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.
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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
- The Constructor Field Manual: Know What to Ask, Before You Need to Ask ItChecklists
- Bushfire BAL Ratings Made Simple: What They Mean for Design, Cost & MaterialsDesign
- Known Unknowns on Your Build: Planning for Rock, Fill and Buried Services
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
- C23: The Concrete Driveways and Paths ChecklistChecklists
- Quality Forms Starter Pack: 17 Forms for Checking Your Own BuildChecklists
- 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
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
- Home Maintenance Calendar: A Month-by-Month Plan for Your New HomeMaintenance + Care
Related topics
Latest guides
C23: The Concrete Driveways and Paths Checklist
A 140-check fillable checklist for new home owners, from the first quote to the defects period: base, mesh, joints, curing, problems and sealing, with 19 sketches.
Quality Forms Starter Pack: 17 Forms for Checking Your Own Build
17 quality forms for homeowners, from the non-conformance report to the site instruction, each as a print-ready PDF and an editable Word file.
The Constructor Field Manual: Know What to Ask, Before You Need to Ask It
A year ago we said our checklists were chonky, and promised to break them down. This is it: every check by stage, with what good looks like, so you know what to ask before you need to ask it.
Post 46: Steel Fixing, Tanks Formed and Waterproofing Details
The first 18 tonnes of slab steel are craned in, the sewer and stormwater tanks are formed in Rediwall, and the water stops and Sika waterproofing are being detailed before the tanks are backfilled.
The Constructor Site Diary: Your Own Record of the Build
Builders keep a site diary. The Constructor Site Diary is yours: a one-page record for every visit, a weekly wrap, and a stage gate before every payment, so you have dates, names and photos to point to if a question comes up.
Post 45: Blinding Down, Set-Out Done and Planning the Tanks
The blinding slab is down and set out, the sewer and stormwater tank walls have arrived, and the waterproofing for the tanks and basement walls is being designed ahead of a 250 m³ monolithic pour.
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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Before Construction 114Design 67Quality control 66PROJECT 1 46Materials 38Energy Efficiency 25During Construction 21Planning & Organisation 14Maintenance + Care 13Concrete + Driveways 13After Construction 12Contract Administration 11Plumbing + Drainage 9Landscaping 8What Is? 7Paint + Plasterboard 6Brickwork + Cladding 5Legal 5
Build diary · 46 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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