Where we build · Lower North Shore
Under terraces and down harbour slopes on the Lower North Shore.
Kirribilli, Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne and the harbour suburbs behind them — sandstone, attached terraces, heritage conservation areas and steep harbour-facing blocks. Our deepest local work is a basement dug beneath a live Kirribilli terrace.
In short
Varloch's main Lower North Shore build is in Kirribilli: in 2025 we removed 250 m³ of rock for a basement beneath a live terrace, carried a steel cantilever on 700 mm piers drilled 3.5 m into sandstone, and had two DAs approved mid-project. We also renovated a Kirribilli terrace's kitchen and bathroom, and our head builder project-managed a Mosman new build before Varloch was founded.
Council: North Sydney, Mosman, Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill councils
Last updated
One region, five councils
The Lower North Shore is usually taken to mean the harbour-side suburbs north of the Bridge — Kirribilli, Milsons Point, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Cammeray and Mosman, with Northbridge, Greenwich, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill further west. Planning is split between North Sydney Council, Mosman Council, Willoughby City Council, Lane Cove Council and Hunters Hill Council, each with its own LEP and development control plan. That matters more than people expect: the same rear addition or basement can be assessed quite differently a few streets apart, depending on which council, which heritage conservation area and which foreshore controls apply. The first job on any site here is reading the controls for that address, not for the suburb in general.
The ground and the housing stock
Most of the region sits on Hawkesbury sandstone — good bearing ground for footings and usually a dry dig, but rock-hammering hours are limited by council noise rules and the impact on neighbours is high, so excavation has to be planned around both. Close to the water, blocks are steep and narrow, attached terraces and semis share walls with the house next door, and street access for trucks, concrete pumps and cranes is often the tightest constraint on the program. Much of the older late-Victorian and Federation stock sits inside heritage conservation areas, where external work usually needs a heritage impact statement and input from the council heritage advisor.
What we've built on the Lower North Shore
Our most substantial build here is Kirribilli, beneath the terrace (2025): a basement dug under a live terrace — 250 m³ of rock out and the neighbouring property underpinned — with a steel-framed cantilever carried on 700 mm piers sunk 3.5 m into sandstone, two development applications approved mid-project, and a western red cedar sauna in the finished basement. We also carried out a deliberately light-touch kitchen and bathroom renovation of a Kirribilli terrace. The Mosman project on our projects page is listed honestly: a two-lot new build designed by Michael Bell Architects and built by Gabriel O'Shea Building, with Nick Varley as project manager before he co-founded Varloch. He ran it; Varloch didn't build it.
Common project types here
Basements and lower-ground rooms under existing terraces and harbour homes, where underpinning the neighbours and getting rock out are the core of the job. Rear additions, attic conversions and restoration work on heritage terraces and cottages inside conservation areas. New homes and major renovations on steep harbour-facing blocks, where footings into sandstone, retaining and site access decide the program. For suburb-level detail — North Sydney Council's Kirribilli Conservation Area, or Mosman Council's approach to view sharing — see the Kirribilli and Mosman pages linked below.
What we’ve built here
Lower North Shore projects.
- Kirribilli, beneath the terrace, 2025New build · Heritage terrace, takeover & reinventionBuilder: Varloch ConstructionView the record →
- Kirribilli, 2020Renovation · Kirribilli terrace, kitchen & bathroomBuilder: Varloch ConstructionView the record →
- Mosman, 2020New build · Two-lot consolidation, mid-build takeoverBuilder: Gabriel O'Shea Building · Project Manager: Nick VarleyView the record →
Common project types here
- Basement excavation — Cellars, wine rooms, gyms, and garages excavated under existing Sydney homes.
- Heritage — Conservation-grade restoration and sympathetic additions on listed and overlay-protected Sydney homes.
- Sloping sites — Steep blocks, harbourside terraces, and the engineered foundations that hold them up.
Working on a project in Lower North Shore?
Walk the block with us.
Initial conversation either over the phone or on site — your call. No sales pitch. Just a look at what you’re trying to do and an honest read on whether we’re the right team for it.
Builder (Medium)
Australian Trades Small Business Champion Awards
NSW · Residential construction
