Our Process

We’re proud to have helped thousands of Canberrans to achieve their dream home on time and on budget.

How? Over 40 years, we’ve finessed our tried and tested process to see your home from concept through to completion.

At Blackett, we hold ourselves accountable to delivering on our agreed timeline. In fact, we’re so confident that we’ll deliver on time that we commit to paying you a penalty if the build runs late.

We credit our excellent track record to our tried and tested process. We have rigorous systems in place to ensure we deliver on time, every time. And, with more than 38 years to finesse our systems, you can be rest assured that our process works.

We’ll guide you through the process and key decision points, working hand-in-hand at each step of the way.

  • Brief + Design Concept

    1. Initial meet and greet

    Firstly, let’s chat! Get in touch and we’ll show you how we can help. At this step, we’ll discuss your ideal home, listen to your needs and answer any questions you may have.

    The aim of the initial meeting is to get to know each other and begin to understand what you’re looking for in your new home. We want to find out what does and doesn’t work in your current home, look at any inspirational images or ideas you may have, and explore what you are aspiring towards with your new home and lifestyle. Once we have a clearer idea of your expectations, we can outline a plan to get you there.

    We believe transparency is key at this early stage, and you’ll find it is a hallmark of how we work with you during your entire ‘design+build’ process. The more you share your questions, your hopes for the new home, and the lifestyle you’re picturing, the better we can create a building solution to deliver you the result you’re after. It’s common for clients to come to us with their own very specific questions or concerns, and now is the best time to ask them!

    2. Inspect and review site

    If you’ve already selected your block, we’ll provide an obligation-free inspection to identify any considerations we’ll need to keep in mind. Alternatively, it’s quite common at this stage to ask for help in choosing an appropriate block for your new home – and we encourage it! Whether it is a knock-down rebuild opportunity or a vacant block in a new suburb, there are many factors that need to be considered in picking the right block.

    The block has a significant impact on us being able to deliver the very best new home solution you’re hoping for. Factors like mature trees, orientation, sloping land, and the required solar and building envelopes can result in building setbacks. These items can have a huge influence on the way we can design and deliver the home you want, and what it will cost to carry that out.

    3. Custom concept design brief

    We’ll sit down again to discuss your budget, as well as the ‘must haves’ for your new home—whether it’s maximising space, an energy-efficient design, a dream walk-in wardrobe, or a magnificent adults retreat. Carefully consider everything you’d like to see in your new home—this is the most cost-effective time to make decisions! A dot-point list of what you need is perfect.

    We will guide you through the design process based on your brief. This is a working document that sets out the must-have elements for your new home, along with the aspirational elements, any wish list ideas, and the budget we’re aiming for.

    Based on your brief and budget, we’ll introduce one of our specialist building designers or architects to our meetings. This will be someone we feel is best placed to interpret your brief and achieve the end design you’re hoping for. We’ll ensure the project is on the right track from the beginning by injecting our building knowledge with regards to the home’s build-ability, costing and ability to meet approval requirements.

    So that there are no surprises down the track, we will also coordinate any external specialists we feel are important at this point—for example, a site survey plan or a tree inspection report. This will give everyone the best picture of what we are working with.

    4. Presentation and concept review

    Within approximately two weeks, your custom home concept design will be complete, including your site plan, floor plan and elevations. You’ll review the plans and suggest amendments to ensure the designs are spot on. We’ll make any revisions, then we’ll provide the plans to you for approval.

    Once you approve your concept plans, we’ll revisit your client brief and explore everything you would like to be included in your Home Estimate. We’ll share details of current and past projects including costs, design outcomes and even invite you to visit current homes under construction with similarities to what you’re proposing. Clients often tell us they find this helpful when formulating ideas, and it ensures everyone is on the same page before we start developing your first Home Estimate.

  • Estimate + Review

    5. Home estimate

    Within a two to three-week period, we’ll provide you with a fully detailed estimate so you can understand where each and every dollar is allocated. During this meeting, we will go over all costings and you’ll have another opportunity to make adjustments to the concept plans. The above process is flexible depending on the size and complexity of your home building project.

  • Selections + Pre-Build Review

    6.Building contract

    Prior to us commencing the home building contract phase we’ll ask you to sign a Preliminary Agreement to confirm you are happy with the design and costings to date.

    At this stage, we’ll prepare contract documents which will comprise of an MBA Building Contract, Contract Schedule of Inclusions and Finishes and final working drawings, which will detail every aspect of your new home. In the contract documents, we’ll nominate a clear build time, so you’ll know exactly when you can plan to move in. This time will depend on your home size, the complexity of your design, site access and the location of your block.

    After we complete the building contract documents, we will provide them to you for review and signing.

    7. Pre-build finishes and selections

    After you have signed the building contract, we’ll move into the Pre-build stage, where we’ll finalise all the selections for your new home.

    You’ll work with our professional design consultants to select your external wall finishes, internal joinery, and interior finishes such as colour schemes, floor coverings, tiles, tapware and all the carefully considered details that truly make your home ‘yours’.

    Depending on the scope of your home, this stage will vary from general internal and external selections, through to a full internal design process with detailed material selections. This will be based on the extent of your design, the detailed required, and your budget. Either way, we’re here to help you achieve your ideal home.

    8. Pre-build meeting

    Once you have confirmed the final design and selections, we will organise a Pre-Build meeting with one of our Project Managers.

    In this meeting, we’ll go over all final design and selections, and you’ll have the opportunity to make any last tweaks. Based on this meeting, we will confirm any changes, and the updated information will form the ‘For Construction’ information. We’ll send this to you and the team onsite, as this is the information we will use to construct your new home.

    Your assigned Project Manager will be with you all the way through the building process.

  • Build

    9. Build and inspect

    Now we’re ready to start building! This stage is very exciting for all, especially for you as your dreams are about to come to life. You’ll love watching your home come together before your eyes—from the initial foundations, through to the final finishes.

    Along the way, the build will be inspected to ensure quality at each and every step. We will organise various site meetings—especially during pre-sheet stage, where various trades experts will inspect works before we apply the internal plasterboard to the walls and ceilings.

    As experienced builders, we are well versed in working with The ACT Planning and Land Authority and private certifiers to achieve compliance, minimising the need for extended approval processes. We use a streamlined approach that is designed to be compliant from the get-go.

    10. Pre-handover inspection

    Once the house is complete, we will carry out a Pre-Handover inspection. This inspection will give you the opportunity to view your completed house. After this inspection, we will require 7 to 10 days to complete final inspections, checking and commissioning of your new home.

    Now your home is complete, so we will carry out a formal handover with you. The home is ready and waiting for you to enjoy!

    11. Move in and enjoy

    It’s the day you’ve been waiting for—your new home is now ready for you to enjoy. We’ll hand over the keys and you can move in right away.

    We want to make sure your new home is perfect! So, after enjoying your new home, we’ll give you an opportunity to submit a list of any minor defects in the building works under the 90-day Maintenance Liability Period. The Maintenance Liability Period starts after the date of Practical Completion and finishes within 90 calendar days. You’ll need to compile these items into a single list, the items will be inspected, then corrected at an agreed date.

    Then, enjoy the peace of mind that we’re only a phone call or email away. All appliances and internal fittings have various warranties, so if there is an issue in the future, we will be able to help. We pride ourselves on the quality of our builds.