NSW · Sydney — St George & Southern
Home builders in Blakehurst
A builder’s licence is permission to trade. It is not a solvency test. 2,361 construction companies entered external administration last financial year, more than any other industry in the country — and no regulator checks whether the one quoting your Blakehurst job can still pay its framer on Friday. We run the Four-Point Builder Check™: licence with NSW Fair Trading, insurance sighted, still trading, and genuinely working in Blakehurst. Then one name and the reasoning behind it — or a straight no.
- Costs you nothing, ever
- No obligation to use them
- Details never sold
Why this is harder than it looks in Blakehurst
- Blakehurst is not a generic block
Mapped here: 3 residential zones, 2 overlay families, 11 heritage records, bushfire-prone land. A builder who prices the house and discovers the site is a builder whose quote moves — and the variations land on you, not on them. The ones who work Blakehurst regularly already know which of these reach which streets.
- A current licence tells you nothing about solvency
Every one of the companies behind that figure held a valid licence the day before it failed. The certificate on the wall says they are permitted to build. It does not say they can pay their framer on Friday.
What building in Blakehurst actually involves
Blakehurst's height controls run from 9 m to 21 m. The 9 m figure covers 88 of 106 mapped parcels, so most house blocks sit at the lower end — but a 21 m control is seven storeys of difference, and knowing which land carries it is the difference between a settled outlook and a changing one.
Nine metres and twenty-one metres in one suburb
The taller controls accompany the R3 and R4 land rather than the detached streets. For a house that is not a constraint on your own envelope; it is a question about the neighbours, and on a peninsula suburb where outlook carries real value it is the question worth paying attention to.
Check the height mapped on the adjoining parcels, not only your own. A 9 m block beside other 9 m blocks and a 9 m block beside 21 m land are the same purchase with different futures.
A ratio that holds, and three lot bands
A floor space ratio of 0.55:1 covers 86 of 107 mapped parcels — dependable, and the number to test a brief against early.
The lot bands are 450–474 m² on 72 parcels, 700–749 m² on 15 and 1,000–1,999 m² on 15. The compact band dominates, but thirty parcels sit in the two larger ones, and on those titles subdivision arithmetic is a genuinely different exercise. The band comes from the title rather than the suburb.
Points, lookouts and the slope
The recorded features include Bald Face Point Reserve, Bald Face Point Lookout and Tom Uglys Point Reserve — a suburb of headlands falling to the Georges River.
That topography drives two of the three remaining questions. Only two bushfire features are mapped (buffer and vegetation category 1), so most blocks sit outside the mapping — but where a block backs a reserve on a falling slope, category 1 is the classification present and the rating can be steep. The slope feeds the Bushfire Attack Level as much as the vegetation does.
Nine acid sulfate features on the bay margins
Nine acid sulfate soil features are mapped near Kogarah Bay Creek and the low ground. The class and a trigger depth decide the consequence: nothing above it, and below it testing, treatment and managed disposal of the spoil.
On a block that falls to the water, a garage or lower level cut into the slope reaches depth faster than the same structure on flat land — which is why this question belongs with the excavation design rather than after it.
Eleven heritage records, one classified road
Eleven records are mapped under the Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021 — a moderate picture, and a quick search that decides a knockdown rebuild where it lands.
A single parcel carries a classified road reservation, the type that generally takes frontage rather than whole land. One parcel across the suburb is low odds, but the consequence where it applies is specific, so it is worth the minute.
What to establish on a Blakehurst block
The height mapped on the adjoining parcels, because 9 m and 21 m both exist here. Then the lot band from the title. Then the bushfire rating if the block backs a reserve and falls away. Then the acid sulfate class against the depth the slope will force you to. Test the brief against 0.55:1, which will hold. Flood sits with Georges River Council.
What you are dealing with in Blakehurst
Six things a builder prices differently. This is the suburb-level picture — which of them reaches your block is an address check.
- Bushfire Mapped BAL assessment; glazing, decking and screening spec.
- Flood Not checked Held in each council's own Flood Planning Map rather than in a statewide layer
- Heritage 11 records Impact statement; limits demolition, form and materials.
- Slope Not checked Published by individual councils rather than as a statewide layer
- Soil Acid sulfate Below trigger depth: management plan, treatment, disposal.
- Density controls 3 zones · 9m · 0.55:1 What may be built, and how much. Set parcel by parcel.
What is mapped in Blakehurst
Read from NSW ePlanning Spatial Viewer, not a summary of it.
- Council
- Georges River Council
- Planning scheme
- Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021
- Overlays mapped here
- Heritage — Item - General · Heritage — Item - Archaeological
- Residential zones mapped
- R2 Low Density Residential
R3 Medium Density Residential
R4 High Density Residential - Bushfire-prone land
- Mapped in this suburb
- Mine subsidence district
- Not in one
- Heritage items mapped
- 11
- Minimum lot size
- 450-474 m² minimum (most common of 3 minimum-lot-size bands mapped in the suburb)
- Typical height limit
- 9m
- Floor space ratio
- 0.55:1
- Land reserved for acquisition
- Classified Road
- Acid sulfate soils
- Mapped in this suburb
Planning data from NSW ePlanning Spatial Viewer (CC BY 4.0), read 2026-09-20. Suburb-level, not a report on your block — check your address on the NSW Planning Portal.
Bushfire categories mapped here
Worth knowing before you budget
- Building height
The most common maximum building height mapped here is 9m (88 of 106 mapped parcels). Other controls that apply to a meaningful number of parcels run up to 21m — generally centres and larger sites, not a house block.
- Floor space ratio
A floor space ratio of 0.55:1 applies to most of the mapped parcels here (86 of 107). On an 800 m² block that is about 440 m² of floor area, every level counted.
- Land reserved for acquisition
Parts of Blakehurst are reserved for future public acquisition — classified road. A reservation is mapped to specific land, so whether it touches your block has to be checked at the address.
The mechanism
The Four-Point Builder Check™
Every one of them is something you could do yourself. What we sell is that it has been done, dated and published — and repeated on a schedule, because a check that happened once is worth nothing.
- 01 · Licence
Looked up on NSW Fair Trading's own public register — number, class and status, with the date we looked recorded.
- 02 · Insurance
Public liability plus whatever warranty or indemnity cover NSW requires. Sighted by us, not self-declared on a form.
- 03 · Still trading
Solvency re-checked on a schedule. A licence stays current right up until the day a company fails.
- 04 · Works in Blakehurst
Confirmed with the builder against the suburbs they genuinely service — not a radius drawn on a map.
How this works
- 01Tell us about the build
Seven questions, about three minutes.
- 02We match it against Blakehurst
Against the 3 residential zones mapped here, 2 overlay families, bushfire-prone land — and against which builders hold the right licence class for it, have done it before, and actually work under Georges River Council.
- 03One recommendation, with the reasoning
Not six quotes to sift. We negotiate on your behalf; you deal with the builder directly. Builders pay us, only once you sign.
What you get, and what it costs you
- One builder, not a list
We read your brief against what is actually mapped in Blakehurst — 3 residential zones, 2 overlay families, 11 heritage records — and against which builders hold the right licence class, have built under these constraints before, and genuinely work under Georges River Council. You get one name and the reasoning in writing.
- Or a straight no
The same business day you get one of two things: our recommendation, with the reasons — or a plain email saying we have not got a builder in Blakehurst we would put our name to yet, and what we are doing about it. No drip campaign, no being passed around.
- It costs you nothing, ever
The builder pays us, and only if you sign with them. You are never charged, and you are never under any obligation to use the builder we name. How the fee works.
We are not a builder, we do not manage your build, and we do not hold your money.
Fair questions before you send anything
- You have no builders listed in Blakehurst yet. What use is that?
A fair question, and the honest answer is that a list is not what we do. We do not publish a builder until the licence is checked, the insurance is sighted and we have confirmed they are still trading — so an empty list here means we have not finished that work in Blakehurst, not that we cannot help. Send the brief and we go and find one for your block. If we cannot, you get told that, the same day, rather than being added to a mailing list.
- Why not just get three quotes myself?
You can, and for a simple job you probably should. The difficulty on a block in Blakehurst is that quotes are only comparable when they assume the same things — and with 3 residential zones mapped here, two builders can price the same house against different assumptions about the site and both be quoting honestly. Sorting that out is the part we do.
Builders serving Blakehurst
Questions about building in Blakehurst
Why do height controls reach 21 metres?
The taller controls accompany the R3 and R4 land rather than the detached streets — 9 m covers 88 of 106 mapped parcels. For a house it is not a constraint on your own envelope but a question about the neighbours, which on a peninsula where outlook carries value is worth attention.
What should I check before buying?
The height mapped on the adjoining parcels, not only your own. A 9 m block beside other 9 m blocks and a 9 m block beside 21 m land are the same purchase with different futures.
How much house can I build?
Multiply the block area by 0.55 — the ratio covers 86 of 107 mapped parcels, so it is dependable and worth testing the brief against early.
Can I subdivide in Blakehurst?
It turns on the band. 450–474 m² dominates on 72 parcels, but thirty parcels sit in the 700–749 m² and 1,000–1,999 m² bands, where the arithmetic is a genuinely different exercise. The band comes from the title.
Is Blakehurst bushfire prone?
Mostly not — only two features are mapped, so most blocks sit outside the mapping. But they are buffer and vegetation category 1, so where a block backs a reserve on a falling slope the rating can be steep. Slope feeds the assessment as much as vegetation does.
Why does the slope matter for acid sulfate?
Because a garage or lower level cut into a falling block reaches depth faster than the same structure on flat land. Nine features are mapped near Kogarah Bay Creek, and below the trigger depth the spoil needs testing, treatment and managed disposal — so the question belongs with the excavation design.
What to ask a builder about a block in Blakehurst
Each one is here because of something mapped in Blakehurst. Take them to whoever quotes.
- 01
Which of the 3 residential zones mapped in Blakehurst covers this address, and what does that one permit that the others do not?
- 02
What bushfire attack level have you built to in Blakehurst before, and what did it change in the glazing, decking and screening?
- 03
Have you had an application through Georges River Council where a heritage control applied, and how long did the assessment take?
- 04
What height control is mapped at this address? It is set block by block in Blakehurst, not suburb-wide.
Local landmarks in Blakehurst
- Bald Face Point Reserve
- Bald Face Point Lookout
- Tom Uglys Point Reserve
- The Green
- Shipwrights Bay Reserve
- Taunton Reserve
- Kyle Williams Recreation Reserve
- Todd Park
No catch
What you are agreeing to
- Nothing. There is no contract with us, no account to create, no card, and nothing to cancel.
- No obligation to use whoever we recommend. Take the name and the reasoning and do what you like with it, including nothing.
- No phone number needed to start. Give us one if you want to be called; otherwise we write.
- One builder contacts you, not six. And only after you have seen the brief and said yes.
- Your details go to that builder and nobody else. Never sold, never auctioned, never shared with a panel.
- If we have nobody in Blakehurst, we say so. That is a real answer we give, and the empty builder list above is the proof we mean it.
Building in Blakehurst?
Licence checked with NSW Fair Trading, insurance sighted, still trading, genuinely working in Blakehurst. If we cannot find one worth recommending, we will say so.
Find my builder — free →Free · about 3 minutes · no obligation · your details are never sold
Named watercourses in Blakehurst
Kogarah Bay Creek is the one named watercourse mapped in Blakehurst. Where a block sits relative to it is a design input rather than a view: it sets the riparian setback and, in a heavy event, the overland flow path.
- Kogarah Bay Creek
Read from the NSW Water Theme, which maps gazetted watercourses only. A constructed channel or a stormwater drain is not in this list and can still carry water across a block.