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Building Without Regret is out 30 November in softcover, with a free digital edition.Out 30 Nov.
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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.
522free guides
25checklists
2,500+individual checks
Latest from the blog
Free, plain-English guides from 26 years on residential building sites. New posts every week.
C25 Build Money Ledger: Keep the Books From Signing to the Keys
Once you sign, nobody keeps the books for you. C25 Build Money Ledger tracks every claim, variation and dollar of contingency until the landscaping is done.
C24 Build Cost Plan: Know the Whole Cost Before You Sign
The builder's price is never the whole cost of a new home. C24 Build Cost Plan adds up everything else before you sign, so you know the build fits your money.
Construction Loan Progress Payments: How Bank Drawdowns Work
A construction loan doesn't pay your builder in one hit. It pays stage by stage, after checks by you and the bank. Here's how progress payments and drawdowns work, and where they go wrong.
Benchtops After the Engineered Stone Ban: Options for Your Kitchen
Since the engineered stone ban started on 1 July 2024, the default kitchen benchtop has gone. What the ban covers, what you can still choose, and what to check in your specification before you sign.
Display Home Inclusions: What's Included and What Isn't
A display home is built to sell, and much of what you see isn't in the base price. Here's how to sort standard inclusions from upgrades, spot defects, and make sure what you were shown ends up in your contract.
Fixed Price vs Cost Plus: Which Contract Suits Your New Home?
Fixed price vs cost plus is one of the first contract decisions you'll face. Here's how each works in Queensland, where the cost risk really sits, and what to check before you sign either one.
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
- C24 Build Cost Plan: Know the Whole Cost Before You SignChecklists
- Construction Loan Progress Payments: How Bank Drawdowns WorkPlanning & Organisation
- Stages of Building a House in Australia: What Happens and What to CheckDuring Construction
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
- C19 Periodic Safety Inspection Checklist: A Builder's Guide to SafetyChecklists
- 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 Sediment and Erosion ControlQuality control
- Concrete Foundations and Slabs: A Guide for New HomeownersConcrete + Driveways
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 Ceramic TileChecklists
- 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
- C25 Build Money Ledger: Keep the Books From Signing to the KeysChecklists
- Stages of Building a House in Australia: What Happens and What to CheckDuring Construction
- 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
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
- 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
- C25 Build Money Ledger: Keep the Books From Signing to the KeysChecklists
- Stages of Building a House in Australia: What Happens and What to CheckDuring Construction
Related topics
Build diary · 51 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.
Read the diary →The book · out 30 November
The whole build, in one book you can keep on the bench
Building Without Regret walks you through every stage of a new home, from the first sales meeting to your first year living in it. It's about preventing defects through knowledge, not finding them after they're built: what to check, what to ask, and when to push back, from 26 years on residential sites.
- Every stage, in the order you'll face it
- The PSA, contract and allowances explained
- What to inspect before each payment
- Handover, defects and your first year
From A$69.95Softcover, on sale 30 November
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When you're ready: a checklist for every stage
The guides are free. When you want it all in one place, take a checklist 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 127Design 67Quality control 66PROJECT 1 51Materials 39Energy Efficiency 25During Construction 24Planning & Organisation 17Maintenance + Care 13Contract Administration 13Concrete + Driveways 13After Construction 12Plumbing + Drainage 9Landscaping 8What Is? 7Paint + Plasterboard 6Legal 5Brickwork + Cladding 5
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