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

Custom Homes · Leichhardt NSW

Custom home builder in Leichhardt, built properly.

Knockdown rebuilds and luxury new homes for Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt custom homes are their own craft.

Strava Group is a custom home builder working across Leichhardt and the surrounding suburbs. Leichhardt is Victorian and Federation territory, terraces, semis and freestanding cottages on narrow inner west lots, with heritage conservation areas protecting many of its streets.

Building new here is a different craft to building in the suburbs: tight sites, party walls, rear lanes, limited storage and neighbours a metre away. Where a street allows it, a new home on a Leichhardt block is a precision project, and where the conservation controls apply, the right answer is a quality renovation or extension, which we also build. Custom builds we take on in Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt 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.

Inner west building is a discipline of its own: narrow access, party walls and no room for error. That is not a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to choose the builder carefully.

Knockdown rebuilds

Knockdown rebuild in Leichhardt.

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

Heritage streets and tight sites

Parts of Leichhardt sit within heritage conservation areas where demolition is restricted, and Inner West Council requires consent before protected trees are removed. On top of the planning layers, narrow lots and party walls shape what can be built and how. We assess all of it on your block before design money is spent.

The approval pathway

Eligible Leichhardt blocks outside the conservation areas can suit a Complying Development Certificate through a registered certifier, though narrow inner west lots often point to a DA with Inner West Council. Heritage affected sites go through a DA. Demolition has its own approval. 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 Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt 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

Leichhardt custom home questions.

Do you build custom homes across all of Leichhardt?
Yes. We build across Leichhardt and the neighbouring suburbs, including Lilyfield, Annandale, Haberfield, Petersham and Five Dock, and through the wider inner west as well. The area suits careful builders: tight sites, period housing and owners who intend to stay. If you are just outside these suburbs, call and ask.
Is a knockdown rebuild better than renovating my Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt need?
Eligible Leichhardt blocks outside the heritage conservation areas can suit a Complying Development Certificate issued by a registered certifier, though the narrow lots common in the inner west often point to a Development Application with Inner West Council instead. Heritage affected properties require a DA, and demolition of contributory homes in the conservation areas is generally not supported. 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 Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt: home extensions · second storey additions · home renovations

Discuss Your Build →Call 0450 605 080
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