Frequently Asked Questions

You may see builders advertising 12 week builds, or even less! That sounds amazing, but let’s be realistic… it’s just marketing. Those timeframes can be pretty optimistic, and a shiny 12 week promise isn’t quite the same thing as actually handing you the keys in 12 weeks.

For our low set homes, we’re currently estimating around 18 to 20 weeks for construction. Comparatively, a more complex high set home can be 40+ weeks… all going well.

And what does all going well mean? No extended periods of terrible weather, industry shutdowns, major supply disruptions… or another pandemic!

We’d rather give you a realistic timeframe upfront than a great marketing line followed by a stack of extension letters.

Your actual construction period will be confirmed in your contract once we’ve completed the preliminary work and know exactly what we’re building and where. This is construction time only and doesn’t include pre construction, such as design and approvals, selections, land registration or anything else that needs to happen before we can get started on site.

Indeed we can! KIBA builds completely custom homes, excluding split level and pole homes. You can customise one of our existing designs, bring us plans you already have, or we can design a completely bespoke home with you from scratch.

Our standard inclusions are the starting point, but from there you can upgrade as much or as little as you like. We have plenty of suppliers and options to choose from, and we’re always happy to help you pull everything together.

Want to supply something yourself? That’s okay too. As long as it meets Australian Standards, is suitable for your build and we know about it before you sign your contract, we’re generally pretty flexible.

It’s your home. We want it to feel like yours.

On average, finalising your home design takes around 4 to 6 weeks, but this really depends on how much customisation you’re making and how many changes happen along the way.

Concept drafts of your home plans are included as part of our preliminary deposit, so you’ll have the opportunity to work through the design and make changes before everything is finalised.

We don’t like to rush this part. If it takes a little longer to get your home exactly right, that’s okay. We’d much rather spend the time getting it right now than have you wanting to make changes once we start building.

Yes, landscaping can be included as an upgrade option.

However, many of our clients choose to complete their landscaping after handover, as it’s one of the easiest ways to save on the overall cost of their build.

If you’re planning more detailed or custom landscaping, we can also recommend trusted landscaping companies and coordinate with them during your build to help bring your outdoor areas to life.

We don’t offer pools directly, as pool construction is a specialised trade, but we can connect you with trusted pool companies and again, coordinate with them during the build where required.

We really prefer every element to be finalised before construction begins. Minor changes may be possible depending on the stage of your build, but structural changes are much more complex and can quickly impact costs and your build schedule.

This is why we’re pretty stringent with planning at the front end. If planning takes a little longer, that’s okay. We’d much rather you take your time, think everything through properly and be confident in your decisions before we start building.

That said, we’re all human! You might forget something or see something during construction that you absolutely love. Ask us. We’ll always do our best to accommodate you where we reasonably can.

We’re value being upfront about the realities of building. Depending on where construction is up to, some changes simply won’t be possible, and we’d rather be real about that than promise something that could derail your build.

Honestly, we’re probably our own harshest critics. We care about the quality of the homes we put our name to, and we’re pretty particular about who we trust to build them.

We work with trusted trades and suppliers we’ve built relationships with over many years. Any new trades are vetted before we engage them to make sure their workmanship meets our expectations.

We also have a highly experienced supervisor who visits our sites consistently throughout construction, and as directors, we personally get to our builds too. Before handover, there are multiple sets of eyes over your home, including ours.

Are we saying nothing will ever be picked up? Of course not. Building is still carried out by humans, not robots. But if there is a genuine defect or concern, we’ll absolutely tend to it. We want to be proud of the home we hand over just as much as you want to be proud to live in it.

A custom home is designed specifically for you, either from scratch or by significantly changing an existing design to suit your block, lifestyle and what you want from your home.

Choosing one of our house plans means building a design we’ve already created, either exactly as it is or with some smaller changes to personalise it to you.

You might also hear the word “bespoke.” Bespoke and custom are often used interchangeably, although sometimes “bespoke” is used to describe a higher end custom home. But don’t get too caught up in all the jargon.

The reality is that most new homes are personalised in some way to suit the people living in them. We have never built two homes that are exactly the same, inside and out.

We do all of the above. Choose one of our plans, change it to make it yours, bring your own plans, or design something completely from scratch with us

Choosing the right house design for your block can feel a little confusing at first, but that’s where we can help.

We’ll look at things like your block width and size, orientation, setbacks and any site requirements, as well as how you actually want to live in your home.

From there, we can recommend one of our existing designs, make changes to a plan to better suit your land, or look at a custom design if that’s the better option.

You don’t need to have it all figured out before you come to us.

We know it’s exciting to see the progress, so we absolutely want you to be part of it!

So yes, but… there are some rules around this one.

There are specific milestone stages throughout construction where we’ll schedule site visits with your supervisor so you can see your home coming together.

You’re also welcome to request additional visits. Just keep in mind that a construction site is still a workplace, so for health and safety reasons your supervisor needs to be present. If the site isn’t appropriate for visitors at that particular stage, we’ll simply work in with you to find a better time to come through.

Yes! KIBA undertakes knockdown rebuilds across the areas we build in.

We don’t undertake the demolition ourselves, as this needs to be completed by a suitably licensed demolition contractor. However, we can help guide you through the process and what needs to happen before we can get started.

Your existing home will need to be demolished and the site appropriately cleared and ready for construction before we commence your new home.

So yes, knock it down and we’ll build you something special in its place!

Whilst KIBA has undertaken extensions and renovations in the past, we now focus exclusively on building brand new homes. Therefore, we don’t undertake extensions or renovations, and we don’t build granny flats, second dwellings or tiny homes on properties that are already occupied.

We can, however, build two dwellings as part of the same new build project, provided the land is suitable and the required planning and building approvals can be obtained.

So, if we’re building both new homes from scratch, absolutely talk to us. If you’re looking to add a second dwelling to an existing home, unfortunately that’s not something we currently offer.

We build new homes across:

• The Sunshine Coast
• Brisbane, including Metro Brisbane, Greater Brisbane including Moreton Bay and the northern corridor through to D’Aguilar, plus the southern growth corridors out to Flagstone.
• Selected surrounding South East Queensland locations

We build in established suburbs (knock down rebuilds), new master planned communities and on acreage.

Our core building areas are based around where our trusted trades and suppliers are established, helping us maintain the quality and consistency we expect across our builds.

Not sure if we build where you are? Just ask us! We consider some locations individually depending on the block and home you’re looking to build.

We currently don’t build on the Gold Coast, in the Scenic Rim, Toowoomba/Darling Downs or north of the Sunshine Coast.

Upon request, we can accept some client supplied items, provided they meet Australian Standards, are suitable for your build and are agreed upon before you sign your contract. Any approved client supplied items will also need to be provided by the requested date, so they’re ready when needed and don’t cause delays to your build.

You’re also welcome to complete some items yourself after handover, which can be a great option for things like landscaping, fencing, window coverings, some alfresco finishes or other non essential finishing touches you’d prefer to organise yourself.

This can be a pretty nuanced area, so you’re always welcome to have a chat with us and put forward what you have in mind. There are some things we may say no to, particularly where licensing, warranties or responsibility can become a grey area. We’ll let you know what we can reasonably accommodate and the best way to go about it.

Your new home comes with a 12 month defect period, which gives you time to live in the home, let everything settle and make sure everything is working as it should. We can arrange an inspection with you during this period if requested to go through any genuine non structural defects or settlement items that may need attention.

For the bigger stuff, your home is also covered by the applicable 6 year, 6 month structural warranty, which relates to qualifying structural defects.

Many of the products used throughout your home also come with their own manufacturer warranties, some extending well beyond these periods, including things like steel frames, roofing, appliances and other products.

And we’re still here after we hand you the keys! If you have a genuine defect or warranty concern, just get in touch and we’ll help you work through whether it sits with us or under a supplier or manufacturer warranty.

Yes, this is not a problem for us. We’re confident in the homes we build and in our trades, and we have no issue with another qualified set of eyes looking over our work.

We stand behind the quality of our homes, but we’re also realistic. Homes are built by hand, by humans, and occasionally something may be picked up. If an independent inspector raises a genuine concern, we’ll review it and appropriately address anything that needs attention.

Inspections just need to be organised with us with enough notice so we can coordinate an appropriate stage of construction, arrange site access and allow time in the build schedule for your inspector to attend.