The questions we hear most, with the answers we’d give over the table.

In order to obtain a quote the client must have building plans. Varloch runs its own in-house architecture studio — for most projects we recommend starting with us so the design and the build sit under one roof, which removes the usual friction between architect and builder and keeps cost decisions honest from day one. If you already have an architect, we work happily alongside them.

There are no costs involved putting together the building quote, however there are costs to get the building plans drawn.

Typically quotes take 6–8 weeks to produce depending on size. This timeframe accounts for full take-off, sending the plans out to every trade subcontractor for pricing, and stress-testing the inclusions so the number we put in front of you is one we can actually honour.

Each client is issued a login to our construction management software and can log in directly from this website. There you'll see all updates and schedules for your specific job — a log book is made every day reporting activities and progress, with photos and notes from site.

Being flexible in our work to calmly accept any variations to an initial design is critical because delays due to unforeseen situations such as weather, or geology — as well as contract amendments and alterations — inevitably come to pass in every project.

Sustainable building is 'built to last' — the higher quality of materials we use and the design we go for is intended to last decades to come with no need for someone to come along and pull it down.

Unsustainable are homes that need to be constantly renovated, demolished to chase a new trend, putting more building waste back into the ground.

Wherever the brief and the budget allow, we lean toward natural materials that can be recycled or returned to ground — timber over engineered alternatives, lime over cement where appropriate, stone over composite, and finishes that age rather than degrade. We don't dogmatically refuse modern materials, but the bias is toward things that can have a second life.

BASIX is a NSW Government planning measure to reduce household electricity and water use by setting minimum sustainability targets for new and renovated homes. It sets minimum targets that must be achieved before a BASIX certificate can be generated, and then submitted as part of a development application or application for complying development. Water and energy use affects everyone and BASIX will continue to lead the way in lowering household energy and water use and costs.

Features they assess to issue the certificate, which is also a legal requirement, are: insulation, house orientation, water storage, solar, shades and blinds, pool covers, irrigation.

Where the budget allows, Varloch likes to go above the BASIX minimums — better insulation, better glazing, better hot-water systems — because the marginal cost at build time is small and the operating savings compound across the life of the house.

It would be inaccurate to provide a cost of the build without seeing plans, a more important question to ask yourself is exactly how much do you want to spend and how well do you want to do it.

The price of your construction is based off the building design plans, a site inspection and your budget. Your budget is important during the drawings stage because the price difference between a concrete floor or timber floor, for example, is huge.

Varloch has many pricing methods for jobs to ease a client into the process. Any building arrangement and payment style can be considered so long as is represented and agreed in form of a contract.

All pricing methods and contract include variations as you can not predict the unseen, nor is it safe to make assumptions. However it is our job to make sure all these provisionals and variances are not hidden, and discussed openly before signing a contract and as soon as they arise on the job.

• Cost Plus

The contractor obtains materials and services throughout the building process and costs are passed to the owners, with an agreed margin to cover overheads and profits. This will be agreed to be billed at a set frequency most typically fortnightly.

Can be highly cost effective and the most transparent form of contract.

• Lump Sum

A lump sum contract has the contractor agree to complete the project for a predetermined, set price.

Even under a lump sum contract there are often Provisional Costs and Provisional Sums — for items that can't yet be selected (tile, fixture, joinery hardware) or works whose final extent can't be priced exactly at signing (excavation, rock removal, hidden remediation). These are disclosed in the contract and reconciled to actuals as the job progresses.

Prime Costs and Provisional Sums are included in all contracts which cover an anticipated cost of certain elements or items included in the works.

A PC Item is an item that has not been selected at the time of signing the Contract. A PC Item includes the cost of the supply of the item only and includes items such as tiles, fixtures, lights.
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A PS is an allowance for works that will be carried out, but cannot be priced exactly at the time of signing the contract. They often include a combination of items, materials, labour and plant hire. Most common provisional sum is excavation - you can not price the unknown.

Anyone accessing abuilding site must be inducted, or accompanied by someone who has.

Even though you own the land does not change this fact due to occupational health and safety (OHS). Owners are not allowed onto a construction site unless they have had a full safety induction.

Custom residential build costs in Sydney typically fall between $9,000/m² and $15,000/m²+ depending on site difficulty, finish level, and inclusions. A 250m² family home on a flat block with mid-to-high inclusions usually lands in the $2.25M–$3.75M range for the build alone (excluding land, demolition, design fees, and council contributions). Difficult sites — sloping, heritage, basement, coastal — push above that band.

These figures are indicative ranges for orientation only, not a quote. For an exact figure on your specific brief, use our free Varloch PropDev calculator at /propdev — it accounts for site slope, demolition, basements, retaining, BASIX, and Sydney council levies. Or request a fixed-price quote once plans are at DA stage.

Class 1 buildings are detached or semi-detached residential dwellings — single houses, duplexes, townhouses where each unit doesn't share a fire-rated wall with another sole-occupancy unit above or below. Class 2 buildings are two or more sole-occupancy units stacked vertically — typically apartments. Class 2 work triggers additional NSW regulation (Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020) and is covered in detail on our Studio Construction page.

Varloch builds Class 1 and lower-rise Class 2. We're licensed and registered for both.

If your project is Class 2 (multi-unit residential) or has registered designs under the NSW DBP Act, you need a registered Class 2 builder. For complex Class 1 work — knock-down rebuilds with retained walls, heritage-listed properties, difficult-ground sites needing tanking, basements — you don't legally need a Level 2 Building Practitioner, but you want one.

Nick Varley holds NSW Level 2 Building Practitioner registration (BUP0004294). Level 2 covers buildings up to three storeys above ground. It signals additional structural and waterproofing competence beyond the basic NSW Builder Licence.

Tanking is the system of waterproofing that keeps water out of below-ground structures — basements, retained-cut garages, lower-ground living spaces, swimming pools. On a sloped Sydney site (Mosman, Vaucluse, Northbridge, anywhere on a hill), the high side of the house is often below ground level and acts like the back of a swimming pool from the outside.

Bad tanking is the single most common cause of expensive remedial work in luxury Sydney homes. It's hard to fix after the building is finished because you can't easily get to the back of the wall.

Varloch is licensed as both a builder (373007C) and a plumbing contractor (479776C). We self-perform tanking and hydraulic work rather than subcontracting it, which means the people responsible for keeping water out are on our payroll, not someone else's invoice.

From signed contract to handover, a custom Sydney home typically takes 12–18 months for a single-storey build on a straightforward site, and 18–30 months for a two-storey with basement, complex retaining, or heritage overlay. Add 6–12 months ahead of that for design, DA, and construction certificate approval.

Council assessment timeframes vary significantly — Mosman, Woollahra, and Northern Beaches councils tend to be slower than Inner West or Sydney City for residential DAs. Heritage-listed properties add another 2–4 months.

The senior people who price your project — Nick, Jan, and the site manager — stay on your project from quote through to handover. There's no hand-off to a junior PM after contracts are signed.

Decisions made at quoting time actually get honoured on site, which is the single biggest determinant of whether a build runs smoothly.

We primarily serve Sydney metro, with strong concentration on the Lower North Shore (Mosman, Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Kirribilli, Cammeray, Northbridge, Hunters Hill, Lane Cove, Greenwich), Northern Beaches (Manly, Balgowlah, Seaforth, Freshwater, Curl Curl, Dee Why), Eastern Suburbs (Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Coogee, Vaucluse, Bellevue Hill, Double Bay, Rose Bay), and Inner West (Balmain, Rozelle, Leichhardt, Annandale, Glebe).

Outside Sydney metro we take on selected projects case-by-case based on complexity and team capacity. Use /contact and tell us where the site is — we'll be straight about whether we're the right fit.

An estimate is a rough number based on incomplete information — usually given before plans are drawn, useful only for high-level feasibility. A quote is a priced bill of works based on full architectural and engineering documentation — what we produce at the end of our 2–3 week quoting process. A fixed-price contract converts that quote into a legally binding agreement at a single lump sum.

Cost-plus is the alternative contract model: you pay the actual cost of materials and labour plus an agreed builder's margin. Cost-plus is more transparent and often cheaper than lump sum on complex projects where many variables are unknown, but it transfers price risk from the builder to you.

Both models include Prime Cost items (PC) for things like tiles and fixtures where you haven't selected yet, and Provisional Sums (PS) for work that can't be priced exactly at signing — typically excavation.

BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) is a NSW Government planning measure requiring new homes and major renovations to meet minimum sustainability targets for water, energy, and thermal performance before a BASIX certificate can be issued. The certificate is a legal requirement at DA submission.

Practically, BASIX affects glazing (low-E glass, double-glazing in colder zones), insulation (higher R-values), ceiling fans, hot water systems (heat pump or solar), and often water tanks. On a typical custom Sydney home it adds $25k–$80k to the build cost depending on which credits the design relies on.

It also tends to influence orientation and overhang design — which is why we like to be in the room early when an architect is setting the building envelope, before BASIX-driven decisions become expensive to unwind.

Yes. Completed projects with photos and brief case-studies are at /projects. For in-progress site visits, we can usually arrange a walkthrough of an active site — many of our clients are happy to allow prospective owners through, particularly at the framing and services rough-in stage where the quality of the underlying work is visible before it's hidden behind plaster. We coordinate it with the homeowner first.

We don't run open inspections — every visit needs a safety induction. Email [email protected] to request.