How we build

Designed from the roof down. Built from the ground up.

Every stage of a Halcyon build, from the first drawings and paperwork to handover, checked as it proceeds and overseen by a skilled craftsman throughout.

01 · Design, drafting and approvals

It begins on paper.

Our in-house building design and drafting service, with a specialist architectural design service where a project calls for it, turns your brief into clear, buildable plans. We prepare the documentation and take care of the paperwork, engineering and approvals, so the build begins on a sound footing.

If you come to us with plans from your own designer, we review them with the same care before work begins.

Design and drafting
Strip-out under temporary props
The original roof removed and new floor trusses laid across the house at sunrise
Roof off, new floor going in
02 · Strip-out

Taking a building back to its frame.

Some renovations begin by opening a building up. Temporary props carry the load while walls and linings come out, and structural engineers design the steel and supports that make the new layout possible.

Pour day, Clapham
A freshly poured concrete slab within its edge formwork
A new slab, Blackwood
03 · Set-out and slab

A true foundation for everything above.

The site is set out to the approved plans and checked before anything is poured. The slab is formed, reinforced and poured to the engineer's design, then finished to a smooth, level surface.

Drilling connections on site
A structural steel post and beam set against a clear sky
Post and beam, Blackwood
04 · Structural steel

Set precisely, fixed on site.

Steel is set out with a laser and checked against the plans. Fixings are drilled on site, so each connection lands exactly where it should.

A second storey, roof-off to lock-up
A new upper floor sheeted over the house, with timber wall frames rising around it
Floor down, walls going up
New timber wall frames for an upper level, standing over the original red brick
Upper walls over the original brick
Timber wall and roof framing standing on a new slab
Wall and roof frame, Mount Barker
Looking up from a corner of the Willunga addition mid-build: galvanised steel posts and beams carrying open timber roof framing, braced ply walls and the rammed-earth walls beyond
Steel and timber roof framing, Willunga
05 · Timber framing

Plumb, square and true.

Wall frames and roof structure follow. It is the stage at which the shape of a home first appears, and the accuracy set here carries through to every lining, door and joint that follows.

Here, a second storey takes shape: the old roof comes off, the new floor and walls are framed, and the addition is wrapped and roofed through to lock-up.

The finished addition
Rammed earth, Willunga
The Willunga addition: a long rammed-earth wall beneath a timber-edged skillion roof with highlight windows
Rammed earth under the new roofline
Inside the Willunga addition during framing: timber roof framing and highlight windows above a rammed-earth wall
Roof framing over rammed earth, Willunga
06 · Rammed earth

Walls of earth, made by hand.

Earth is compacted layer by layer within formwork to create solid walls of natural texture and thermal mass. On our Willunga addition, the walls curve to shape the new rooms.

The Willunga addition
New glazed sliding doors installed, with the timber frame and roof trusses beyond
Glazing in, Aldinga Beach
An upper level closed in, with foil-faced wrap, framed walls and black-framed sliding doors
Wrapped, glazed and closed in
07 · Lock-up

Closed in and secure.

With the roof on and windows and doors installed, the building is closed in and secure, ready for the trades within.

Floating timber vanity with a stone vessel basin and matte black tapware, softly lit from beneath, beside a heated towel rail
Bathroom, Willunga
Timber bar stool against the white fluted island, with the lit splashback behind
Fluted island, Clapham
08 · Fix and finishes

The details, resolved with care.

Linings, joinery, tile and fittings. Every finish receives the same attention as the structure behind it, through to the final clean.

09 · Handover

Complete, in every detail.

A final clean, the last details checked, and the keys. One team has taken care of every aspect of your project, from the first drawings and paperwork to the day the home is yours.

On site

Follow the build.

Work in progress, as it happens, on Instagram and Facebook.

Freestanding bath with stone-look tiles, and charcoal towels on a brass rail
Begin your project

Every home begins with a conversation.

Tell us about your site and your plans. We will listen carefully, give you a considered view of what is possible, and take it from there.