A house in South Australia is built in a recognisable sequence: site start, base, frame, lock-up, fixing, practical completion and handover. The names are shared across the industry, but what each stage includes is defined in the building contract for that job. This note describes what each stage covers on site, and what decides how the build moves from one to the next.
Site start: preparing the block
Before anything is built, the block is made ready for the house. That can include clearing, temporary fencing, temporary power and water, and a site toilet. On a knockdown rebuild, the existing house has to be removed and its services disconnected before this stage begins.
The house is then set out on the ground from the approved drawings, and the site cut brings the block to the levels the design needs. Where the block slopes, this is also where cut, fill and any retaining are dealt with.
Before site start, the documents the house is built from should be settled: the drawings, the engineering and the specification. Selections settled early in the process mean fewer decisions are left to be made while trades are waiting on them.
Base stage: footings and slab
The base stage puts in what the rest of the house stands on. Footings are excavated to the engineer’s design, which responds to the site classification of that block. Plumbing that runs under the floor is laid before the concrete, along with the membrane, reinforcement and termite management measures the design specifies.
Where the house sits on a concrete slab, the slab sets its footprint and floor level once poured. Mistakes in position or level at this stage carry through every stage after it, which is why setout and pre-pour checks matter so much.
Before the pour, what sits in the excavation is checked against the engineering: footing depths and widths, reinforcement, the membrane and the under-slab plumbing. Once the concrete covers them, none of those can be seen again.
Frame stage: walls and roof structure
The frame stage stands up the structure of the house: wall frames, any upper floor structure, and the roof trusses or rafters. Frames may be timber or steel, and the drawings and engineering set out which, along with the bracing and tie-down the frame needs.
Frame is the stage where the shape of the house first becomes visible, and where the layout can still be checked against the drawings before walls are closed in. Room sizes, window openings and door positions are all physically there to measure.
The frame is also checked for plumb, straightness, bracing and tie-down against the engineering. How straight the walls are at frame stage carries through to how flat the finished plaster looks.
What lock-up stage means
Lock-up is the point at which the house can be closed and secured. In general terms that means the roof covering is on, the external walls are clad or bricked, and the external windows and doors are installed. The building contract states exactly which items lock-up includes for that job.
Inside, the services are roughed in around this stage: electrical cabling, plumbing pipework and any ducting run through the frame before the walls and ceilings are lined. Once linings go on, those services are concealed, so their position is worth confirming against the drawings beforehand.
Lock-up also means the house is weathertight enough for work that has to stay dry. Wall insulation is fitted between the rough-in and the wall linings, and once plasterboard goes on it is out of sight.
Fixing stage to practical completion
Fixing covers the work that turns a closed shell into rooms. Plasterboard linings and cornices go up, then internal doors, skirtings, architraves, cabinetry, wardrobes, tiling and waterproofing in wet areas. Painting follows, and the services are fitted off: power points, light fittings, tapware, appliances and hot water.
Wet-area waterproofing is applied before the tiles are laid, and once tiling is done it is out of sight. Like the slab and the frame, it is one of the parts of a house whose quality is settled before anyone living in the house will see it.
Fixing is also the stage where most selections become physical: the cabinetry, the tiles, the tapware, the door hardware and the paint colours. Checking each one against the selections schedule as it goes in is easier than finding a mismatch at the end.
Practical completion is the point the contract defines as the work being complete for the purpose of handover. Whether minor items can still be outstanding at that point, how it is notified and what follows are set by the contract.
Running alongside the builder’s stages is a regulatory sequence of notifications and documents. Those are covered separately, quoting the source material, in the notes linked below.
Handover, and what affects movement between stages
Handover is when the keys and the documents for the house pass to the owner. It follows an inspection of the finished work, and any items found are recorded so they can be dealt with under the contract.
How the build moves between stages depends on things specific to the job: the block and what the ground reveals, the weather during the base and frame stages, how early selections are settled, whether variations are introduced, and inspection hold points. Where a contract ties payments to stages, the contract sets the payment schedule and defines each stage.
Selections and variations reach across several stages at once. A change to a window size touches the frame, the lock-up and the linings; a change to a kitchen layout touches the slab plumbing, the rough-in and the cabinetry. The earlier a decision is made, the fewer stages it has to reach back into.
On a Cyberidge build, structural inspections are scheduled at footing, frame, lock-up and handover, and each build is handed over with a documented handover pack.
Cyberidge’s own process page groups a build into six stages; the construction stages in this note, from site start to practical completion, sit within its on-site execution stage, and handover within its handover and aftercare stage.
Common Questions
What are the stages of building a house in SA?
In order: site start, base (footings and slab), frame, lock-up, fixing, practical completion and handover. The stage names are used across the industry, but what each stage includes on a particular job is defined in that job’s building contract.
What does lock-up stage mean?
Lock-up is the point at which the house can be closed and secured: in general terms, the roof covering is on, the external walls are clad or bricked, and the external windows and doors are installed. The contract states which items it includes for that job.
What happens at the fixing stage?
Internal linings, cornices, doors, skirtings and architraves, cabinetry, tiling and wet-area waterproofing go in, followed by painting and the fit-off of electrical, plumbing and appliances.
How long does each stage take?
That depends on the job rather than on a standard: the block and what the ground reveals, the weather, when selections are settled, whether variations are introduced, and inspection hold points. The programme for a particular build is set out for that build.
How are progress payments tied to the stages?
Where a contract ties payments to stages, the contract itself sets the payment schedule and defines what each stage includes.
Planning a new home in Adelaide and want to walk through the stages for your block? Start with a free initial consultation.