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1300 156 669 or 0468 102 375

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Residential drafting / Brisbane and Gold Coast

Council-ready drawings for renovations, extensions and additions

  • Extensions
  • Storey additions
  • Decks and patios
  • Carports and garages
  • Granny flats
  • Internal alterations

We tell you which approval pathway applies before you spend anything, then produce the set your council can assess and your builder can price. You get a fixed price in writing before we start, a Client Portal to follow progress, and the files as PDF plus editable DWG.

Get a fixed quote  Call 1300 156 669
  • Fixed price before we start
  • We know what your council asks for
  • PDF and editable DWG
4.9 stars from Google reviews Xpress Draft experience and guarantee badges
Queensland home extension in progress

The problem

The renovation is planned. The approval process is the part nobody explains.

Most people renovating a home have never dealt with council approval before, and it shows in the questions we get every week. Does an extension need a Development Application or a building approval? Why is the answer different one suburb over? What does the certifier actually need to see?

Meanwhile the builders you want to price the job are asking for drawings before they will commit to a number, and quoting from a rough sketch gets you rough prices. The project is real, the budget is real, and the whole thing is idling because the documentation does not exist yet.

What you want is simpler than an hourly-rate scope that reads like it was written to grow: the right drawings, at a price somebody commits to upfront.

The approval pathway

Depends on your council, your zone and the work itself. Gold Coast is not Brisbane, and a DA is not a building approval. We tell you which one applies before we draw.

Your builder

Tenders properly only when the drawings pin the scope down. One documented set means the quotes you get actually compare.

Your existing house

Only needs measuring when the original plans are not available, or when earlier alterations are not shown on the plans you have. Where it does, the measure is in your quote from the start.

You

Get a fixed price before you spend anything, then follow the project in your Client Portal without chasing anyone for updates.

Get a fixed quote

Tell us what you are planning and we will tell you the pathway.

How we work

From first chat to final sign off, without the runaround

01

We tell you the pathway first

Which approval applies, what your council will ask for, and what the drawings need to cover. You get that in the first conversation, before any money changes hands.

02

Drawn to be assessed

We have been producing council-ready drawings in Queensland since 2016, and every set is built around what your council and certifier assess. If they ask for corrections to our documentation during assessment, we make them at no additional cost.

03

We stay in it until sign off

Certifier queries come to us and we answer them. We liaise with your surveyor, engineer and builder at no additional cost, so you are not the messenger between technical parties.

Do you need your house measured? Only when the original plans are not available, or when you tell us about earlier alterations that are not shown on them. Where that applies, the measure is included in your quote from the start, so the new work is drawn against the house as it stands.

Get a fixed quote

We will tell you exactly what you need in the first conversation.

Who this is for

The renovations, extensions and additions we draw every week

If the work changes the house or puts a new structure on the site, it needs drawings. These are the projects that come through our door most.

Extensions.More living space out the front, back or side, drawn and documented for approval.
Storey additions and house uplift.Building up, or lifting the house to build in underneath.
Decks, patios and pergolas.Outdoor living that needs an approval behind it before anyone starts building.
Carports, garages and sheds.Covered parking and storage, documented to what your council assesses.
Granny flats and secondary dwellings.A self contained dwelling in the backyard, drawn to Queensland rules.
Kitchens, bathrooms and internal alterations.Reworking the layout or removing walls, including repositioning structural walls.
Get a fixed quote

Whichever it is, the first conversation tells you the pathway.

What you receive

The full set, from concept to construction

01

Preliminary drawings

The renovation drawn to your brief and refined with you before anything is documented, so you can see the plan before you commit to it.

02

Council approval documentation

The documentation your approval pathway requires: site plan, floor plans, elevations and sections, drawn against your existing house.

03

Construction drawings

Additional drawings focused on the construction stage, which your builder tenders from and your trades build from, dimensioned and complete.

04

Coordination

We liaise with all required consultants at no additional cost as part of our services.

Working drawings that go past approval. We deliver in two stages, preliminary drawings and then working drawings. Our working drawings combine the council approval documentation with a more complete construction set. Some quotes come in lower because they cover only what approval needs, and when the construction information is thin, the builder has to chase extra detail during the build or price in the uncertainty. A fuller set up front helps you avoid both.

You get the editable DWG as standard. Your engineer or your certifier can work straight in the file. Most firms will not give you that.

File formatsPDF for lodgement, plus editable DWG
Existing houseMeasured only where plans are missing or out of date
Drawn toScale, with a full title block
RevisionsThree complimentary revisions
CoordinationAll required consultants, at no additional cost
ProgressTracked in your Client Portal
Get a fixed quote

Scoped to your renovation and your council.

How it runs

Three steps between the idea and the builder starting

1

Tell us what you are planning

The address, what you want to change, and anything you have: sketches, photos, old plans, a survey. We come back with the approval pathway and a fixed quote in writing.

2

We measure, design and document

Where the existing plans are missing or out of date, we measure the house first. Then we refine the design with you, with three complimentary revisions along the way, and draw the full approval and construction set. You see the design before it is finalised.

3

Drawings delivered, approval in motion

The set arrives as PDF and DWG, ready for lodgement and builder tender, and you can follow the project timeline in your Client Portal along the way. Certifier queries come to us and we handle them at no additional cost.

Start with your plans

Takes about two minutes. No obligation.

Why people trust us with it

The process is the thing people write reviews about

E
Eric
★★★★★

"I expressed that we would need someone to hold our hand to help navigate the process. From the initial consultation through to the finished product, nothing was ever to much trouble for Luiz."

K
Kassie
★★★★★

"Luiz helped us stay with in our budget and liaised directly with the surveyor, builder and council... You really did make this process stress free."

N
Nicole
★★★★★

"I found the cost to be incredibly reasonable in comparison to other quotes I received too."

QBCC 1131941 licensedDesign and drafting since 2016Brisbane and Gold CoastDelivered as PDF and editable DWG
Get a fixed quote

Tell us what you are planning and we will tell you what it needs.

Before you ask

The questions we get every week

Do I need council approval for my renovation?
It depends on the work, your council and your zone, and this is exactly the question we answer in the first conversation. Some work runs through a building approval with a private certifier, some needs a Development Application, and some internal work needs neither. We tell you which pathway applies before we draw anything.
What is the difference between a renovation, an extension and an addition?
In practice they overlap, and your council cares about the work rather than the word. A renovation changes what is already there, an extension adds floor area to the existing house, and an addition is usually a separate structure on the same site such as a deck, carport or shed. We draw all three, and the approval pathway follows what is being built, not the label you put on it.
Do you draw decks, carports, patios and pergolas on their own?
Yes, and they are some of the most common jobs we take. A deck, patio, pergola, carport or garage still needs a documented set your certifier can assess, even when the house itself is untouched. The same fixed price approach applies as for a full renovation, scoped to the smaller job.
My house has no existing plans. Is that a problem?
No. We only need to measure the existing house when the original plans are not available, or when earlier alterations are not reflected in the plans you have. Where that is the case, the measure is part of the job and part of your quote, so the renovation is drawn against what is actually there.
Can I see the design before it is finalised?
Yes, always. Preliminary drawings come to you first and we refine them with you. Three complimentary revisions are included, which in most cases covers any adjustments or corrections from our reading of your brief without extra cost to you.
How long does it take?
It depends on the scope, so we do not quote a number here. We give you an expected timeframe at quote stage, and once the job is underway you can follow its progress in your Client Portal instead of calling or emailing for updates. If you are working to a deadline, tell us at the start so we can plan around it.
What will it cost?
Every job is quoted at a fixed price before anything begins. The number is driven by the scope of the work, the structural complexity, the approval pathway and what documentation already exists for your house. No hourly rates, and no scope creep once the quote is accepted.
Can you work with my builder and engineer?
Yes, and we prefer it. We brief your engineer directly, liaise with the consultants your project needs at no additional cost, and document to suit how your builder works. If you have no builder yet, the documented set is what lets several builders quote on identical scope.
Get a fixed quote

Bring the rest of your questions to the first conversation.

Get started

Tell us the plan. We will tell you the pathway.

Not sure whether the idea needs a DA, a building approval or neither? That is the first thing we work out, and it costs you nothing. Send us the address and what you are thinking, and we come back with the pathway and a fixed quote.

Prefer to talk it through? Call 1300 156 669 or 0468 102 375, or email info@xpressdraft.com.au.

Fixed price. Quoted before we start, and it does not change unless the scope does.

Client Portal. Follow your project timeline online, without chasing us for updates.

A straight answer. If the project is not ready to proceed, we will tell you before you spend money on drawings.

QBCC 1131941. Licensed, insured and Queensland based.

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