Haiku Building · Sydney and the Illawarra
For Inner West and Illawarra families renovating the house they’ll stay in. Healthy, high-performance renovations and extensions, priced before we start, built once.
Every house we seal to an airtight standard with a ventilation system gets a blower-door test. The number tells us it’s as tight as we built it to be.
Membranes and tapes that make the building airtight and let it dry out, not one or the other.
We model where the water vapour goes before we build the wall, so mould has nowhere to start.
A paid feasibility stage, then a fixed-price contract built from real numbers.
Healthy home
Most of what makes a home healthy is invisible once the plaster is on. The materials and what they give off. Where the moisture goes. Whether the air moving through the house is fresh or just recirculated.
We hold those to the same rigour as the energy performance. A house built to passive house standards without thought for off-gassing materials, the right ventilation system and the health of the people who’ll live in it can cause more problems than it solves. We build the whole thing.
The work
Hurlstone Park · Rear extension and full renovation
Under hoop pine boards,
one long room gathers the light:
dinner starts early.
A brick semi, extended at the rear and remade inside: a long living room under a raked plywood ceiling, clerestory light, polished concrete, a timber island, and a green-tiled bathroom under a skylight.
Alexandria · Heritage terrace, rebuilt from within
Behind the old brick,
winter sun on dark timber:
the city, far off.
An inner-city terrace rebuilt from within: a new timber stair rising against the rough original wall, black joinery, a timber shelving wall in the kitchen, and an attic bedroom under the rake.
Marrickville · Rear extension
A few square metres:
enough for the morning sun
to change everything.
A compact rear extension that floods the back of the house with northern light: a recycled-brick-and-timber screen, a kitchen under a new skylight, and a courtyard off the deck.
Croydon · Garden studio
Down the garden path,
the old shed learns a new trade:
office, then retreat.
A garden shed became a fully insulated cottage-style studio at the end of a sandstone path: a parents’ retreat and home office, with an outdoor kitchen on the deck.
Leichhardt · Whole-house renovation
Oak under the hand,
the skylight finds the green tile,
the house settles in.
A whole-house renovation: new bathrooms under skylights, oak hallway and stair, built-in joinery, a rear deck with charcoal cladding. Wrapped in Pro Clima membranes, like every house we build.
Alexandria · Stair, skylight and powder room
A square of blue sky
dropped into the hallway, and
the stair climbs toward it.
A small job with one big move: a new timber stair with a glass balustrade and a lit handrail, under a skylight shaft that washes the hallway, plus a subway-tiled powder room.
Lewisham · Rear extension and new roof
Over old brick walls
the new steel takes the weight:
the terracotta stays.
A rear extension on recycled brick walls under a steel roof frame, a membrane roof over the hip, new battens laid straight off the original terracotta, and a green kitchen with a curved island against the brick.
The invisible work
Finished kitchens are easy to photograph. This is the work underneath them, and the reason the finished room stays warm, dry and quiet.
The Clarity Process
The price you signed being wrong is the real risk on a renovation. So before any building contract we do two rounds of paid work: on the site, and on the drawings. What we find becomes a fixed price, not a variation.
Todd leads every Clarity Process meeting himself. The fee is fixed and we tell you what it is at the first conversation.
01
You tell us about the house. We tell you plainly whether we’re the right fit.
02
You read how we work first, then we talk about what you want from the home.
03
Paid. We find what’s hidden in the ground and the existing structure, on paper, before it becomes a variation mid-build.
04
Paid. We take off the documented scope and price it line by line, refining across three proposal rounds until scope, inclusions and number line up.
05
A fixed-price proposal built from real trade and supplier numbers. Not an estimate.
06
Walked through in full before anyone signs. Then the deposit is lodged.
07
One point of contact. Weekly site meetings. The home we hand over is the one we priced.
A straight answer
Good projects come from good fit. Here is ours, stated plainly. It saves everyone time.
From the owners
Three homeowners, in their own words. More on Google.
“The space is now light, bright, silent to the outside noises, and just a lovely place to be in. The process with Todd was effortless from beginning to end. The planning of the build was straightforward and collaborative, Todd listened to my goals and each step of the way was willing to make modifications or suggest improvements to get me the results I wanted.”
“On a daily basis, everyone in the company was a pleasure to be around: they worked diligently, cleaned up every day, and made the whole process enjoyable while I lived on site.”
“Todd and his team demonstrated stellar craftsmanship throughout our renovation project. They made the process smooth and stress-free for us. Can’t wait to work with Todd again.”
“Seriously impressed with Todd and his team. Prompt, professional, considerate and consciencious; I have and would recommend Haiku.”
Architects and designers
Airtightness detailing, thermal-bridge-free junctions, and a blower-door result on every airtight build. We don’t tender for new work and we credit your work on the project page.
Start an enquiry
Todd reads every enquiry and replies within two working days, with the Clarity Process document so you can see how we work before we talk.
Or email todd@haikubuilding.com.au.
