Terrace renovations
Renovating and extending Victorian terraces in Paddington and Woollahra behind the street front council wants kept, with party walls and rear lane access planned early.
Home renovationsWoollahra Council
Builders in Woollahra
Shafbuild renovates, extends and builds homes across the Woollahra Council area, from Paddington terraces to family homes in Bellevue Hill and Rose Bay. We work across metro Sydney from our office in Kensington.
Woollahra has some of Sydney’s most closely controlled streets. Heritage, trees, views and the harbour foreshore all shape what you can build, so we set the approvals strategy before design.
- Based in Kensington
- Licensed builder 469244C
- NSW Class 2 Building Practitioner
- 5.0 on Google
Heritage conservation areas in Woollahra
Woollahra has more than 700 heritage items, trees among them, and three main heritage conservation areas: Paddington, Woollahra and Watsons Bay. Smaller conservation areas sit in Vaucluse, Rose Bay, Bellevue Hill and Darling Point. Council’s development control plan gives the Paddington, Woollahra and Watsons Bay conservation areas their own chapters, and much of their significance comes from contributory houses, not only listed items.
In practice that means the front of the house, the roofline seen from the street and original fabric are usually kept, and new work sits behind. A heritage item, or external work in a conservation area, generally needs a development application with a heritage impact statement. We set that pathway at the start of design and approvals.
Precinct character, trees and the foreshore
The DCP divides the municipality into residential precincts such as Darling Point, Double Bay, Point Piper, Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay and Vaucluse, each with a desired future character. The LEP sets building height, and floor space for houses outside the conservation areas, and the DCP adds setbacks, landscaping, privacy and views.
On the harbour, a foreshore building line limits how close you can build to the water, and tree controls apply across the municipality. We read all of these for your lot at feasibility, because together they decide what an extension or new home can look like.
What we build in Woollahra
Heritage homes
Alterations and additions to heritage items and contributory houses, with heritage advice brought in at concept stage, not after council writes back.
Design and approvalsLarger family homes
Renovations, additions and new homes in Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay and Vaucluse, designed around the precinct’s character, views and trees.
New buildsApartments and strata
Apartment renovations under strata by-laws, and remedial and waterproofing works for owners corporations, by a registered Class 2 builder.
Remedial and strataWoollahra suburbs we work in
- Woollahra
- Paddington (part)
- Edgecliff
- Darling Point
- Double Bay
- Point Piper
- Rose Bay (part)
- Bellevue Hill
- Vaucluse (part)
- Watsons Bay
On the harbour? See builders in Double Bay and Vaucluse. Elsewhere in the east: the Eastern Suburbs, Bondi and Waverley or Randwick.
Woollahra building questions
What drives the cost of renovating or building in Woollahra?
Mostly heritage and site. Keeping original fabric, heritage reports and matching materials cost more than building new; trees can need an arborist and a redesign; sandstone excavation and tight rear lane access on terraces add time; and the finish level owners expect here is high. Rather than quote a headline figure, we visit, read the controls for your lot and give you a fixed, itemised scope with any provisional sums flagged upfront.
Can I extend a terrace in the Paddington or Woollahra conservation area?
Often, yes, but the extension usually needs to sit behind the original house and stay low from the street. Woollahra’s development control plan has its own chapters for the Paddington, Woollahra and Watsons Bay conservation areas, and the work generally goes through a development application with a heritage impact statement.
Is my Paddington house in Woollahra or the City of Sydney?
Paddington is split between the two councils, and each has its own heritage controls. We confirm the council for your lot first. See builders in the City of Sydney for the other side.
Do trees affect what I can build in Woollahra?
They can. Council protects many trees and weighs them in every application, so a large tree can decide where an extension or new home sits. We pick up significant trees at feasibility and bring in an arborist when the design needs one.
Do you work in Double Bay and Vaucluse?
Yes. They are in the Woollahra Council area, and harbourside lots there carry their own controls. See builders in Double Bay and Vaucluse.
Start with what Woollahra allows
Tell us about your Woollahra property and what you want to achieve. We will tell you what the controls allow and the smartest way to get it approved.