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Whole-Home Renovations
in Melbourne
Some homes need more than a room at a time. The layout fights you, the services are at the end of their life, and every individual fix is compromised by the thing next to it that also needs doing. At that point a staged approach costs more than doing it properly once.
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A whole-home renovation is the full scope: structural works, reconfigured layouts, new services, new finishes, and every trade on site coordinated by one team. Most run 6 to 12 months.
What this work involves
Structural work
Removing load-bearing walls, opening up living areas, underpinning where required, re-stumping and levelling.
Layout reconfiguration
Moving kitchens, adding bathrooms, reworking circulation so the house makes sense to live in.
Services replacement
Full rewire, replumb, new switchboard, heating and cooling, drainage.
Windows and glazing
Replacement, enlargement, double glazing.
Roofing
Replacement or restoration, including guttering, flashing and insulation.
Finishes throughout
Joinery, flooring, tiling, painting, fixtures.
External works
Rendering, cladding, decking, driveways where they form part of the scope.
How we work
Initial consultation
We walk the house with you and talk through what you want to change and what's driving it. This is an on-site consultation where you get a genuine assessment of what's feasible and what it's likely to cost, whether or not you go ahead with us, and the in-home consultation fee is credited against your contract if you do.
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Design development
We work with your architect or designer, or bring one in if you don't have one. Our 3D preconstruction modelling means you see the finished house before we start demolition, and changes happen on screen rather than on site.
Detailed quoting
A fixed scope and a transparent cost breakdown, line by line. You can see what each element costs, which makes it possible to make real decisions about where to spend.
Approvals
We coordinate structural engineering, town planning and building permits, and run the approvals in parallel with design so they don't hold up the start date. Extensions and structural alterations follow the same process.
Construction
Dean and/or Saad are on site throughout. Same senior team from demolition to handover - you're not handed to a different crew halfway through.
Timeframes
Design development
6–12 weeks
Approvals*
8–16 weeks (runs in parallel)
Construction*
6–12 months
*Heritage overlay properties add time at the approvals stage.
*Period homes add time during construction, because what's behind the plaster is rarely what the plans assumed.
We needed to remodel the kitchen and shift the laundry into a new location as we outgrew our current kitchen. Dean and the team were extremely professional throughout the whole process. The communication was on point and the result, fantastic. Throughout the whole process we felt informed through honest, clear communication. Can't wait to use Novastri again for future renovation projects.
Boushra N.
Melbourne, VIC
Brilliant, professional, amazing communication and timely - we could not have asked for more. Highly recommended. I have never seen such amazing tiling and we had difficult tiles to work with. Recommendations and ideas for the 3 bathrooms were brilliant and we are so happy with all the work Dean did for us. Thanks Dean. We have never had such a brilliant experience with renovations.
Lisa H.
Melbourne, VIC
Amazing work, Dean was professional and on point with his planning. I was kept updated with all progress & developments. No unexpected surprises as the quality was maintained throughout the project. I’ll be using Novastri again for future projects. My reconstructed balconies have added increased value to the property. Thank you Novastri.
Ivan
Melbourne, VIC
Common
Questions
How much does a whole-home renovation cost in Melbourne?
Our whole-home projects depend on size, structural scope and finish level. The single biggest variable is how much structural work is involved - moving walls and replacing services costs considerably more than replacing finishes.
What will our living arrangements look like?
Most clients move out for a whole-home renovation. It's possible to stage the work and remain in part of the house, but it extends the programme - typically by two to three months - and it costs more, because trades work around occupancy rather than through it. We'll be straight with you about the trade-off at quoting stage rather than discovering it in month four.
Do I need an architect?
Not always, but for whole-home work it usually pays for itself. We work with architects regularly and can recommend practices we've built for. If you already have one, we're comfortable coming in at any stage.
Can you work within a heritage overlay?
Yes. Heritage and period restoration is one of our specialisations - see Heritage & Period Restorations.
What happens if you find something unexpected?
On a house of any age, we will. Rotten bearers, old wiring, asbestos, previous work done badly. We build a contingency into the quote and we tell you about variations before we do them, with a cost, not after.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes - registered building practitioner with full public liability and domestic building insurance. Our work carries a structural warranty.