About Shane
I started in construction over 30 years ago, as a carpenter. Most of what makes a build expensive is decided long before anyone picks up a hammer, and that is the part I am interested in.
I started as a teenager, went out on my own in 1999 believing that being as good or better on the tools than the next bloke meant I would earn more, and found out the hard way that running a business is a separate trade to building. That lesson took six years and I would not trade it, because it is the reason I can look at somebody else's job and see the business underneath it.
Since then: London, on commercial fitouts and buildings older than this country. Civil, running and operating machinery on projects to $15 million, still one of my favourite experiences and the reason a deep excavation or a piling job is where I am most at home. Hands-on work in Indonesia and East Timor, which taught me there is more than one way to reach the same end. And the last decade running some of Sydney's most prestigious architectural homes as site manager.
Away from the tools I spent years in communication, teaching and human behaviour, and that is the part I use most. I can talk to an apprentice, an engineer, a certifier or someone who has never built anything, and work out what a person needs even when they cannot put it into words themselves.
The best builds happen when everyone pulls in the same direction
The jobs I am proudest of all had the same thing in common: the client, the architect and the builder working as one team, in the right order. When that happens the builder makes more money, the client spends less, and the finished building is better for it. A win for the builder, a win for the client, and a win for the property and the industry as a whole.
Most of the expensive problems I see are not caused by bad people. They happen when the building process runs out of order and nobody in the room has the job of holding it together. That is the job I have given myself: bring the client, the design and the build into step, and keep them there. It is the single thing that drives me, and it is why Build Advisory Co exists.
You do not need to understand building
That is the whole point of asking someone who does. Nobody here will make you feel stupid for not knowing something. If you are about to make a decision I think will cost you, I will not tell you that you are wrong. I will ask for ten minutes to walk through it with you, and make sure it gets you what you actually want.
Most of the job is working that out. Not "what colour do you want to paint it", but "you want green, that is interesting, how come?" On one project the answer was that greenery connects him to nature and brings the outside into the house. That told me what actually mattered, and I carried it through every decision that followed.
Why not just get the cheapest inspector?
You can, and plenty of people do. The difference is what you are left holding afterwards. A standard inspection ticks a box: it tells you what was seen, in the language the industry uses, and leaves you to work out what any of it means for you.
I am not interested in ticking a box. I care what happens to you after the report lands, so you get a higher level of service and a practical answer you can actually act on, written so it makes sense to you and not just to another builder. That is thirty years of experience pointed at your outcome, rather than at a form.
Where it made a difference
Bellevue Hill
A knockdown rebuild for a family who entertain, where the pleasure was making the structure accommodate a genuinely difficult design without losing what the design was for. A $5 million build, later valued at $23 million and featured in House & Garden Australia, March 2024.
Referee: Dean Perlman, Charter Finance
Coogee
An investment build for two brothers, their first major project. I spotted that the third floor balcony, with the best aspect over the water, could have its usable area extended, and brought it to them early enough to be a decision rather than a scramble. Roughly $10,000 to $15,000 spent; I believe it added $100,000 to $150,000 of value. Sold at a $3 million profit, and Ben still calls me for advice on builds today.
Referees: Ben and Tom
Bronte
A passivhaus renovation: double glazing throughout, heat recovery ventilation, heavy insulation. The whole approach depends on one contractor who can integrate the heating, cooling and ventilation, and the project did not have one, so I went and found them. Drainage and waterproofing were what the owners were really worried about, so that is where the attention went.
Referee: Andy Cavanagh-Downs
What clients said
"There is always an asymmetry of information between a client and the site manager for a renovation. At no stage did I feel that Shane tried to hide anything from us. He was always truthful and considerate."
Andy Cavanagh-Downs, Bronte
"Through my line of work, I've seen many builders do what they can to cut corners. Having a person like Shane manage one's site and build our home as if it was his own would make me want to return to the building company, or refer them on at every opportunity."
Dean Perlman, Charter Finance, Bellevue Hill
"Being our first major project, my brother and I entered this project with plenty of ambition but very limited experience. Shane was instrumental in turning our vision into reality. He treated the project as if it were his own."
Ben and Tom, Coogee
Full reference letters and referee contact details are available on request once you're working with Shane directly.