Plot appraisal
a plot, from$650
- Ground, access and services checked
- Rules that could limit the house
- Rough build cost range
A house drawn for your plot, then built by the people who drew it
Timberline designs and builds one off homes. We check the plot before you buy, draw the plans in our own office, fix the price before the ground is broken and keep one site manager on your house from the slab to the keys.
7 stagesfrom plot check to handover
1 site manageron each house we build
Fixed pricesigned before work starts
It starts with the ground, not the floor plan
A lovely plan on the wrong plot costs more than anyone expects. Before you buy, or before you commit to a design, we walk the land with you and look at what will shape the house: the slope, the soil, the trees, the room for a delivery lorry and where water, power and drains can connect.
You get a written plot appraisal within ten days, listing the risks we found, the questions to put to the seller and a rough build cost range for the size of house you want.
- Slope, soil and drainage checked
- Road access for deliveries and cranes
- Water, power and sewer connections located
- Height, boundary and overlooking limits noted
Seven stages between bare ground and a front door key
A typical house takes 14 to 20 months from the first meeting to moving in, and roughly half of that time goes on design and approvals.
Plot appraisal
A site walk and a written report on what the land allows and what building on it is likely to cost.
Brief and budget
How you live, the rooms you need and the money available, agreed in writing before any drawing starts.
Design
Sketch plans, then detailed drawings and 3D views, with two rounds of changes included in the fee.
Approvals
We prepare and submit the applications your local rules require and answer the questions that come back.
Fixed price contract
A full specification and a single price, with the stage payment schedule attached to it.
Build
Foundations, frame, roof, windows, services and finishes, with a site meeting every fortnight.
Handover
A walk round with the snagging list, the manuals and the keys, then return visits at six and twelve months.
Stage payments, in plain numbers
You pay for work that is finished and inspected, never for work that has not started. Here is a typical schedule on a fixed price contract; where a lender or the law in your country sets a different one, we follow theirs.
| Stage | What is finished | Share of the price |
|---|---|---|
| Contract signed | Specification agreed and the site set up | 5% |
| Foundations | Footings poured and the ground floor slab laid | 15% |
| Frame and roof | Walls standing, roof on and covered | 25% |
| Weathertight | Windows and outside doors fitted | 15% |
| First fix | Wiring, pipes and ventilation inside the walls | 15% |
| Finishes | Plaster, kitchen, bathrooms and floors | 20% |
| Handover | Keys, certificates and manuals | 5% |
Each payment is invoiced after the stage has been inspected. Changes you ask for during the build are priced in writing before anyone makes them.
What you pay for before the build
Design work is paid as it happens, and those fees count towards the contract price when we go on to build the house.
Design package
from$14,500
- Sketch plans and two rounds of changes
- Detailed drawings and specification
- Applications for approval prepared
Design and build
per m², from$2,350
- Everything in the design package
- Build to handover with stage payments
- Two aftercare visits in the first year
Build prices depend on the plot, the size and the finishes; the figure per m² is where our recent houses have started. Approval fees, connection charges and the land itself are paid on top.
Houses on their plots
Each one was drawn for its own ground, which is why no two of them share a plan.
Walk round a finished house before you sign anything
Our show home stands beside the design office and was built exactly the way we build every house, with a glazed cutaway wall that shows the insulation, the membranes and the services hidden behind the plaster.
Come on a Saturday, open the windows, try the doors and stand in the rooms. The site manager who built it is usually there to answer the awkward questions.
- Saturdays 10:00 to 15:00, by appointment
- Window, brick, cladding and roof samples on display
- Cutaway wall showing what sits behind the plaster
- Two lived in houses nearby that owners let us show
Rules that change from one place to the next
No two councils, states or countries ask for quite the same things, so we check what applies to your plot at the appraisal and put it in writing.
- Planning or zoning approval
- Building code or regulations sign off
- Height and roof line limits
- Distance from boundaries
- Overlooking and privacy
- Energy and insulation standards
- Drainage and water connections
- Protected trees and wildlife
- Heritage and conservation areas
- Structural warranty or insurance
Where an approval needs a specialist, such as an ecologist or a highways engineer, we tell you the likely cost before you commit to it.
From families who built with us (example reviews)
They advised against the first plot we fell for, and the appraisal showed why: no sewer connection within 300 metres. The second plot is where we live now.
Every stage payment came with photos and an inspection note, so nothing was paid on trust. The contract price was the final price, apart from the extras we chose.
One site manager for eighteen months who knew every pipe in the walls. Handover took a whole morning, and the snagging list was closed within three weeks.
Asked at the first meeting
Can you look at a plot before we buy it?
Yes, and it is the best moment to do it. An appraisal before you commit can save you from poor ground, difficult access or local rules that make the house you want impossible.
Do we need our own architect?
No. Our design team draws the house and prepares the applications. If you already have an architect, we can build from their drawings and price them as they stand.
Is the price really fixed?
The contract price is fixed for the specification you sign. It moves only if you ask for something different, or if the ground hides something the surveys could not find, and either way you see the cost in writing first.
How long will it take?
Fourteen to twenty months is typical from the first meeting to the keys. Approvals vary the most, depending on the plot and the rules where it sits.
Can we visit the site during the build?
Yes, at the fortnightly site meetings or by arrangement, always with the site manager and wearing the boots and hard hat we lend you.
Will our lender release the stage payments?
Many construction loans and self build mortgages pay out in stages, and we match our schedule to theirs. We give your lender the inspection notes it asks for at each stage.
Tell us about the plot
Whether you own land already or are still looking, a few lines help us prepare. Expect an answer inside two working days, suggesting either a call or a walk round the plot.
- No obligation to build with us after an appraisal
- Design fees count towards the contract price
- Local rules explained in writing
Design office and show home
The office is staffed on weekdays, and the show home opens on Saturdays for anyone who books a time.
Call or write
Design office and show home on the northern edge of the city, building within about 80 km
Office and show home
| Monday to Friday | 08:00 to 17:30 |
| Saturday | Show home 10:00 to 15:00, by appointment |
| Sunday | Closed |
How far we build
We take on houses within about 80 km of the office, so a site manager can be there every working day. Further out, we can still design the house and recommend a builder near the plot.