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How to Engage the Right Builder

Choosing the wrong builder is an expensive mistake. Here's how to verify licences, read contracts, and protect yourself before work starts.

Engaging a builder, whether for a new home, a renovation, or a pre-sale improvement, is one of the most significant financial decisions a property owner makes. The consequences of choosing poorly range from delays and cost blowouts to incomplete work, serious defects, and protracted legal disputes. Taking the time to properly assess a builder before signing a contract is not excessive caution. It is basic due diligence, and the time it takes is a fraction of the time it takes to resolve the problems that arise when it is skipped.

In Brisbane's inner east, where there is consistently strong demand for renovation work on character Queenslanders and post-war homes, the market for quality builders is competitive. The best residential builders in this area are often booked three to six months ahead. If you are planning a renovation, particularly one that needs to be completed before a sale campaign, starting the builder selection process early is not optional. A rushed engagement under time pressure is exactly the situation where poor decisions get made.

Verify the licence first

In Queensland, all builders undertaking work valued over $3,300 must hold a current licence with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). This is a legal requirement, not a preference. Before you engage any builder, search their licence on the QBCC website. You are looking for several things: confirmation that they hold a current licence, the category of that licence (which determines what types of work they are authorised to carry out), and whether they have any disciplinary history, conditions on their licence, or outstanding complaints on record. A clean licence search is not a guarantee of quality, but an unlicensed builder or one with a significant complaints history is a clear signal to look elsewhere.

Get multiple quotes for comparable scope

For any significant work, obtain at least three quotes. To make the quotes comparable, each builder needs to price from the same scope of works, which means having a detailed specification prepared before you approach anyone. Vague briefs produce vague quotes, and vague quotes are where disputes about variations begin. A good builder will often help you refine the scope through the quoting process, but the starting point needs to be clear enough that you can compare what different builders are actually pricing.

Be cautious of quotes that are significantly lower than the others. In the Brisbane construction market, a quote that is 20% or 30% below the field is not a bargain. It is either based on a narrower scope than you think, or it signals that the builder has underpriced the job and will make up the difference through variations, or it indicates a builder who does not have the experience or resources to deliver the work properly. Low-ball quotes that win jobs on price and then accumulate variations throughout the project are one of the most common and frustrating experiences in residential construction.

Ask for references and follow up on them

Any builder worth engaging will provide references from recent clients whose projects are comparable to yours in scope and value. Ask for at least three, and contact all of them directly. Do not just ask whether they would use the builder again. Ask specific questions: Did the project come in on budget? Was the timeline realistic and was it met? How did the builder handle problems when they arose, and there will always be some? Were variations communicated clearly and priced before work began, or did they arrive as surprises? Was the site kept reasonably clean and organised? Was the builder easy to communicate with throughout the project?

These questions reveal far more than a portfolio of finished photographs. A builder who produces beautiful work but is difficult to communicate with, who handles variations poorly, or whose projects routinely overrun budget will cause you significant stress regardless of the final product. Ask also whether you can visit a current or recently completed project of similar type. Seeing a live site, or a finished renovation on a comparable Queenslander, gives you a realistic sense of the quality and care a builder brings to work in this specific construction type.

Understand the contract before you sign

For residential building work in Queensland, most builders use either the Housing Industry Association (HIA) or Master Builders Queensland standard contract forms. These are reasonable starting points, but you should still read every clause carefully before signing. The provisions that matter most are the following. The variations clause: understand exactly how changes to the scope of work must be initiated, documented, and priced. Verbal variations are the most common source of disputes in residential construction. If a change is not written and signed off, it should not proceed. The payment schedule: it should be milestone-based, tied to completion of specific stages of work, not front-loaded with large upfront payments. The defects liability period: typically six months or twelve months after completion, this is your right to have the builder return to address defects in the completed work at no cost. The dispute resolution process: understand what the steps are if you and the builder disagree, and note that the QBCC provides a dispute resolution service for licensed building work in Queensland.

Have a solicitor review the contract if the project is significant in value. For a $200,000 renovation, the cost of a contract review is a rounding error against the risk of signing an unfavourable document. Be wary of builders who are reluctant to use a standard form, who want a large upfront deposit before work has started, or who are unable or unwilling to provide a realistic and detailed construction timeline. Vague contracts are almost always structured to favour the builder.

Home Warranty Insurance

For residential construction work over $3,300 in Queensland, the builder is required by law to obtain Queensland Home Warranty Insurance through the QBCC before work begins. This insurance protects you as the homeowner if the builder fails to complete the work, becomes insolvent, abandons the project, or produces defective work that they fail to remedy. The cover extends to the subsequent owner of the property if you sell, which is relevant if you are renovating before a sale.

Ask your builder for the certificate of insurance before any work starts on site. This is not a bureaucratic formality. It is a substantive protection. A builder who cannot or will not produce this certificate is either unlicensed, or they have not complied with their legal obligations, or there is a problem with their QBCC standing that should concern you immediately. Do not allow work to start without seeing the certificate.

Renovation work before a sale: what adds value

Not all renovation work adds comparable value when it comes to sale. In Brisbane's inner east, buyers at the $1 million to $2 million price point generally expect a well-maintained property but are willing and sometimes prefer to make their own choices on major finishes. A freshly painted interior, a functional kitchen in good condition, and updated bathrooms that are clean and in good repair will support strong buyer confidence. A full high-end kitchen renovation completed to one seller's taste may not be recovered dollar-for-dollar in the sale price.

The renovations that reliably add value before a sale are those that address visible maintenance issues, improve the liveability of the outdoor entertaining area, and enhance the property's street appeal. Large capital improvements that reflect personal taste rather than market demand are harder to price into a sale. Before committing to significant pre-sale renovation work, get a specific recommendation from your agent based on what comparable buyers in your price range are responding to in the current market.