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01 — Quick answers
Structural work, roofed patios and carports, decks over 1 m high and anything in a mapped overlay generally need building approval from a certifier. Small unroofed low decks and low retaining walls are often accepted development. Planning approval is separate and comes from council.
Full guide →For building work over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST. Plumbing, drainage, gas and fire protection work need the licensed trade at any value — and a job cannot legally be split into smaller invoices to get under the threshold.
Full guide →Yes — for most residential work over $3,300. Your builder pays the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme premium to the QBCC before work starts, collected as part of the contract price, and you should receive a notice of cover.
How cover works →To at least 1800 mm above the finished floor, or 50 mm above the shower rose if that is higher, under AS 3740:2021. The whole shower floor is waterproofed and falls to the waste sit between 1:80 and 1:50.
Full guide →At least 1200 mm from finished ground level everywhere, gaps no more than 100 mm, a 900 mm non-climbable zone, and gates opening away from the pool that self-close and self-latch. Boundary fences used as barriers need 1800 mm.
Full guide →Redland City and bayside Brisbane — Alexandra Hills, Capalaba, Cleveland, Wellington Point, Ormiston, Thornlands, Victoria Point, Redland Bay, Birkdale, Thorneside, Manly West and Wynnum.
About us →02 — The guides
Guide 01 · 7 min · Approvals
Planning approval vs building approval, what counts as accepted development, what triggers a certifier, and how to sort out work that was built without approval.
Read guide →Guide 02 · 8 min · Your protections
The $3,300 threshold, Level 1 and Level 2 contracts, deposits, home warranty cover periods, and a checklist for comparing quotes fairly.
Read guide →Guide 03 · 8 min · Wet areas
What AS 3740:2021 requires, the numbers a good bathroom is built to, why membranes fail, and how to read the symptoms of a leaking shower.
Read guide →Guide 04 · 9 min · Outdoor living
Approval triggers, boundary setbacks, footings and spans, hardwood vs treated pine vs composite, roof options and a realistic maintenance schedule.
Read guide →Guide 05 · 7 min · Pool safety
Barrier heights and gaps, the non-climbable zone, gates, how decks and paving affect compliance, certificates, and the items that fail most inspections.
Read guide →Guide 06 · 9 min · Character homes
Overlays and character controls, what hides behind the walls, whether raising is worth it, what to keep, and the order the work has to happen in.
Read guide →Guide 07 · 10 min · Costs
Square-metre ranges for ground-floor and second-storey work in 2026, what a real quote must contain, where budgets blow out and how to spend less without wrecking the job.
Read guide →Guide 08 · 8 min · Comparison
Cost, time, disruption and approvals compared — and the five site facts that usually decide whether your house should grow up or out.
Read guide →03 — Glossary
Sixteen terms that turn up in quotes, contracts and certifier emails. If a builder uses a word you do not know, ask — a good one will explain it.
04 — Who wrote this
These guides come out of jobs we have run across Redland City and bayside Brisbane — the questions clients ask at the kitchen table, and the problems we find when we open up walls. Every figure is checked against the QBCC, council or the relevant Australian Standard, and each guide lists its sources so you can read the original.
They are general information, not advice for your specific property. Every site is different — which is exactly why the free quote includes a look at yours.