Frequently Asked Questions, McDowell Building & Construction

McDowell Building & Construction is led by a registered building practitioner with 15 years of building experience behind every project. The business holds current HIA membership and is registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission, Victoria's regulator for the building industry. That experience covers renovations, extensions, heritage restoration, structural rectification and property maintenance across Melbourne's inner north and inner east.

Yes, McDowell Building & Construction is fully insured and led by a Registered Building Practitioner holding a current licence with Victoria's Building and Plumbing Commission. The business is also a member of the HIA, the Housing Industry Association's national body for registered builders. Licensing matters most on structural and rectification work, which by law can only be carried out and signed off by a registered building practitioner, not a general handyman.

The team personally manages every McDowell Building & Construction project from the first enquiry through to handover, rather than handing clients to a rotating cast of project managers. The team's Registered Building Practitioner oversees the OPC and PCA process and signs off on structural decisions, while Costa Tzaros, the construction manager, sets the direction for each job and holds the client relationship, and Danny Tran, the lead carpenter, runs day-to-day site delivery and coordination during construction. Specialist trades are engaged and coordinated as needed, but the same people stay directly involved and contactable throughout.

Getting started begins with a free 20-minute discovery call to talk through the project and confirm it's a good fit for both sides. From there, most alteration, renovation and extension projects move into an Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC) to set a realistic early budget, while smaller fixed-scope jobs like bathrooms can move straight to a proposal. The Our Process page has the full step-by-step breakdown, or head to Contact to book a discovery call.

McDowell Building & Construction offers renovations and extensions (including bathroom, kitchen, full home and extension projects), heritage restoration, structural rectification and remediation, and property maintenance for past clients, body corporates and property managers. Structural rectification covers everything from wall removals to water ingress and balcony remediation. Full detail on each service, including real project examples, sits on the Services Hub page.

McDowell Building & Construction takes on renovations of all sizes, from a single room through to a full home, rather than patch-ups or quick cosmetic fixes. Bathroom renovations generally start from $39,990 incl. GST as a working guide. The paid, staged OPC and PCA process is built to properly scope and price renovation and extension projects before a hammer is picked up. Property Maintenance is the exception, covering smaller structural and remedial jobs for existing clients and managing agents, quoted per job based on the type of work required.

Structural rectification and remediation at McDowell Building & Construction covers a broad range of work, including structural wall removals, water ingress and balcony remediation, and concrete and facade remediation, rather than one narrow trade like underpinning alone. Projects often combine several of these elements at once, such as a sinking extension that needs underpinning, re-stumping and follow-on floor, plaster, electrical and drainage work. The team coordinates the specialist trades and engineering input required as one connected scope.

Property Maintenance from McDowell Building & Construction is structural and remedial repair work carried out by a licensed Registered Building Practitioner, work a general handyman is not legally permitted to perform. The service is fully insured, coordinates all trades under one detailed quote, and documents jobs with photos throughout. Pricing depends on the type of work required and is quoted per job rather than charged at a set rate, and urgent jobs are typically attended within 24 hours. See the Property Maintenance page for full detail.

An OPC (Opinion of Probable Cost) is McDowell Building & Construction's early-stage budgeting tool, giving a realistic cost range based on the client's questionnaire, discovery call and any plans supplied. A PCA (Pre-Construction Agreement) is the next, more detailed stage, where the team collects individual pricing, engages trades and consultants, and prepares a full scope ready to move into a building contract. Both steps are explained in full on the Our Process page.

No, the OPC is not a final quote. It is a planning tool that gives a realistic cost range based on the information available at the time, not a fixed contract price. Once a project moves to construction, McDowell Building & Construction prepares a detailed scope of works rather than a line-by-line cost breakdown, because one fixed price for one agreed scope keeps the project accountable and stops pricing being picked apart piece by piece.

An OPC from McDowell Building & Construction starts from $495 incl. GST. The exact fee is confirmed before any work begins, based on the project and the documentation available. It typically takes 3 to 7 business days once payment and any documentation have been received. If the project moves ahead to a PCA, the full PCA fee is credited toward the Building Contract provided the client proceeds within 60 days of receiving the final detailed Proposal. Outside that 60 day window the PCA fee is non-refundable.

McDowell Building & Construction charges a fee before building starts because proper scoping, coordination and pricing take real time from the team and their trades, and doing that work for free tends to produce inaccurate, rushed numbers. Pricing per square metre is avoided for the same reason, since every site, design and selection is different, and a single rate can mislead. The paid OPC and PCA process aligns design, scope and budget early, which is what keeps price shock and cost blowouts off the table, and it works just as well alongside a client's own architect or designer.

Bathroom renovations with McDowell Building & Construction typically start from $39,990 incl. GST, and kitchen renovations start from $39,990 incl. GST, both working guides rather than fixed prices. Extensions, alterations and full home renovations don't carry a published floor price, because project scope and site conditions vary too widely for one number to be honest. As an example of scale, a recent full renovation of a two-bedroom unit, covering the laundry, bathroom, kitchen, dining and living areas, plus heating and cooling, built-in wardrobes, a full interior repaint, external repairs and brick patching, and a small structural alteration, came to a total package of $189,000.

Full details of what the Pre-Construction Agreement covers, including inclusions, exclusions, site visits, revisions and any inspections billed separately, are set out in the client agreement provided before any work begins. That way both sides are working from the same document, with no assumptions about what is and isn't part of the scope.

McDowell Building & Construction is based in Melbourne's inner north and currently works most often across Carlton, Fitzroy, Brunswick, Coburg, Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, with a growing footprint into suburbs like Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell and Ivanhoe. For the right character home or larger project, the team will happily travel further, including to areas like Eltham and Warrandyte. Not seeing a suburb listed doesn't rule a project out. Every enquiry is assessed on its merits, not its postcode, so it's worth getting in touch regardless.

Having a clear idea of the project, any existing plans or drawings, and a rough budget in mind helps McDowell Building & Construction move faster from first enquiry to a useful OPC. Project timelines vary widely: an OPC takes 3 to 7 business days, the PCA timeframe is confirmed per project and recorded in the signed PCA agreement, and construction timeframes are confirmed once the detailed scope is agreed. Clients consistently note that McDowell sites are left clean and tidy throughout, with regular updates along the way.