"Liveable shed" is not an official building category. You will not find it in any council planning scheme or on any QBCC certificate. What you will find — if you look at how these buildings are actually approved — is the term Class 1a. That is the National Construction Code classification for a single residential […]
Planning a $15,000 kit shed or a $20,000 home extension and assuming you can manage it yourself? Many Queensland homeowners make that assumption — then discover they needed a QBCC permit before any work started. The owner builder permit threshold Queensland $11,000 figure is widely known, but what that threshold actually measures, and what happens […]
Two builders can quote completely different structural systems for the same sloping block — one proposing a cut-and-fill concrete slab, another an engineered steel floor system suspended above the slope. For someone who is not a structural engineer, choosing between them can feel impossible. Both options are legitimate. Both are used on Queensland hinterland sites. […]
Queensland has no single state-wide granny flat size limit. Each local council sets its own maximum gross floor area, and the differences between councils can be substantial — the gap between Noosa's 65m² cap and Moreton Bay's 100m² rural allowance is large enough to change what kind of dwelling makes practical sense on a given […]
Noosa Shire is frequently mentioned as having some of the most favourable conditions in SEQ for adding a secondary dwelling. That reputation is largely deserved — but only for builds that stay within the council's specific requirements. If you own a Noosa property and are planning a granny flat, the granny flat rules Noosa Council […]
Queensland law allows homeowners to manage their own residential build — but crossing the $11,000 threshold without a QBCC permit is a legal offence with serious consequences. This catches out many kit home and shed home buyers who assume they can self-manage a large construction project as long as they do most of the physical […]
Most Sunshine Coast hinterland blocks are not flat. A lot between Maleny, Montville, and the Blackall Range can drop two, three, or even five metres across the building footprint — and that slope is where a build budget either holds together or blows out. Conventional builders typically solve the problem with earthworks. A shed home […]
Many Queensland homeowners still carry a belief that stopped being true in late 2022: that a granny flat can only be occupied by a family member. That belief is now out of date. In September 2022, the Queensland Government removed the "related family" occupancy restriction that had previously limited who could live in a secondary […]
After the initial discovery, the focus shifts to the physical reality of your land and the formal steps needed to move forward. For those researching the Our Build Process, understanding the site assessment phase is crucial for a successful build. The Importance of a Site visit A professional site visit allows us to assess access, […]
Building on uneven land requires construction methods that can adapt to the natural shape of the site. Many homeowners researching sloping block homes on the Sunshine Coast will encounter the term suspended floor system. This structural approach allows a home to be elevated above the ground using engineered supports rather than relying entirely on a […]