We run building projects professionally and transparently

Scope, materials and boundaries — in appendices, not in a lump sum.

Every quote comes with appendices covering the scope of the work, exactly which materials will be used, and where the physical boundaries of the work area are — down to which part of the garden is needed to store materials. A detailed quote is how a client and a builder check they have understood each other before anyone spends anything.

Fixed price or cost-plus, chosen to suit how much you know at the start.

Every job is governed by a contract that says exactly what you asked for and what you will get. Fixed price suits a job you can specify to the last nail. Cost-plus suits a job where you will still be choosing finishes as the work goes. Change your mind about something already costed — and it has not been bought, or it can be returned — and the money is credited straight back to you.

A separate account and credit card, so no other site can touch your money.

It is common practice in this industry to use funds from one project as a float for another. That means one job in trouble can slow yours down, or tempt a builder into squeezing more money out of you to bail out someone else. Every Renovate8 project has its own set of accounts, its own bank account and its own credit card. You are always welcome to see what was spent, and on what.

Pre-inspection and dilapidation reports filed before the fence goes up.

Before any work begins we conduct a pre-inspection, take photographic records and file dilapidation reports. Then the site fencing goes up and work starts. It protects you and it protects your neighbours — and on the tight blocks we work on, the neighbours matter more than most builders admit.

Your site is supervised. It is not left to sort itself out.

There is always someone on hand managing your site and making sure the project is running properly. Some clients want us to manage the whole thing start to finish; some want to be closely involved at every stage; some just want consulting at particular points. We work to your preference, not ours.

Work done, red flags, critical path, safety, variations.

Any project lasting longer than a month comes with a monthly progress report: work done in the last month, red-flag issues, the critical path, site safety and variations. It is the reporting standard used to run a 250-apartment development, applied to one house.

On larger projects, a full-time labourer whose whole job is tidiness.

Our workplace is often your home, and it gets treated as such. A tidy site is a safe and efficient site. On larger projects we employ a labourer full time to keep things clean and move the tradesmen tools around for them — which, as it happens, also gets the job finished faster.

Visit any time. Talk to clients still living in what we built.

It is your site — come whenever you like. The only ask is that you let the site manager know you have arrived before you walk on, for safety. And before you sign anything, you are welcome to speak to current clients, or to clients who have been living for years in houses we built. That second conversation is the honest one.