Pre-Start Review: Walk onto site with your budget, contracts and sequence already checked.
Reviewed personally by Jesse Barrass — an ex-builder with years of hands-on construction experience.
Who this is for
- You have approvals in hand (or close) and trades are starting to quote
- Your budget was built from cost guides and you want it tested against reality
- You want the inspection schedule and build sequence locked before the slab, not discovered after it
Exactly what you get
- Full budget and contingency review against real current costs for your region and build type
- Scope check across your trade packages — the missing items that otherwise arrive later as variations
- Your build sequence and certifier inspection schedule mapped, with the point-of-no-return moments flagged
- A written pre-start report plus a call to walk through every finding
This is the shape of the deliverable
Concrete pump hire
Not mentioned anywhere in the quote
Unpriced — typical $800–$1,500 per pour
Rock excavation
“Excavation in other than natural soil excluded”
Excluded — repriced mid-job at machine day-rates
Piering allowance
Allowance $2,400
Roughly half the local going rate for this soil class
Termite management
Priced, part and system named
Priced properly — no action
Every finding: the quote line, the gap, the realistic cost band.
The report lists each budget line against a realistic band, each scope gap, and your sequenced inspection map.
Worked example — what this catches
$10k+
An uncosted retaining wall, plus a slab quote assuming fill the block doesn’t have — the classic pre-start finds that dwarf the $790 fee when caught on paper instead of on site.
Real results go on the proof pageWhat this is not — in plain English
This is not project management. It is the pre-flight check that means you start in control and stay there.
Full details in our terms and disclaimer — written to be read, not buried.
Common questions
When is the right time for this?
After design is locked and before you sign major trade contracts. That is the last window where a found problem costs a phone call instead of a variation.
What does the budget review actually compare against?
Current real quote data and commercial estimating experience — not the online cost guides, which typically run 12–24 months behind the market.
Do you deal with my certifier?
No — the certifier relationship stays yours. We map their required inspections into your sequence so nothing gets sheeted, poured or covered before it’s been looked at.
Is one week guaranteed?
One week from receiving your documents is the standard turnaround. If your build is unusually complex we’ll tell you the real timeline before you pay.
Ready? Book your Pre-Start Review — $790
Fixed fee, 1 week. Book through the form, or call 0484 508 363 and talk it through first.