Complete 1930’s house renovation in Rose Bay
Location | Mitchell Road, Rose Bay NSW 2029 |
Property | Detached house, originally built c.1938 (approx. 88 years old) |
Building class | Class 1a dwelling |
Scope | Full internal strip-out and reconstruction — two bathrooms plus walk-in robe, powder room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, laundry and living areas; internal structural reconfiguration; new bi-fold openings |
Contract type | Architecturally administered lump-sum contract |
Contract value | $480,000 lump sum + $120,000 approved variations = $600,000 |
Architect | John Greenwood & Associates |
Interior design | Marché Twice Interiors |
Builder | Awacon Pty Ltd (NSW Licence 387802C) |
How we were engaged | Referral from our Surry Hills heritage renovation client |
Awacon was engaged as the renovation builder to complete this project. Take a look inside the full internal rebuild of a late-1930s Eastern Suburbs house with two bathrooms, a powder room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, laundry and living areas all delivered under an architect-administered contract and the building code in force across New South Wales.
The scope of work for a complete 1930’s house renovation in Rose Bay
The brief
When the owners of this Rose Bay home began planning their renovation, they had already done a great deal of the thinking. An architect and an interior designer were engaged, a full set of architectural, structural and interior drawings had been prepared, and a clear vision for the finished home was in place. What they needed next was the part that turns drawings into a built reality: a licensed builder who could execute a complex internal rebuild precisely, manage the trades and services, and hold the project to budget and to code.
Awacon was engaged on the recommendation of a previous client — the owners of a heritage home we renovated in Surry Hills. That kind of referral matters in a market where it is genuinely hard to know in advance who will deliver.
This case study walks through how the project came together, the decisions that sit behind a renovation of this size, and what a homeowner planning something similar should understand about contracts, structure, waterproofing and the building code.
A note on credit, because it matters: the design of this home belongs to its architect and interior designer. Awacon’s role was construction delivery — structural execution, waterproofing, joinery and stone installation, services coordination, compliance and project management. We’ve written this study to be useful rather than promotional: an honest account of how the work was done.
An architect-administered lump-sum contract
This project ran under an architecturally administered lump-sum contract. For homeowners, that arrangement is worth understanding, because it shapes who is responsible for what.
In a lump-sum (fixed-price) contract, the builder agrees to complete a defined scope of work for an agreed price — here, $480,000 — based on the consultants’ drawings and specifications. “Architect-administered” means the architect acts as the contract administrator: they issue instructions, assess the builder’s progress claims, and approve any variations. It keeps a clear separation between design authority and construction delivery, and it gives the homeowner an independent professional overseeing the build.
Renovations of older homes almost always generate variations because the moment walls open up, the building reveals things no drawing could have predicted. On this project, variations totalling $120,000 were approved by the architect, bringing the final contract value to $600,000. The discipline of that process means every change is documented, priced and signed off by the administering architect before work proceeds and is exactly what stops a renovation drifting into the “budget blowout” territory homeowners rightly fear. A variation isn’t a surprise sprung on you later; it’s a documented decision, priced and approved before the work happens.
Reconfiguring the structure of an 88-year-old house
The brief called for an entire internal structural reconfiguration to suit the new architectural layout. This was not a cosmetic refresh. Internal walls were removed and relocated, entrances were reconfigured, and large new bi-fold openings were created to connect the living spaces and draw natural light deep into the floor plan.
Removing load-bearing walls in a house of this age means transferring loads that have sat in place for the better part of a century onto new structural members, typically steel beams, sized by the project’s structural engineer.
The builder’s job is to execute that design safely: temporary propping, careful demolition, installing and fixing the new structure, then making good. In a home built around 1938, it also means dealing with whatever is found behind the plaster once it comes off: original framing, previous alterations, and services installed long before any modern standard applied.
New glazed openings carry their own requirements. External windows and bi-fold door assemblies must meet the relevant Australian Standards for window performance and glass selection, and the way they are flashed and sealed is what determines whether the home stays weathertight for decades.
The kitchen, butler's pantry and laundry
The kitchen is the heart of the new layout: a working family kitchen backed by a butler’s pantry that keeps the main bench clear. Delivering it well is a coordination exercise as much as a joinery one. Integrated European appliances, a natural-stone splashback and benchtops, induction cooking and concealed services all have to be set out to millimetre tolerances and sequenced so that cabinetry, stone, electrical, plumbing and ventilation arrive in the right order.
The butler’s pantry carries a second sink, more storage and bench space, and a glass-block window that brings in light while keeping the space private. It is the kind of detail that doesn’t show in the hero photographs but transforms how a busy household actually lives day to day.
Two bathrooms and a powder room where the real risk lives
Of every trade in a renovation, waterproofing is the one most likely to cause expensive grief years later if it is done poorly. Failed wet areas are among the most common — and most costly — defects in Australian homes. Three wet areas were built here from the substrate up: the main bathroom, a second bathroom, and a powder room.
The main bathroom is a long, narrow room finished in vertically stacked tile, with a freestanding stone bath set beneath the window and a generous walk-in shower. The vertical tile and the end-wall window are a deliberate response to the room’s proportions as both draw the eye down its length and make a narrow space feel calm rather than cramped.
How wet areas are built to code in NSW
Across New South Wales, residential building work is currently delivered under NCC 2022 — the National Construction Code. For a house (a Class 1a building), the waterproofing rules sit in NCC Volume Two, Part H4 and the ABCB Housing Provisions, Part 10.2, with AS 3740:2021 available as the construction method.
In practice that means specific, checkable things: shower walls waterproofed to a minimum of 1,800 mm above the floor; floors graded so water runs to the waste; and floor, wall junctions and penetrations sealed with a continuous, compatible membrane system before a single tile is laid. Get the sequence and the falls right and the room performs for decades. Get them wrong and no amount of beautiful tiling will save it.
The powder room takes a different tone with a sculptural solid-stone basin, wall-mounted tapware and a terrazzo floor but the same fundamentals of sealing penetrations and protecting the substrate apply wherever water meets the building.
The colour palette: warm neutrals, sage and aged copper
The interior scheme — the work of the project’s interior designer — is a study in warm, layered neutrals with one grounding colour and one dark anchor. It is a transitional, modern-classic direction: the cabinetry profile is a traditional Shaker, while the stone and the matte dark finishes read as thoroughly contemporary. That pairing is what lets a brand-new kitchen sit comfortably inside a 1930s home.
Here is how the scheme holds together and why each decision works:
- A quiet base, so the stone can be the hero. Walls and the bulk of the cabinetry sit in soft warm whites and greige. Because the backdrop is restrained, the dramatic veined stone on the splashback and benchtops reads like artwork rather than competing for attention.
- One grounding colour. The sage-green island is the scheme’s organic anchor — a muted, earthy green that stops an all-neutral kitchen feeling clinical and ties the interior back to the garden beyond the new glazed openings.
- One dark anchor. The charcoal, lightly textured upper cabinetry gives the eye somewhere to rest and adds weight overhead, balancing the lightness of the floor and the benches below.
- Metals chosen by zone. The kitchen and pantry wear warm aged-copper hardware — the “jewellery” of the room — while the bathrooms switch to cooler brushed nickel. Mixing metals works when it is deliberate: consistent within each space, contrasting between them.
- Warmth underfoot. Wide European white-oak boards run through the living spaces, with stone-look large-format tile in the wet areas and a playful terrazzo in the powder room. The timber is what keeps the whole neutral palette feeling warm rather than cold.
Built to NCC 2022 and what changes with NCC 2025 regulations
An honest case study has to be accurate about the code. This home was renovated under NCC 2022, the edition currently in force in New South Wales. The next edition, NCC 2025, was published on 1 May 2026 but NSW will not adopt it until 1 May 2027, so NCC 2022 remains the operative code for NSW building work until then.
It is still worth knowing where the code is heading, because it tells you what “good” looks like. NCC 2025 is primarily focused on the commercial sector, but it brings a small set of changes that matter for homes:
- Waterproofing and drainage — a restructure of the water-management provisions aimed at reducing leaks and defects. NSW has flagged variations, including allowing existing buildings that need building approval to be exempt from the new waterproofing requirement, and giving apartment remedial works a choice of edition.
- Condensation and ventilation — strengthened measures to manage internal moisture and prevent mould, a growing issue as homes become more airtight and energy-efficient.
- Energy efficiency — NCC 2022 already lifted new houses to a 7-star NatHERS standard plus a whole-of-home energy budget; NCC 2025 continues in that direction, mainly for commercial buildings.
The practical takeaway for homeowners is simple: a quality builder already details wet areas, ventilation and glazing to a standard that anticipates where the code is going, rather than scraping the minimum that applies on the day. The membrane behind your tiles doesn’t know which edition of the code it was built under — it either keeps water out or it doesn’t.
What homeowners can take from this project
- Get your design team in place early. These owners came to construction with architectural, structural and interior drawings already prepared. That clarity is what makes a fixed-price contract possible and keeps variations limited to genuine unknowns.
- Understand your contract. A lump-sum, architect-administered contract puts an independent professional between you and the build, assessing claims and approving variations. Know who administers your contract and how changes get priced.
- Budget for the unknown in an old home. An 88-year-old house will reveal surprises once walls open. Here that was a documented $120,000 of approved variations — planned for, not panicked over.
- Don’t cut the waterproofing. It is invisible once tiled and catastrophic if it fails. The falls, the membrane height and the sequencing are where a wet area is won or lost.
- Let restraint do the heavy lifting. A quiet, neutral base with one grounding colour and one dark anchor lets statement materials — here, the stone — carry the room.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a whole-of-home renovation like this cost?
This project completed at $600,000 — a $480,000 lump sum plus $120,000 of architect-approved variations — for a full internal rebuild of two bathrooms, a powder room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, laundry and living areas with structural reconfiguration. Every renovation is different; cost depends on scope, the age and condition of the building, the level of structural work, and the finishes specified. The reliable way to know is a fixed written quote against a defined scope.
What is an architect-administered lump-sum contract?
A lump-sum contract fixes a price for a defined scope. “Architect-administered” means the architect acts as contract administrator — issuing instructions, assessing progress claims and approving variations — keeping design authority separate from construction delivery. It gives the homeowner an independent professional overseeing the build.
Does a Sydney renovation need to comply with NCC 2025?
Not yet. New South Wales adopts NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027. Until then, NSW building work is delivered under NCC 2022. A good builder still details the work to anticipate where the code is heading, particularly on waterproofing and condensation management.
What are the waterproofing rules for a bathroom in NSW?
For a house (Class 1a) under NCC 2022, wet-area requirements sit in NCC Volume Two Part H4 and the ABCB Housing Provisions Part 10.2, with AS 3740:2021 as the construction method. In practice, shower walls are waterproofed to at least 1,800 mm high, floors are graded to the waste, and junctions and penetrations are sealed with a continuous membrane before tiling. This is general information — your certifier confirms compliance for your specific design.
Can you remove load-bearing walls to open up an older home?
Yes, with the right design and execution. Loads are transferred onto new structural members — usually steel — sized by a structural engineer, with temporary propping during demolition. On this project, internal walls were removed and relocated and new bi-fold openings were created as part of a complete internal reconfiguration.
About the builder
This project was delivered by Danny Awabdy, founder and principal contractor of Awacon Pty Ltd. Danny has more than 20 years’ hands-on experience in residential and commercial construction across Sydney, specialising in renovations of older and heritage-era homes.
On every Awacon project you deal directly with the builder who manages the work.
Awacon Pty Ltd · NSW Builder Licence 387802C · ABN 65 657 433 782 30 Grove St, Lilyfield NSW 2040 (by appointment) · danny@awacon.com.au
Project credits: Architect — John Greenwood & Associates · Interior design — Marché Twice Interiors · Builder — Awacon Pty Ltd (Licence 387802C)
Disclaimer: This case study is provided for general information and education. Building code references reflect the National Construction Code as it applies in New South Wales and are current at the time of writing (June 2026); the NCC is updated periodically and is subject to state and territory variations. Compliance for any specific project is determined by the relevant consultants and certifier. Contract figures relate to this project only and are not a guide to the cost of other work. Design credit belongs to the project’s architect and interior designer; Awacon’s role was construction delivery. Nothing here is legal, financial or building-certification advice.
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