Propserve Residential Construction & Renovations Division
Division 07 of 09
New homes, second dwellings and structural additions, and the renovation of houses already lived in. Built to approved plans, on a written programme, with one contact accountable for the whole site.
One contractor. One programme. One person answering the phone.
The reason residential builds go wrong is rarely bricklaying. It is coordination: the plumber arriving after the screed, the electrician chasing walls that were finished last week, the owner discovering at plaster stage that a decision needed making a month ago. Propserve runs the build as a managed contract with a written programme, a fixed sequence of trades and one contact who is accountable for all of it.
We work from approved municipal plans and to the engineer's design. Where you do not yet have plans, we can point you to the right professionals for drawings, engineering sign off and submission. We would rather that process ran properly than start on site with something that will be rejected.
Payment follows progress against defined stages, not against optimism. You know what the next stage is, what it costs, and what has to be complete before it is invoiced.
What a build includes
- Site establishmentSetting out, site clearing, hoarding, access, temporary services and waste management.
- Foundations & slabExcavation, foundations and surface bed to engineer's design, with termite soil treatment before the pour.
- StructureBrickwork, reinforced concrete, lintels, roof timber or trusses, and roof covering.
- First & second fixPlumbing, electrical and gas routed at the right stage, then terminated and commissioned at the right stage.
- FinishesPlaster, screeds, tiling, ceilings, joinery, ironmongery, painting and glazing.
- Compliance & handoverElectrical CoC, plumbing certificate, gas CoC and termite certificate collated, plus a snag list and final clean.
- Kitchens & bathroomsFull strip out and rebuild covering layout, services, waterproofing, cabinetry, tops, tiling and lighting, phased so the house stays liveable.
- Extensions & alterationsExtra rooms, patios and garages tied properly into the existing structure, plus removing walls and forming openings to engineer’s design.
How a build runs
- Scope & feasibilityWe review your plans, walk the site, and give you an honest read on cost, programme and the constraints you are working with.
- Priced bill & programmeA quote broken down by stage with a provisional sum schedule, and a programme with real dates on it.
- Contract & depositA signed contract stating scope, stages, payment terms, variation procedure and the completion date.
- ConstructionTrades sequenced and supervised, with a scheduled site meeting and written progress report at each stage.
- HandoverSnag list walked and cleared, compliance certificates collated, warranties handed over and the site cleaned.
Suited to
- Owners building a new home on a stand
- Families adding a second dwelling or cottage
- Homeowners renovating a kitchen or bathroom
- Owners of older homes needing modernisation
- Structural additions: extra bedrooms, garages, double storey
- Owners who have plans and need a builder they can trust
- Buyers of a stand who need a full turnkey build
- Small developers building one to a handful of units
About variations
Every build has changes. What causes the arguments is not the changes themselves but discovering them on the final invoice. Any variation to the agreed scope is quoted in writing and approved by you before the work happens. If a change affects the programme, we tell you that at the same time, because time is usually the part that hurts more than money.
Common questions
Do I need approved plans before you can start?
Yes, for anything structural. Building without approval risks the local authority stopping the work and creates a problem that surfaces years later when you try to sell. If you do not have plans, we will point you to the right professionals first.
How long does a house take?
It depends entirely on size, site and specification, but a straightforward single storey home is generally a matter of months rather than weeks. You get a stage programme with dates before signing, not a vague estimate.
How does payment work?
In stages against completed work: deposit, then defined milestones such as slab, wall plate, roof on, plaster, and completion. You never pay substantially ahead of what has actually been built.
Who arranges the compliance certificates?
We coordinate them. Electrical, plumbing, gas and termite certificates are collated as part of handover so you receive one complete file rather than chasing four trades afterwards.
Can we stay in the house during a renovation?
Usually yes, with phasing. A single bathroom or kitchen is normally manageable if the strip out and rebuild are sequenced tightly. Large structural work is sometimes genuinely better done with the house empty, and we will say so rather than let you find out halfway.
How do you handle what is hidden behind the walls?
By pricing it honestly. On an older house the state of the wiring, the substrate under old tiles and whether a wall is load bearing cannot be known until it is opened up. Those are marked as provisional sums, and you get the actual cost in writing before we proceed. A renovation quote on an old house with no provisional sums is a quote that will grow later.