Heritage Overlays: What You Can and Cannot Change
14 August 2026
A heritage overlay is not a ban on renovating. It is a set of rules about what is visible from the street — and the rear of your house is usually fair game.
House extensions, full home renovations, and bathrooms, kitchens and laundries — on domestic houses right across Melbourne. Every one of them is delivered by the same team, on a fixed price, with one point of contact.
Ground-floor extensions, second-storey additions and rear pop-outs. The hardest part of an extension is making the new work look like it was always there — that is a detailing problem, and it is one we enjoy.
We stage the build to keep as much of the house liveable as possible, and seal the works properly so the rest of your home stays clean and weathertight.
Whole-house work — reconfiguring the plan, replacing what is behind the walls, then the finishes. Renovation is where hidden problems live — old wiring, failed waterproofing, undersized bearers — so we open up and assess before we give you a final figure.
That means fewer nasty surprises halfway through, and a renovation that actually finishes on the date we told you.
Bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, taken back to the studs and rebuilt. Most are done in one to three weeks, and we sequence the trades so the room is only out of action for as long as it has to be.
Wet areas are where a cheap job shows up first. Waterproofing is certified and documented, falls are set before the screed goes down, and the joinery is measured after the tiling so the reveals and gaps are right.
What we do
Every job is quoted on its own merits after we have seen the place. These are the things that are in the price as standard, whichever of the three you are booking.
Ground-floor extensions, second-storey additions and rear pop-outs.
Whole-house work, from reconfiguring the plan to the final coat.
Wet areas taken back to the studs and rebuilt properly.
Four straightforward stages, so you always know what happens next and what it will cost before work begins.
Tell us about the site, the home you have in mind and when you would like the work done.
We assess the block, access and scope on site, then price the work specifically for your project.
Surfaces are levelled, services connected and the frame set out before a single wall goes up.
Fit-off, detailing and cleaning are completed, then we walk the finished home through with you.
A heritage overlay is not a ban on renovating. It is a set of rules about what is visible from the street — and the rear of your house is usually fair game.
From first sketch to handover, a realistic programme for a Melbourne new build — including the approval months most timelines quietly leave out.
Slope is not the problem. Fighting the slope is. How split levels, suspended slabs and honest early engineering keep a difficult site affordable.
4.9 average client rating
We interviewed four builders and Unik were the only ones who talked us out of things. The fixed price held from contract to handover — not one variation we did not ask for ourselves.
Our block has a four metre fall and two builders walked away from it. Unik engineered it properly, explained every cost up front, and the retaining work is genuinely beautiful.
Weekly photos meant we could follow the whole build from interstate. The handover pack had every certificate and warranty in it. Our second project with them starts in March.
Service areas
We work on domestic houses right across metro Melbourne, from the inner suburbs out to the Peninsula. If your place is somewhere on that map, we can come to you.
Like what you see?
We take on a limited number of jobs at a time so every site gets proper attention. Get in early to lock in your spot.
Free quote
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