19/08/2026
For a few days, the whole extension is made of string.
That's what a set-out is. The timber frames standing around the edge of the lawn are profiles, and they hold the string lines exactly where the new walls will sit — set back far enough from the digging that they can stay put while the ground under them gets cut away. The orange paint marks the post holes and the edge of the new floor, and somewhere in the middle of it all is a datum: the one height everything else on the job gets measured from, so the floor that goes down next month still meets the door that gets hung after it.
It's also the first morning the owners can walk around the outside of a room that doesn't exist yet, which is quietly one of our favourite parts of a build. Wanting it half a metre wider is an easy conversation on a Wednesday with a can of marking paint in your hand, and a much harder one once the holes are dug — so we'd always rather have it now.
That's Matt out on the lawn with Hayden and Jack Taylor, working out where a bedroom goes with pegs, string and a can of orange paint. Matt's our builder, and he's on site for most of the days of every job we do — so the person deciding where your extension goes is the same one who'll be there while it gets built. Jack Kalan's behind the camera, which is where he usually is.
Machines in this week for the holes and the site cut, and the steel posts are being made to suit the fall of the block.
A new first-floor bedroom on the way in Moorooka.
Thinking about adding on upstairs? We'd love to come and have a look with you.
