Renovation is the biggest single category we get briefed on right now. With cost-of-living pressure pushing more owners to improve rather than move, the renovation market is sharper and more competitive than it's been in years — and that's surfaced a lot of poor-quality operators chasing volume. Buildana approaches renovation the same way we approach a custom build: feasibility first, structural strategy locked in early, finishes specified to a written schedule, fixed-price contract, project-managed against a published programme.
Scope ranges from single-room work (full kitchen or bathroom replacement) up to whole-home gut renovations including layout reworks, structural wall removal, slab cuts, electrical and plumbing recommissioning, joinery, finishes, glazing upgrades and external works. We handle the planning permission side wherever needed (most internal-only renovations don't require approval, but structural changes affecting external walls or services often do). Asbestos audit and clearance is included as standard on any pre-1990 home.
Thinking about your block?
Free 30-minute feasibility call — we'll tell you if the numbers stack before you spend a dollar on plans.
Tile, tap, oven, joinery hardware, paint colour, electrical points, lighting fixtures — every item specified before contract. Allowance-based renovation contracts are how owners end up $30K over budget at PC stage.
Structural changes done by engineers
Removing a wall? Cutting a slab? It's drawn, beam-spec'd and Form 15 certified by a structural engineer. We don't do 'looks like it should be load-bearing — we'll prop it'.
Live-in renovation sequencing
Kitchen, bathroom, laundry — the daily-use rooms are sequenced so you're never without all of them simultaneously. Temporary kitchen setup managed by us, not your problem to figure out.
Asbestos handled properly
Pre-1990 homes get a hygienist audit before any wall removal or service modification. Removal by licensed contractor with full clearance certificate. Important — this is a routine source of renovation cost blowouts on jobs done by non-licensed builders.
How the process runs
Renovation programme depends heavily on scope. Full kitchen replacement: 4–6 weeks on site. Full bathroom: 3–5 weeks. Combined kitchen + two bathrooms + open-plan layout rework: 12–18 weeks. Whole-home gut: 4–7 months. Where structural changes are involved, allow 4–8 weeks for documentation and engineering before site mobilisation. We provide a Gantt-style programme and weekly written progress against it — no vague 'we should be done in a couple months' updates.
Home Renovation Builder — scope at a glance
Kitchen replacement (mid-spec)
$35,000 – $65,000
Bathroom replacement (mid-spec)
$25,000 – $45,000
Whole-home gut renovation
$250,000 – $500,000+
Approval pathways
Exempt / CDC / DA depending on scope
Kitchen build duration
4 – 6 weeks on site
Whole-home gut duration
4 – 7 months on site
Typical valuation uplift
60% – 110% of build cost
Warranty
6-year statutory on structural scope
The detail
What actually shapes the build — and the cost
The differences between a clean fixed-price build and a job that drifts come down to documentation, sequencing and the specifics below. Read through — these are the conversations we have with every client at contract.
01
Programme over hourly — why renovation cost control starts at documentation
The typical Sydney renovation horror story runs like this: homeowner signs a contract with 'allowances' of $18K for kitchen joinery, $12K for bathroom tile, $8K for electrical.
Six months later the actual costs are $28K, $19K and $13K because the allowances were deliberately pitched low to win the job. The variations and cost-plus add-ons hit $42K over the signed contract. This is not a pricing failure — it's a documentation failure. Buildana renovation contracts list every item: the specific oven model, the specific tap, the specific tile size and supplier, the joinery hardware part numbers, the paint colour codes, the lighting fixture specifications, the electrical point count by room. Every one of those is priced at contract and the price is held. That takes roughly three times the documentation effort of a typical renovation contract, which is why we won't compete on the cheapest upfront quote — but it's also why our average variation cost on completed renovations is under 3% of contract value, versus industry average around 12–18%.
02
Structural renovation — when removing a wall needs more than a reciprocating saw
Almost every modern renovation involves some structural change — removing a wall to open kitchen to living, cutting a slab to relocate plumbing, adding a window to an external wall, modifying a roof line.
Each of those needs structural engineering documented before work starts. Wall removal: engineer confirms load-bearing status via truss layout and inspection, designs replacement beam (usually LVL or RSJ), sizes supporting columns, details bearing points into existing structure, produces a Form 15 for certifier sign-off, and specifies propping strategy during removal. Slab cut for plumbing relocation: structural assessment of remaining slab, cut geometry designed to avoid compromising load paths, reinforcement continuity detailed at the cut edges. We don't do 'it should be fine' on structural work. Every alteration is drawn, certified, and logged. That's what six-year statutory warranty actually means in practice.
03
Asbestos and the pre-1990 reality across Western Sydney
Roughly 90% of homes built before 1990 in the LGAs we work in contain asbestos somewhere — typically fibro sheeting behind bathroom tile, vinyl flooring adhesive backing, popcorn ceiling textures, pipe lagging in wall cavities, eaves sheeting.
Any renovation that disturbs wall cavities, tiles, or ceilings needs to be preceded by an asbestos audit by a licensed hygienist. If asbestos is present, licensed Class A or B removal is required before the trade work can proceed. Waste is tracked to an approved disposal facility with manifests retained. Builders who skip this step are gambling with your health and exposing you to potential EPA liability. We run the full compliance chain on every pre-1990 renovation. It adds $3–8K typically — a fraction of the job — and it's not negotiable.
04
Live-in renovation — sequencing the daily-use rooms so your family doesn't unravel
The single biggest quality-of-life issue on renovations isn't noise or dust, it's access to working bathrooms, a functional kitchen, and a place to keep food cold.
We programme renovations around daily-life continuity: the old kitchen stays operational until the new kitchen's benchtop is templated and carcasses are in — typically 2–3 weeks of overlap where we set up a temporary microwave/kettle/fridge zone elsewhere. Bathrooms are phased one at a time; if you have two, we demolish one while the other is still usable. If you only have one bathroom we install a temporary shower cubicle outside or provide alternate arrangements upfront in the contract. Laundry moves to a temporary tub if the laundry is in scope. None of this is revolutionary — it's just what happens when programming is actually done. Most renovations that 'drag on for months' aren't actually taking longer to build; they've just lost programme control and the family is living in chaos. Programme discipline is the main thing you pay us for.
Home Renovation Builder across the LGAs we work in
Local controls, soil class, heritage and coastal overlays change the build conversation by suburb. Tap into the LGA you're building in for service-specific pricing, council pathway, and the full suburb list.
Most of the renovation jobs we tender on already have two or three quotes on the table. Ours rarely sits in the middle — we either come in close to the top with a properly itemised scope, or the client finds themselves asking why the lower quotes have $40K of 'allowances'. I don't hide that. What I'll always do on a quote walkthrough is open my documentation against theirs and let you see the difference line by line. If theirs holds up, I'll tell you. If it's a trap, I'll show you exactly where.
— Oliver Alameri, licensed builder and director, Buildana. See author bio.
Suburbs we build in
Buildana works across 29 Sydney LGAs and 456+ suburbs. Pick a region to expand the list and see local feasibility notes, council process, soil class, and indicative cost ranges relevant to your block.
Most internal-only renovations don't require approval. Changes that affect external walls (new windows, removing or adding doors), changes to building footprint, or significant electrical/plumbing reconfiguration usually need a CDC at minimum, sometimes a DA. We assess this in feasibility so the timeline is realistic from day one.
What does a kitchen renovation cost in Western Sydney 2026?
Indicative range: $35K–$65K for a quality mid-spec kitchen replacement (custom joinery, stone benchtop, mid-range appliances, electrical and plumbing reroute, tiling). Premium spec with imported appliances, full-height pantry walls and engineered stone splashback can push past $90K. We itemise every line so you can see what's driving the number.
How do you handle structural changes like removing a wall?
Engineer's report first — confirms whether the wall is load-bearing and what the replacement steel beam needs to span. Beam designed and Form 15 certified, propping strategy planned, then site work. We don't 'just remove it and see what happens' — that's how ceilings sag and inspections fail.
Will my renovation increase my home's value?
Quality renovations targeted at kitchen, bathroom and open-plan living usually return 60–110% of the build cost in valuation increase, depending on the suburb's price band and the original home's condition. We can model this against recent comparable sales in your suburb during feasibility.
Can I live in the house during the renovation?
Usually yes for everything except whole-home gut renovations. We sequence the work so at least one bathroom and a temporary kitchen setup are always available. Whole-home guts (where ceilings come down and floors come up site-wide) require off-site living for the structural phase — typically 6–10 weeks.
Ready to talk through your block?
Free, no-obligation feasibility — fixed-scope quote within 7 days.
Buildana works across all 28 Sydney metropolitan LGAs. Pick the council area your block sits in for a deep-dive on local soil, heritage controls, DCP rules, and realistic cost ranges.
