About us
About Canary Constructs
A Newcastle builder since 2011. About 64 people, one office, and sites across the Hunter.
Who we are
Canary Constructs is a commercial and residential construction company in Newcastle, New South Wales. We started in 2011 doing remedial work on older apartment blocks, and now build new mid-rise apartments, commercial fit-outs and community buildings across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens.
We work for developers, councils, not-for-profits and businesses fitting out their own space. Our projects run from $5 million to about $60 million.
Why the name
Coal built this city. Miners carried a canary underground because it noticed bad air before anyone else did. That's the job we want on a building site: notice trouble first, say so straight away, and fix it while it's small.
How we work
- One project lead. The person who prices your job runs it through to handover.
- Open-book pricing. You see our costs, our margin and every variation as it happens.
- A diary you can read. Every site writes a daily diary in our own app, and you can read it on the client portal the same day.
- Safety first, every morning. Pre-starts on every site, toolbox talks every Tuesday.
How we compare
Most of the work we price is also priced by tier-one builders, volume home builders or design-and-construct franchises. Each suits some projects. Here's where we fit.
| Builder | What you get |
|---|---|
| Tier-one builders | Big balance sheets and big overheads. They suit projects over $100 million. Below that, you pay for layers you don't need. |
| Volume home builders | Fast and cheap on standard designs. They aren't set up for multi-storey work or for designs that change. |
| Design-and-construct franchises | One price up front, but the design is theirs. Changes cost more and you see less of the detail. |
| Canary Constructs | A mid-sized builder with one project lead from tender to handover, open-book pricing and a site diary you can read every day. |
More on this on why us.
How we sound
Plain, practical and straight. We'd rather give you bad news early than good news late.