Services
Renovate your apartment with documentation strata can say yes to
Class 2 renovation design by architects registered for Class 2 work, from concept through DA, CC or CDC. From $22,000 for a single unit; start with a $220 consultation.
Renovating an apartment is not like renovating a house
House renovators worry about council. Apartment renovators worry about council, the owners corporation, the by laws, the neighbours above and below, and a piece of NSW law most people have never heard of until it stops their project: the Design and Building Practitioners Act.
Since that Act, design work on Class 2 buildings, which is any building with two or more dwellings, must be prepared and declared by registered practitioners. The sketch that would get a house renovation through council is simply not lawful documentation for an apartment. Owners discover this at the worst moment, halfway through, when a certifier asks for regulated designs nobody scoped or priced.
There is a better order: start with people registered to do the work.
What you get
Design by architects registered for Class 2 work. Good Architect is registered with NSW Fair Trading for Class 2, Class 3 and Class 9c buildings, and Shea is a NSW Registered Architect (registration 9748). We prepare and declare the regulated designs your renovation needs under our own registration. No subcontracted compliance, no gaps between the designer and the declarer.
Documentation strata can actually approve. An owners corporation asked to approve a renovation from a builder's one page quote will stall, and they are right to. A proper drawing set shows the committee exactly what is proposed, what touches common property and how it will be protected. We answer the questions committees ask in our strata waterproofing FAQ, and the same clarity goes into your drawings.
The approval pathway handled. Concept design through DA and CC, or CDC where your project qualifies. If the renovation touches wet areas, and most do, the waterproofing is designed as a regulated design, not left as a note that says "waterproof to standard". Water is what we are known for: our waterproofing remediation practice exists because of how often that note fails.
Honest scoping before you commit. Everything starts with a $220 Initial Consultation, credited toward your fee if you proceed. If your renovation does not need us, or does not stack up, that is a $220 discovery instead of a $22,000 one.
This is for you if
- You own an apartment or unit in NSW and want a renovation designed and documented properly: kitchen, bathroom, layout changes, or a full unit.
- You are a strata committee facing renovations across multiple units and want one designer coordinating them. Fees scale at $5,000 per additional unit rather than full price for each.
- You have been told your renovation needs "regulated designs" and are not sure what that means or who can produce them.
It is not for you if your building's real problem is water getting in. Fix the cause first; our remediation service is built for exactly that, and renovating over a leak wastes the renovation.
Why us
We are architects, not builders, and in Class 2 work that independence matters. Our Code of Conduct obligation is to you, our registration covers the declared design work your building requires, and our practice has an unusual depth in the single thing most apartment renovations get wrong: keeping water where it belongs.
How it works
- Book the $220 Initial Consultation below.
- We assess the renovation, the building and the approval pathway, and give you a fixed fee proposal.
- Design, documentation and declarations proceed stage by stage, with the cost of each stage agreed before you commit to it.
Shea is an absolute professional, with equal parts creativity, inspiration, technical mastery and ability to listen.
Your investment
Class 2 Renovations
$220 to start
Indicative pricing: from $22,000 for a single unit renovation. Add $5,000 for each additional unit.
Covers Concept plus DA/CC or CDC. Tender documentation optional at additional cost. Fees reflect the registered design practitioner work required under the NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act. Start with a $220 Initial Consultation, credited toward the project fee if you proceed and not refundable if you do not.
All prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. Standard Conditions of Engagement · NSW Code of Conduct (PDF)
Questions people ask us
Why does an apartment renovation cost more to design than a house renovation?
Because the NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act treats apartments differently. Class 2 work requires regulated designs prepared and declared by a registered design practitioner, with lodgement obligations that simply do not exist for a freestanding house. The fee reflects that declared, regulated work. It is the same law that exists to protect you from the undocumented renovations of your neighbours.
Do I need strata approval as well as council approval?
Almost always, yes. Renovations that touch common property, and waterproofing, structure and external walls usually are common property, need the owners corporation to approve, often by by law. Proper drawings make that conversation far easier, because the committee can see exactly what is proposed instead of guessing.
What does the $22,000 actually cover?
Concept design plus the approval pathway: DA and CC, or CDC where it applies, including the regulated design declarations Class 2 work requires. Add $5,000 for each additional unit if you are doing more than one. Tender documentation, the detailed drawings builders price and build from, is optional at additional cost, and we will tell you upfront whether your project needs it.
Is the $220 consultation refundable?
It is credited toward your project fee if you proceed, and not refunded if you do not. You get a straight professional answer about whether your renovation is feasible either way, which is exactly what the hour is for.
My renovation involves a leaking balcony or bathroom. Is that this service?
It is related but different. If the driver is water damage rather than renovation, start with our waterproofing remediation service instead. Diagnosing why water is where it should not be comes before any renovation design, and renovating over an unresolved leak is how owners end up paying twice.
Imagine handing strata a set of drawings so complete that saying yes is the easy option.
Book Initial Consultation