist: Find Every Defect Before You Accept Your HomeChecklists
- Software of the Week: Ditch the Spreadsheet Chaos with DefectWise #SOTWDuring Construction
- QBCC Dispute Resolution: How It Works and How to Present Your CaseQuality control
- Final Bank Valuation: How to Avoid Delays at HandoverPlanning & Organisation
- How to Clean Construction Dust Safely: Cleaning Tips
Related topics
Living in it
Your first year and beyond. The 12-month defects period starts at practical completion. Check your contract.
Hold pointBefore the defects period ends: inspect again and report anything new to your builder in writing.
Checklists for this stage
Guides for this stage
- C19 Periodic Safety Inspection Checklist: A Builder's Guide to SafetyChecklists
- Landscaping and Garden Design for Your New HomeLandscaping
- Why Your New Home Needs a Maintenance CalendarMaintenance + Care
- Concrete Slab Cracks: What's Normal, What's a Defect, and What to Do (QLD)Concrete + Driveways
- Understanding and Managing Condensation in BuildingsBefore Construction
- C18: The 6 Month Maintenance Checklist (catch small problems before they grow)Checklists
Related topics
Latest guides
Post 33: Site Housekeeping, Wall Drainage and Panels Lifted Too Green
A walk around the site before the dewatering starts. Safe chemical storage, temporary power, the new walkway, the drainage behind the boundary wall, and what happens when precast panels are lifted too early.
Post 32: Pouring the Boundary Fence Footing Straight Off the Chute
Ten cubic metres of 40 MPa concrete, no pump, and a fence contractor who didn't turn up. Here's how we poured the engineered boundary footing, and what the steel inside it is doing.
C20: The Design Your New Home Checklist (the questions to settle before it's drawn)
Our C20 Design Your New Home Checklist gives you 372 questions across 30 sections to settle before your plans are final, so your home suits how you live and you don't pay for changes later.
C18: The 6 Month Maintenance Checklist (catch small problems before they grow)
Our C18 6 Month Maintenance Checklist gives you 110 checks across 13 sections, plus a maintenance calendar and log, so you can list defects for your builder's 6-month visit and keep your new home in top shape.
C17: The Handover Stage Checklist (pay safely, take your keys and protect your defects rights)
Our C17 Handover Stage Checklist gives you 109 checks across 10 sections to pay the final claim safely, take possession with your own keys, collect every warranty and set up your defects period properly.
C16 Practical Completion Inspection Checklist: Find Every Defect Before You Accept Your Home
Our C16 Practical Completion Inspection Checklist walks you through 293 checks across 19 sections, so you can find every defect, collect every certificate, key and warranty, and get it all in writing before you pay the final claim.
One checklist for every stage
Take them on site, tick off each check before you pay, and keep a record if something goes wrong later.
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C1 Before Buying Land
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Before Construction 96Design 67Quality control 66Materials 38PROJECT 1 33Energy Efficiency 25During Construction 20Planning & Organisation 14Concrete + Driveways 13Maintenance + Care 12Contract Administration 11After Construction 11Plumbing + Drainage 9Landscaping 8What Is? 7Paint + Plasterboard 6Brickwork + Cladding 5Legal 5
Build diary · 33 posts
Follow the Project 1 build
A real build written up as it happens, from demolition and sheet piling to footings, with what went right and what didn't.
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