Knockdown Rebuild Builders in Sutherland Shire

A knockdown rebuild (KDR) means demolishing the house you already own and building a new one on the same land, rather than renovating the existing structure or selling and buying elsewhere. You keep the street, the school zone and the neighbours, and you get a house designed for the block and built to current standards.

On a lot of older housing, often yes, though not on paper. A renovation quote starts lower because it can't yet price what is behind the walls. Once opening up reveals asbestos, outdated wiring, termite damage, old plumbing or footings never designed for a second storey, the variations grow. A rebuild is priced from a survey, a geotechnical report and a complete design, so the contract figure is known before work starts, and the whole home carries the statutory warranties from day one.

No. Transfer duty in NSW applies when property changes hands. If you demolish the house on land you already own and build a new one on the same title, no transfer takes place, so no duty is triggered. Council rates still apply during construction.

Yes, for both the demolition and the new home, and they are usually lodged together. A complying development certificate applies where the proposal meets the state standards for the zone and the site, and a development application goes to Sutherland Shire Council where it doesn't, commonly because of heritage, bushfire, flood or foreshore controls. The section 10.7 planning certificate for the lot shows which controls apply.

A qualified inspector assesses the house before demolition, and the report defines the scope. Under SafeWork NSW requirements, friable asbestos must be removed by a Class A licensed removalist, and more than 10 square metres of non-friable (bonded) asbestos needs a licensed removalist. Demolition follows the clearance certificate. We coordinate the inspection, the removalist and the clearance as part of the contract.

Most CKS Projects knockdown rebuilds take 6–12 months across design, approvals, demolition and construction. The approval pathway, the weather, ground conditions found once the site is opened, and changes requested after the design is fixed are what move that range. Keiron Moore gives you a stage-by-stage timeline at the site assessment.

Once demolition starts the site isn't habitable until practical completion, so you need somewhere to stay for the construction period. In most cases you can stay in the existing house while design, documentation and approval are underway, because nothing is disturbed until the approvals are in place. We set out the expected duration of each stage so you can plan a lease around it.

Everything from demolition of your existing home through to handover of the new one: demolition and waste removal, asbestos inspection and any removal, service disconnection and reconnection, site works, engineered footings, construction, approvals and certification fees, and a defined inclusions list.

There are no provisional sums hiding unknown costs. The price only changes after contract if you choose to vary the design or inclusions yourself. When you compare builders, ask each one whether their contract is genuinely fixed or contains provisional sums.

Your new home is custom designed for your block, your lifestyle and your budget. CKS Projects isn't a volume builder and doesn't work from a catalogue. Keiron works with every client on how you live, whether that's north-facing living, a plan for a growing family, or making the most of a water view.