Apartment bathroom
renovations in Sydney

1. Will Passion Built act as the principal contractor?

Yes. Passion Built is engaged as the sole principal contractor for your bathroom renovation. The business is run by licensed builder Dylan Doncevski and we carry the whole job from strip-out to final fit-off using our own in-house plumber, electrician, tiler, waterproofer and painter. 

You deal with one company and one point of contact for the entire project, not a list of separate trades you have to chase and coordinate yourself. All trades are subcontractors as they need to be licensed in their specific trade. A builder cannot sign off on a plumber or electrician’s work they carry out. At Passion Built our employees are the demolition team and the carpenters. The waterproofer is also licensed and insured separately.

2. What are your NSW contractor licence details?

Passion Built holds a current NSW Fair Trading building licence and works under the Home Building Act. Our licence and the licences of the trades on your job are:

• Builder (Passion Built): Builder License Number #364084C 

• Australian Business Number #17 646 669 061 

• Class 2 Practitioner Builder – BUP0003089

• Plumber: 366542C 

• Electrician: 397853C 

• Waterproofer: 302502C 

You can check any NSW licence yourself on the Service NSW licence check. We are happy to provide copies for your strata records.

3. Is the project covered by Home Building Compensation (HBC) insurance?

Yes. 

For residential building work over $20,000 we take out Home Building Compensation cover via iCare (the scheme formerly known as Home Warranty Insurance) for your project before work starts, and we give you the certificate. This cover protects you if the work cannot be completed or defects cannot be fixed because the builder becomes insolvent, dies, disappears or loses their licence. 

We also carry $20 million public liability insurance separately through HIA

A certificate is issued for each job and given to the owner before any deposit or work commences.

4. What is your waterproofing method, who does it, and how is it certified?

Waterproofing is built into every bathroom we do, not treated as an optional extra. 

• We install a complete waterproofing system exceeding the  Australian Standard AS 3740, we have developed this system over years of trial and error to ensure it is bullet proof, it consists of a 2 layer membrane applied directly to the subfloor, we then let this cure before putting down the sand/cement bedding. 
• Once the bedding is dry we then install another layer of waterproofing membrane ontop to create a sandwich effect.
• The work is carried out by a licensed waterproofer and we photograph the finished membrane before any tiling goes down, so there is a clear record. 
• On completion you receive a waterproofing certificate of compliance for your own files and for strata and photographs of the membrane before tiling.

5. Could the plumbing changes affect common property, stacks, slab penetrations or structural elements?

Possibly and we are upfront about it rather than discovering it halfway through. 

In an apartment the drainage stacks, the floor slab and some walls can be common property or structural. Relocating a vanity, toilet or floor waste can mean cutting into the concrete slab or connecting to a common stack. 

Where that applies we tell you in writing before work starts, we keep any penetrations to the minimum needed, and we make sure the work is signed off by the right licensed trade. 

Where a change touches a structural element we arrange or recommend a structural engineer. 

Anything that affects common property is flagged so it can go into your strata application. If making structural changes can be avoided we will always suggest that path first, if there is access below we won’t need to cut the slab, we drill core holes instead.

6. What strata documentation can you provide?

We can put together a strata pack to support your application to the owners corporation or building manager. It can include:

•     A written scope of works

•     Our builder’s licence and the relevant trade licences

•     Public liability insurance certificate

•     Home Building Compensation insurance certificate

•     Waterproofing details and certificate of compliance

•     A work schedule with start and finish dates and committed working hours. Typically that is 7am – 5pm however each strata will have there own rules if its a strata run complex.

•     A waste removal plan

•     A common-property protection plan covering lifts, lobbies, hallways and floors are covered in professional floor wrap from “Protecta Group”, lifts are generally covered by the strata.

This is the paperwork most strata committees and building managers ask for, so having it ready usually speeds up approval. 

7. What are the full inclusions, exclusions and likely variation triggers?

Your quote is a fixed-price written quote with a clear scope, so you know what is and is not included before you commit, with no surprise charges along the way. 

The full inclusions for your job are set out in the scope which is very detailed.

The things that are usually excluded, or that can trigger a priced variation, are:

•     Strata or council application fees

•     Asbestos, which can be present in older buildings and is only found once the room is opened up

•     Concealed damage behind walls or under the floor that could not be seen at quoting

•     Structural surprises in an older building
  
  

•     Any change you make to the agreed scope or product selections after work has started

If a variation comes up, we price it and get your written approval before we do the work, so you stay in control of the cost.

If we discover asbestos in an older building we will stop work. Generally if we think there is asbestos wewould get the owner to get a tester out prior to starting, we then have licensed removalists who would do the demo/removal. If its a small piece hidden below a bath or in a roof we generally take this and discard of it appropriately, cost would be provided to the client as well as photos

8. Can I select my own fixtures and fittings and have you manage them?

Yes. 

You can choose your own fixtures and fittings and we can guide you on the ordering, delivery and installation. 

We can also help guide your choices using our free 3D design software so you can see the scale and layout before anything is bought and point you to suppliers that suit.

If you would rather not source items yourself, we can supply everything to a set allowance. 

Either way the choice is yours, and we coordinate the lot so it arrives on site at the right time. We offer full trade pricing discounts if you order the products.

If a client-supplied item arrives late, is faulty or is the wrong size we would try avoiding this by making sure all items are onsite before we start to eliminate delays. If there is a faulty product then the client must obtain a replacement. If the client deviates from the agreed items this can cause issues with sizing, spacing and fitment which the client would need to resolve and/or a variation put in place. 

9. What is the payment schedule and likely timeline?

Most apartment bathrooms are built in around 21 days on site once we start. On top of that, allow lead time at the front for design, product ordering and strata approval, which varies by building. 

Payment follows a staged schedule set out in your contract: a deposit, then progress payments tied to completed milestones, with the final payment on completion. 

Under NSW home building rules the deposit is capped and progress payments are linked to work actually done, so you are never paying for work before it is finished.

The actual payment stages are;

• Deposit

• Demolition

• Rough-ins completed

• Tiling completed

• Fitoff done

• Handover

• A NSW deposit cap is 10% for contracts over $20,000)

The actual timeline can change depending on how quickly the client can select items and get Strata approval. In most cases clients already have everything organised and at other times it has to all be decided. Selections need to be done at least 4 weeks prior to work starting.

10. What is the defect and warranty process after completion?

Every renovation comes with our 10 year workmanship guarantee, which sits on top of the statutory warranties you have under NSW home building law (6 years for major defects, 2 years for other defects under the Home Building Act).

If something is not right after completion, you contact us and we inspect and rectify any covered defect. Workmanship covers things like, a towel rail coming loose, grout falls out in an area, showerscreen hinges become faulty things like this, it excludes wear and tear and misuse.

Waterproofing and structural work carry the longer statutory warranty period and minor items a shorter one, as set out in your contract. 

At handover we leave you with your certificates and warranties so you have a complete record for yourself and for strata. We are your sole point of contact if there are any issues.