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Custom home builder Cheltenham: modern brick and weatherboard home by Strava Group

Custom Homes · Cheltenham NSW

Custom home builder in Cheltenham, built properly.

Knockdown rebuilds and luxury new homes for Cheltenham blocks where the land is now worth far more than the house standing on it. Designed for your block, engineered for your soil, quoted with an itemised proposal, and one builder overseeing your project from pre-construction through to handover.

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NSW Builder’s Licence 487370CItemised quotesClear inclusions & exclusionsOne builder, start to finish

Local knowledge

Why Cheltenham is a conservation suburb first.

Strava Group is a custom home builder working across Cheltenham and the surrounding suburbs. Cheltenham is small, leafy and tightly held, with large blocks and period homes, and most of the suburb sits inside the Beecroft Cheltenham heritage conservation area.

So the honest position comes first: demolishing a contributory home here is generally not supported, and on most Cheltenham streets the right project is a high quality renovation or extension, which we build to the same standard as our new homes. Where a block falls outside the protections, or the existing building does not contribute, a new custom home can be open to you. Custom builds we take on around Cheltenham include:

  • Knockdown rebuilds on established blocks
  • Single and two storey custom designs
  • Sloping and tighter sites done properly
  • Duplexes and dual occupancy where zoning allows
  • Homes designed for light, outlook and the yard
  • New homes on vacant or subdivided land

Not sure whether your Cheltenham house wants a rebuild or a renovation? We build both, so the advice is honest. Sometimes the right answer is a home extension or a second storey, and we will tell you which one your block and budget actually want.

Cheltenham’s blocks are some of the best in the district precisely because the suburb protected them. We work with those controls, not around them, and we tell you what your block allows before anything else.

Knockdown rebuilds

Knockdown rebuild in Cheltenham.

Same street, same neighbours, same school catchment, new house. Here is what a Cheltenham knockdown rebuild actually involves.

When rebuilding beats renovating

Where the existing structure is sound and suits the design, renovating or adding a storey can make better financial sense. Where the structure, layout or site constraints work against the brief, a knockdown rebuild may provide better value. We look at your house and tell you which one it actually wants.

The conservation area comes first

Most of Cheltenham sits within the Beecroft Cheltenham heritage conservation area, and Hornsby Shire Council also requires consent before protected trees are removed. We check the planning layers on your block first, and if demolition is not supported on your street we tell you at the start, along with what a renovation or extension could achieve instead.

The approval pathway

Blocks outside the conservation area that meet the relevant standards can suit a Complying Development Certificate through a registered certifier. Within the conservation area, work goes through a DA with Hornsby Shire Council and demolition of contributory buildings is generally not supported. We identify the realistic pathway early.

One contract, start to finish

Demolition, services disconnection and reconnection, and the new build run under one contract with one builder responsible, so nothing falls between contractors. You will need to move out from demolition to handover, and we raise that cost in the first conversation, not after you are committed.

A knockdown rebuild is still a custom home, and it gets the full Strava standard. Years of opening up older Sydney homes has shown us exactly how houses fail, and we build new ones to outlast those failures: footings engineered from your geotech report, frames built straight with proper bracing and clean load paths, waterproofing run as a documented hold point with a membrane system backed by a 15 year manufacturer warranty instead of the standard 7, and everything recorded before it is covered, including a 3D virtual model of the house captured before the gyprock goes on and handed to you at completion. What gets covered at construction still matters ten years later.

Start here

Tell us about your Cheltenham block and your brief.

No sales pitch, no obligation. Here is exactly what happens when you enquire:

  • 1Answer a few quick questions. One at a time, takes about two minutes, so the first conversation is about your project rather than the basics.
  • 2We call you within 24 to 48 business hours. A builder, not a salesperson. Then we walk your block with you, existing house or vacant land.
  • 3You receive honest early feasibility and realistic numbers. We discuss what appears achievable for the site, the likely approval pathway and what the build is realistically likely to involve. Where engineering, surveying or specialist advice is needed, we identify it early. If it does not stack up, we tell you that too.
Start Your Enquiry →Call 0450 605 080

Honest numbers

How a Cheltenham custom home is priced.

Custom homes are quoted per project, because the design, the site and the specification drive the cost. What we promise is how the number is built.

Your build proposalItemised line by line
Inclusions and exclusionsListed openly
PreliminariesShown separately
AllowancesClearly identified

Two identical floor plans can cost very different amounts on different Cheltenham blocks: slope, soil, access, trees, demolition on a knockdown rebuild, and the specification you choose all move the number. Anyone who quotes a custom home off a phone call is guessing, and the guess always grows.

So we do it the slow, honest way: we walk your block, we talk through the brief and the budget, and the proposal you receive is itemised line by line: what is included, what is excluded, and what the preliminaries are. No buried allowances. Where an item cannot reasonably be finalised before contract, it is identified clearly rather than hidden inside the total.

We use a custom building contract, fixed price or cost plus depending on the project, agreed before signing.

Good to know

Cheltenham custom home questions.

Do you build custom homes across all of Cheltenham?
Yes, with honest caveats. We build across Cheltenham and the neighbouring suburbs, including Beecroft, Epping, Pennant Hills and West Pennant Hills. Most of Cheltenham is heritage protected, so the first conversation is about what your specific block allows: a new home where that is open, or a quality renovation or extension where it is not. Either way you get a straight answer before design money is spent.
Is a knockdown rebuild better than renovating my Cheltenham house?
Sometimes. Where the existing structure is sound and suits the proposed design, renovating or adding another storey can make better financial sense than demolishing and rebuilding. Where the existing structure, layout or site constraints work against the brief, a knockdown rebuild may provide better value. We build both, so the advice is honest: we look at your house and tell you which one it actually wants.
What approvals does a new home in Cheltenham need?
It depends on your block. Outside the conservation area, eligible blocks can suit a Complying Development Certificate issued by a registered certifier. Within the Beecroft Cheltenham conservation area, proposals go through a DA with Hornsby Shire Council, demolition of contributory homes is generally not supported, and new work is assessed against the area’s character. Council consent is also required before protected trees are removed. We check the planning layers on your block early and tell you straight what is realistic.
How much does a custom home in Cheltenham cost?
It depends on the design, the site and the specification, which is the honest answer every builder owes you before the marketing answer. Slope, soil, access, trees, demolition and finish level all move the number materially. What we commit to is the way the price is built: a walked site, an itemised proposal with inclusions and exclusions listed openly, and preliminaries shown separately rather than buried. Tell us your block and your brief and we will give you real numbers early.
How long does a knockdown rebuild in Cheltenham take?
As a guide, design, engineering and approvals come first, then most single dwelling custom builds run 9 to 14 months on site depending on size and complexity, measured from demolition to handover. You will need to live elsewhere for that period, and we put that cost on the table in the first conversation. You get a programme with the proposal, not after you have signed, and a weekly update from the builder running your job throughout.
How will I know what is happening during the build?
Two ways. You get a weekly update from the builder running your job, whether or not there is good news in it. And you get access to our client portal, where you can log in any time to see your documents, selections, variations and job status. No chasing, no phone tag, no wondering.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Strava Group holds NSW Builder’s Licence 487370C and carries public liability insurance. Home Building Compensation cover is obtained where required under NSW law, including residential building work over $20,000 including GST. You can verify the licence directly through Service NSW.

Build your Cheltenham home once, and build it right.

Ready to talk about your block?

Tell us about your land or your knockdown rebuild and what you want to build. We respond within 24 to 48 business hours with honest feasibility and real numbers, no cost, no obligation.

Also in Cheltenham: home extensions · second storey additions · home renovations

Discuss Your Build →Call 0450 605 080
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