Building Forums Australia - Construction, Renovation & Trades
  • top builders queensland reddit

    banned on reddit AGAIN for posting building stats. wont go into it. mods over there are allergic to numbers apparentlyanyway anyone looking...

  • 7 star energy rating quotes are all over the place

    Our Hobart build is going through NatHERS assessment now and the draftsman keeps saying dont stress, 7 stars is mostly design. The builder...

  • Site cost allowance feels like a number they made up

    Signed a prelim agreement for a build in Armstrong Creek and the site costs line is a $28,000 provisional sum. Asked how they got there and...

  • Soil test came back H1 and now I'm nervous

    Got the soil report back for our block in Ripley and it has come back H1.I understand the basic idea is reactive clay and more movement...

  • What makes a block secretly expensive to build on?

    Looking at land around Clyde North and Officer and im starting to realise the cheap block might not actually be the cheap block.Slope...

  • Bathroom renovation cost QLD 2026 what did you actually pay

    Owner-reported bathroom renovation costs in Queensland, with scope and trade breakdown context.

  • Would you buy in a new estate again?

    Curious how people feel after actually living in a new estate for a while. We are three years into ours in Marsden Park.On paper they make...

  • Deck cost per m2 QLD 2026 timber vs composite installed quotes

    Installed deck cost per m2 in Queensland, with timber vs composite trade-offs from real projects.

  • Cracks after new build builder says normal movement when is it a defect

    When new-build cracking is cosmetic movement versus a defect worth escalating in Queensland.

  • Why are Australian new builds so expensive but still full of defects?

    My husband and I live in Joondalup, Perth, with our two kids. For the last 10 years, we worked, saved, rented, cut back on holidays, and...

  • What upgrade was actually worth the money?

    Fair bit of cost blowout chat on here lately which I get. Trying to ask the opposite for once.We renovated in Brisbane a couple of years...

  • Small things that made the house better

    Living in the place teaches you stuff the plans never show.We are in outer Melbourne and added a few small things during the build that...

  • North facing living room - did you get it right?

    Block in Hobart slopes a bit and the draftsman keeps flipping the living room to catch the water view south. Looks great on the render...

  • Garage workshop - what actually worked?

    Moved into a place with a double garage near Canberra last year and half of it is still cardboard because I never planned the workshop...

  • Stuff from our old place I would copy in a heartbeat

    We sold the house in Lambton after fifteen years and I keep thinking about the dumb stuff that actually worked.Pantry was tiny but the...

  • QBCC defect complaint timeline QLD how long did yours actually take

    Real Queensland experiences with defect complaints, inspections and rectification timeframes.

  • PCI practical completion QLD what did you miss at handover

    Practical handover checks, missed PCI items and lessons from new-home completion in QLD.

  • Owner builder QLD real cost compared to hiring a builder

    True owner-builder cost comparisons in QLD, including approvals, time overhead and risk.

  • Australia needs more homes so why the F does building one still feel harder?

    There has been a lot of talk about Australia’s housing supply problem, construction costs, tax changes, builder pressure, labour shortages...