Services
One focused hour with an architect, before you spend thousands
A $220 conversation that maps your project, tests whether it is feasible and gives you a clear next step. Credited toward your fee if you go ahead.
Every project starts with a hundred questions
Is this block any good? Is my budget realistic? Do I need a DA or can it be complying development? Should I renovate or knock down? Is the builder's quote sensible? Do I even need an architect for this?
You can spend weeks trying to answer those questions with forum posts and guesswork, or you can sit down with someone who answers them for a living. That is what the Initial Consultation is: one focused hour on your project with a practising architect, for $220.
What you get from the hour
Straight answers, in plain English. Shea is a NSW Registered Architect (registration 9748) and Dave brings a project management background. Between us we have taken projects from a first phone call through design, approval and construction, from kitchen renovations to an 89 apartment seniors living development. Whatever stage you are at, we have sat where you are sitting many times before.
An honest read on feasibility. We will tell you if your budget is unrealistic, or if the zoning of your site means extra cost, before you are committed. It takes a lot of grit to build, and we want you well informed before you start, not halfway through. If the kindest thing we can say is "do not do this project", we will say it. That honesty is the point of the hour. Our article on why you need approval before you build gives you a taste of the traps we help people avoid.
A clear next step. Every consultation ends with an agreed direction. That might be a feasibility study, a survey, a conversation with council, or the decision to walk away from a bad block while it is still cheap to do so.
Your $220 back if you proceed. The consultation fee is credited toward your project fee if you go ahead with us. If the project has legs, the hour effectively costs you nothing.
This is for you if
- You are planning a renovation, addition, new home, granny flat or development on the Central Coast and want professional eyes on it before committing money.
- You have a block, a contract or someone else's plans and want a straight second opinion.
- You keep circling the same questions and need someone to break the loop.
It is probably not for you if you have already engaged another architect and are happy with them, or if you want a free quote for construction work. We design and document buildings; we do not build them.
Why we run it this way
Free consultations sound generous, but they pay for themselves in sales pressure. When the hour is free, the person across the table needs the project to go ahead. When you pay $220 for the hour, we can afford to tell you the truth, including the version of the truth where the best move is not to build.
That is why the consultation is the front door for everything we do, from bespoke homes to duplexes and Class 2 renovations. It protects both of us: you get advice with no agenda, and we get clients whose projects genuinely stack up.
How it works
- Book below. The form takes a couple of minutes and payment is handled securely by Stripe.
- We contact you to arrange a time and the format that suits the project.
- We spend the hour on your project, and you leave with a clear direction.
That is all there is to it. No lock in, no follow up sales calls, just the hour.
Shea did a great job with our house, very happy with her approach and knowledge.
Plans exceeded my expectations, adding re-imagining and uniqueness to the space, yet keeping it very functional.
Your investment
Initial Consultation
$220
A single one hour conversation to map the project, test feasibility, and agree on next steps. Ideal before you commission any design work. The $220 is credited toward your project fee if you proceed and is 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
What actually happens in the hour?
We talk through your site, your brief and your budget, test the idea against what we know about the area and the planning rules that apply, and agree on a sensible next step. You can bring photos, sketches, contracts, other people's plans, anything. You leave knowing whether the project is worth pursuing and what to do next.
Is the $220 refundable if I decide not to go ahead?
No. The $220 is credited toward your project fee if you proceed with us, and it is not refunded if you do not. We think that is fair: you are buying an hour of professional advice, and you get that hour whether or not a project follows.
Should I book this or a feasibility study?
Book the consultation when the project is still forming and you want a professional sounding board. Order a feasibility study when you have a specific block and want documented research on it. Very often the consultation comes first and tells you which study, if any, you actually need.
Do I need to have bought land or have plans already?
No. Some of the most useful consultations happen before anything is signed, while every option is still open. If you already have plans or a contract, bring them and we will give you a straight second opinion.
One hour from now, you could know exactly where your project stands.
Book my consultation