Plain English
The building glossary.
Every industry term you'll meet on your journey — translated into plain English.
- Colour selection / studio
- The guided appointment where you choose internal and external colours, finishes and inclusions for your home.
- Covenant
- A rule set by a land developer that controls what can be built on a lot — facade materials, minimum sizes, fencing and more.
- Fixed site costs
- Site preparation costs (excavation, slab type, connections) locked at a set figure before contract, rather than estimated allowances.
- Handover
- The day the builder hands you the keys after practical completion and final payment.
- Lock-up stage
- The build stage where external walls, roof, windows and doors are complete and the home can be locked.
- NatHERS rating
- The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme star rating (0–10) measuring the thermal efficiency of a home's design.
- Practical completion
- The point where the home is complete except for minor defects, triggering the final inspection before handover.
- Progress payments
- Staged payments to the builder at slab, frame, lock-up, fixing and completion, usually drawn from a construction loan.
- Rescode
- Victorian residential development standards covering setbacks, site coverage and overshadowing.
- Soil test / contour survey
- Tests that classify your block's soil reactivity and slope, determining slab design and site costs.
- Squares
- A traditional Australian measure of house size. One square equals 9.29m² — a 24-square home is roughly 223m².
- Turnkey
- A package where everything needed to move in — driveway, landscaping, blinds, letterbox — is included in the single price.
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