Builders in Edgeworth

Edgeworth is where OSBUILT Projects is based, so the ground, the housing and the approvals here are the ones we deal with most. The suburb grew in layers. The older core has weatherboard and fibro cottages from the mining and post-war years, usually on timber floors with brick or concrete piers underneath. Around that sits a wide belt of 1970s and 1980s brick veneer on generous blocks, and out towards Cameron Park the housing gets newer and is mostly slab on ground. Each of those layers asks something different of a builder, and a quote that treats them all the same will be wrong for at least two of them.

On the older cottages the work is usually about making a small house live like a bigger one. That means a rear extension on a suspended floor to match the existing level, replacing rotted weatherboards or fibro sheet with new cladding, and rebuilding wet areas that were last touched decades ago. On the brick veneer stock it is more often a kitchen opened into the living room, a covered deck off the back and a carport where the original single garage no longer fits a modern car. The bones of these houses are generally sound, which is why extending them makes more sense than knocking them down.

The thing that catches people out in Edgeworth is what sits under the block rather than what sits on it. Mine Subsidence Districts cover much of Lake Macquarie, so finding out whether your lot is inside one is one of the first things we do. Low ground near Cockle Creek and the smaller creeks that feed it can carry a flood planning constraint, and the clay across the area moves with the seasons. None of that stops a project. It does decide the footing design, the approval pathway and in some cases the shape of the extension, so we confirm all three against the section 10.7 planning certificate before we put a number in front of you.

Being based here has a practical edge. We can be on site in minutes rather than hours when a decision is needed, our regular trades all work this side of the lake, and after twenty-five years in the trade we have a fair idea of what the last builder did to a house before we open it up. If you are in Edgeworth, Cameron Park or West Wallsend and thinking about an extension, a renovation or a deck, the first step is a site visit and a straight conversation about what the block will and will not allow.

What we build in Edgeworth

We offer every one of our building services in Edgeworth.

Local conditions that affect your build

Mine Subsidence District

Mine Subsidence Districts take in much of Lake Macquarie, and parts of Edgeworth may well sit inside one. Where a lot does, building work needs approval from Subsidence Advisory NSW as well as the council or certifier, and that approval can set limits on the footprint of a structure and require footings and articulation designed to tolerate ground movement. The application goes in early, because the certifier needs it in hand before the job can be signed off.

Cockle Creek flooding

The low ground along Cockle Creek and its tributaries may be mapped as flood prone. If your lot is flagged as a flood control lot, habitable floor levels are set from the flood planning level, materials below that level have to be flood compatible, and some work that would otherwise be complying development is pushed into a DA. Higher ground generally sits outside the mapped area, which is why we check the lot rather than assume.

Reactive clay and seasonal movement

Much of the area is on clay that swells when wet and shrinks through a dry summer. A slab or strip footing designed for a generic site can crack on it. The fix is a site classification from a geotechnical test and footings designed to that class, with the existing house checked for movement before a new structure is tied into it.

Bushfire prone edges

Lots on the fringe of the suburb that back onto bushland may be mapped as bushfire prone land. A bushfire attack level assessment then decides the glazing, decking, ember screens and subfloor enclosure required, and a high rating can take a project out of the complying development pathway altogether. Lots well away from the bush are generally clear, and the map is checked either way.

Asbestos and old services

Fibro cottages and any house renovated before the 1990s should be assumed to contain bonded asbestos in wall sheeting, eaves and wet area linings until tested. Removal is done by a licensed contractor and the area cleared before our trades go back in. Expect original wiring and galvanised plumbing to need replacement in the same houses, and price for it up front.