custom-homes-cherrybrook-nsw

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

Custom Homes · Cherrybrook NSW

Custom home builder in Cherrybrook, built properly.

Knockdown rebuilds and luxury new homes for Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook has become a knockdown rebuild suburb.

Strava Group is a custom home builder working across Cherrybrook and the surrounding suburbs. Cherrybrook is a planned suburb of 1980s and 90s family homes on big, leafy blocks, and the first generation of those houses is now 35 to 45 years old. Many are structurally tired or simply a generation behind how families want to live.

The blocks, the canopy and the schools are exactly why people stay, which makes rebuilding on the same land the logical move. Cherrybrook sits in the Hornsby Shire Council area, and its trees are part of the deal. Custom builds we take on in Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook 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.

People stay in Cherrybrook for the blocks, the canopy and the schools. When the house stops keeping up, the answer is usually a better house, not a different suburb.

Knockdown rebuilds

Knockdown rebuild in Cherrybrook.

Same street, same neighbours, same school catchment, new house. Here is what a Cherrybrook 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.

Trees and bushland shape the site

Cherrybrook’s canopy is protected. Hornsby Shire Council requires consent before protected trees are pruned or removed, and streets backing onto bushland corridors can carry bushfire construction requirements. Both can shape the footprint and the specification, so we assess them before design money is spent.

The approval pathway

Many Cherrybrook blocks suit a Complying Development Certificate through a registered certifier where the property and design meet the relevant standards, which is faster than a DA. Sites with bushfire or other planning constraints may need a DA with Hornsby Shire Council. Demolition has its own approval. We identify the likely 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 Cherrybrook 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.

Honest numbers

How a Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook 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

Cherrybrook custom home questions.

Do you build custom homes across all of Cherrybrook?
Yes. We build across Cherrybrook and the neighbouring suburbs, including West Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, Dural, Pennant Hills and Thornleigh, and through the wider district as well. The area suits what we do: established blocks, first generation housing reaching its use by date, and owners who intend to stay. If you are just outside these suburbs, call and ask.
Is a knockdown rebuild better than renovating my Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook need?
Many Cherrybrook blocks suit a Complying Development Certificate issued by a registered certifier where the property and design meet the relevant standards, which is significantly faster than a Development Application. Sites with bushfire or other planning constraints, including some streets backing onto bushland, may require a DA with Hornsby Shire Council, and demolition on a knockdown rebuild has its own approval. Council consent is also required before protected trees are removed or pruned. We identify the likely pathway for your block early.
How much does a custom home in Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook 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 Cherrybrook: home extensions · second storey additions · home renovations