Case Study: Getting a Secondary Dwelling Contract-Ready in Kin Kin

A secondary dwelling project on a sloping block in Kin Kin came to us at design stage — before a single builder quote existed. That timing matters. Most cost problems on a project are set well before anyone asks a builder to price it; by the time a quote lands, the scope, the site response, and the specification are largely locked in.

Establishing a position before pricing existed

We started with a Foundation engagement, working from the design documentation available at the time. The site carried real structural cost drivers — a sloping, reactive block requiring a stiffened raft and pad footings rather than a standard slab — and getting those costed properly, early, meant the owner had a genuine position to weigh any later builder quote against, rather than finding out how the site affected cost only after a number came back.

Reconciling the position once a builder quote arrived

Once formal builder costing did come in, we moved to a Realignment engagement to reconcile it against the Foundation position — working through where the gap sat and what was driving it, rather than treating the builder’s number as simply the new reality to accept.

What still needed to be nailed down before signing

Alongside the cost work, we reviewed the documentation itself — flagging what was still missing or unresolved that would need to be locked down before a building contract was signed. A specification gap or an unconfirmed inclusion left open at contract stage is exactly the kind of thing that turns into a variation later, on terms far less favourable than sorting it before signature.

Why the sequence matters

The value here was not any single report — it was the sequence. An early cost position gave a real benchmark to test pricing against. When pricing came in, that benchmark made the reconciliation a structured exercise rather than a guess. And the documentation review meant the contract being signed reflected what was actually agreed, not what everyone assumed. For more on what to check in a contract before signing, see what to understand in a residential building contract before you sign.