A renovation that changes how you move.
We explore an extension or internal rearrangement with the existing structure in view, checking that the retained house supports the new circulation and room relationships.
Seaforth / Architectural homes
Builders in Seaforth for architectural homes and extensions
We plan Seaforth homes around the walk from the street to the rooms you use most. Levels, parking and outlook are settled before the footprint is.
FERN / Balgowlah / Under construction
01 / The proposition
Some Seaforth streets have rules of their own
As builders in Seaforth, the first thing we check is whether a street-specific provision applies before any concept is drawn. The Manly DCP has a dedicated section for Rignold Street, Gurney Crescent and Clavering Road. That is reason enough to study the property closely from day one, together with the broader planning controls.
Your household brief comes into that study too. We want to know where you arrive with the shopping, which rooms need to connect without stairs and where an upper floor would change things for the neighbours. Those answers let us compare an extension with a knockdown rebuild on equal terms.
At the 2021 Census, separate houses made up 86.6% of Seaforth's occupied private dwellings. Even so, our design discussion starts with the building already on your site and its measured ground levels, not an assumed house type.
Parking and arrival
Set the garage level with the living spaces
Where a block falls between the street and the house, parking can decide how much excavation and retaining the project needs. We draw the driveway, entry and floor levels in section before accepting that a deep garage is necessary. The same drawing shows whether arriving home works for the people who will live there.
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Darling Point · residential
[ ALOFT ]
Five apartments arranged around Sydney Harbour views, with two basement levels. Completed in 2021, with architecture and interiors by Xpace.
Map locationDarling Point · Indicative location
Xpace (Architecture & Interiors) · SHORE (Construction Delivery)
Explore project details Seaforth planning priorities
Street provisions first, then the envelope
At the residential Seaforth point sampled, Manly LEP mapping shows R2 zoning. Height is mapped at 8.5 metres, FSR at 0.45:1 and minimum lot size at 500 square metres. The controls differ from street to street, so this one point cannot set the envelope, subdivision potential or duplex permission for another site.
- 01
Ask about DCP section 5.6.
Where it applies, the dedicated Rignold Street, Gurney Crescent and Clavering Road section is reviewed. Its existence alone is a prompt to read the applicable provisions before a design is fixed.
- 02
Settle the approval route with the drawings.
CDC eligibility needs compliant land and a compliant proposal. Where that route is closed, we assess the development application requirements instead of carrying the same assumptions forward.
- 03
Show the neighbours' outlook in an upper addition.
Sections with roof height, windows and terraces make the effect of the proposal clear. The design can then answer privacy and view sharing together.
- 04
Keep the garage you want apart from what it costs.
Excavation, retaining and delivery access can change the scope on a sloping property. Site advice comes before any assumption about rock depth or construction method.
Working through a change in level
The section tells the story of a Seaforth plan
A floor plan can hide the distance between the car, the front door and the living room. We solve that route first and refine the finishes after.
Measure the arrival.
The survey traces the route from the road to the new entrance, including existing walls, trees and every change in level along the way.
Study the rooms above.
Windows and terraces are placed against neighbouring buildings and the outlook. We review what an addition changes beyond your boundary.
Investigate the ground.
Consultants assess the excavation, existing retaining and proposed foundations. We price those elements from the scope they define.
Plan the order of site work.
We work out how equipment reaches the site and where materials can be received. That plan is coordinated with the approved structure and protection of retained vegetation.
Your team in Seaforth
A fresh layout or a design ready to build
Bring us in while the layout is open or once an architect has set the direction. We agree responsibilities around the information you already have.
A custom house ready for construction input.
Bring the architect's sections and material palette. We examine the details that affect structure, access and building sequence before our construction role is set.
Explore our work
Architecture and interiors at FERN
[ FERN ]
Balgowlah, NSW
Under construction
The Balgowlah pair brings Doroch Architects' architecture together with SHORE interiors and facade design. Explore the project as a separate residential brief.
- Architecture
- Doroch Architects
- Interiors & facade
- SHORE
An individual Seaforth site
Look past the edge of the footprint
Seaforth's mapped heritage features include stone structures, trees and harbour landscapes. Their relationship to your lot is worth checking even when the brief is all about the house. For a harbour outlook, we show the surrounding homes and vegetation as well as the view you want. Any bushfire or foreshore requirements are checked for the property too.
Questions to bring early
Planning a Seaforth home: what owners ask
Why does the Manly DCP name three Seaforth streets separately?
It has a dedicated section for Rignold Street, Gurney Crescent and Clavering Road. If your property falls within it, your planner reads it with the other applicable controls. A general Seaforth height or floor space example cannot stand in for that review.
Can a Seaforth garage be assessed without committing to deep excavation?
Yes. We compare the street level, driveway and proposed floors in section while the parking options are still open. The survey and ground advice show the consequences of each option before the garage dictates the whole house.
What should a view study show for a Seaforth upper floor?
The proposed roof and openings against surrounding homes, their outlook and private spaces, along with relevant vegetation and ground levels. That gives the design team something solid to discuss, rather than a single view photograph.
Where is SHORE's FERN project in relation to Seaforth?
FERN is in Balgowlah and is under construction. The suburb centres are about 1.9 kilometres apart in a straight line calculated from official suburb boundaries. It is nearby work with its own approvals, not a Seaforth case study.
The route through your home
Let's work out the levels on your Seaforth block
Show us the survey or your architect's section and tell us which journeys through the current home feel awkward. We will look at how a different arrangement could work.
Talk to us about Seaforth
