How Do I Pick a Knockdown Rebuild Site
How Do I Pick a Knockdown Rebuild Site
Choosing the right block of land sets the foundation for your entire build.
But how do you make smart decisions without industry knowledge — without years of experience?
With 18 years experience, this guide shows you exactly what I look for before I’d ever recommend — or buy — a block myself.
Because building shouldn't feel risky.
Know Your Land Before Your Plan
The land comes first — always.
Before you even think about floor plans, we need to understand what we’re working with.
That means looking at the neighbouring allotments, any significant trees, fall levels, orientation, and even council.
Getting this right upfront means we know where we can build and what will actually fit — before falling in love with a plan that simply won’t work.
It saves time. It avoids redesign costs.
And more importantly, it makes the whole process smoother and more enjoyable from day one.
Orientation & Natural Light
When building a home, nothing matters more to me than natural light.
After all, who doesn’t want a space that feels bright, open, and full of life?
If you're going to read any part of this article, please focus on natural light and the tips I'm about to share with you.
It will transform the feel of your home while increasing its resale value.
South to rear is the best natural light orientation, providing your home with the greatest amount of natural light.
West to the rear provided we utilise the northern side to carry light through to the living areas. The downside here is that, especially in housing estates, the northern sun can easily be shadowed by neighbouring homes, particularly when they build double storeys.
East to the rear will mean we need to focus on ensuring we have ample light to the northern side. To get the best natural light in your home, consider using skylights or voids to prevent shadowing.
South to the rear is the most difficult orientation for natural light. This orientation relies heavily on the western sun to light your home. The western sun is the most intense, but it also brings in the most heat. In this case, I would strongly recommend the use of skylights and voids to ensure great natural light.
Below is a table that will help you understand the hours natural light will work.
| Direction | Sunlight Period | Key Times | Approx. Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☀️ East-facing | Morning sun |
Sunrise: ~5:45 AM Sun moves out of east: ~9:30–10:00 AM |
3.5 – 4 hours |
| ☀️ North-facing | Midday / all-day sun (southern hemisphere) | Exposure: ~9:30 AM to ~3:30–4:00 PM | 6 – 6.5 hours |
| ☀️ West-facing | Afternoon & evening sun |
Sun enters west: ~2:30–3:00 PM Sunset: ~8:40 PM |
5.5 – 6 hours |
Incorporating natural light into your home design is one of the most effective ways to enhance its feel and functionality. By carefully considering the orientation of your lot, you can ensure your home is filled with warmth and light, creating a space that is both inviting and energising. Ultimately, the right approach to natural light can not only improve your daily living experience but also add lasting value to your home.
Dream it
〰️
Dream it 〰️
Trees Can Stop Your Build Before It Starts
One of the biggest surprises for knockdown rebuilds is how trees can limit your design.
Not just on your block, but on your neighbour’s too.
Here’s what I check:
Are there any trees on your site?
Are there any trees on neighbour's site?
Is there a TPZ (Tree Protection Zone) or SLO (Significant Landscape Overlay) registered on the site?
Does the council have tree protection local laws?
Do any trees on neighbouring blocks have root zones that cross into yours?
Will council even allow removal or building near them?
Pro Tip:
In Victoria, the Tree Protection Zone (TPZ) is law — and it matters.
Even if the tree isn’t on your land, you still can’t build within more than 10% of its TPZ.
In plain English:
Measure the trunk at chest height, multiply that by 12 = TPZ radius in metres.
A 0.5m-wide tree = 6m radius = 12m-wide no-build circle (with very limited exceptions).
If we don’t factor trees in early, you can waste months on a plan you’ll never be allowed to build.
Dream it
〰️
Dream it 〰️
Understand the Fall of Your Land
When assessing a block's slope, it's not just about the amount of fall; the direction and degree of the slope significantly influence design, cost, and functionality.
Downhill Slope (Street to Rear):
Advantages:
• Facilitates a seamless connection between indoor living spaces and the backyard.
• Offers potential for elevated views from rear living areas.
Considerations:
• May result in a lower front elevation, affecting street appeal.
• Requires careful front drainage planning to manage runoff effectively.
Uphill Slope (Rear to Street):
Advantages:
• Elevates the front of the home, enhancing street presence.
Considerations:
• Can make the backyard feel enclosed or less accessible.
• Challenges in placing garages on the boundary due to wall height regulations.
• Stormwater management becomes critical to prevent runoff toward the house.
Building Footprint and Slope Impact:
The building footprint encompasses the entire home plus a surrounding perimeter (typically 1.2 to 1.4 meters) considered during construction.
Builders assess the fall across this footprint, which directly impacts:
• Site costs.
• Design limitations.
• Landscaping requirements.
Slope Relative to Block Size:
A 1-meter fall across a 400m² block presents a steeper gradient than the same fall on a 700m² block.
Steeper gradients can lead to increased construction complexity and costs.
Regulatory Considerations:
In Victoria, if the slope of the natural ground level at any cross-section wider than 8 meters exceeds 2.5 degrees (approximately a 350mm rise or fall over 8 meters), the maximum building height may be increased to 10 meters, subject to planning controls.
Design Recommendations:
For blocks with more than a 1-meter fall across the building footprint, consider engaging builders experienced in split-level designs.
Aim to work with the natural slope to minimize excavation and retaining walls, which can be costly and impact the site's stability.
Understanding the nuances of your land's slope is crucial. It influences not only the design and aesthetics of your future home but also the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the construction process.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Neighbouring Blocks
Before committing to any design, I always check two key things:
Covenants:
Legal restrictions on your title that might limit what you can build, how it looks, or how many dwellings are allowed
Council Overlays:
Planning controls that apply to the block based on things like bushfire risk, heritage, flooding, or neighbourhood character
Common overlays in Victoria include:
Heritage Overlay (HO)
This overlay protects buildings or areas with historical or cultural value.
It doesn’t mean you can’t build — but it does mean any demolition, external changes, or even some extensions may need a planning permit.
It’s about preserving the character or significance of the area or structure.
Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO)
This applies to areas at risk of bushfires.
If your site has a BMO, your home will need to meet stricter design and construction standards — like using fire-resistant materials and creating defendable space.
It’s about safety, not just compliance, and can also impact costs and timeframes.
Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO)
This overlay applies to land with a known flood risk — often near creeks, rivers, or low-lying areas.
It doesn’t stop you building, but your design may need to be raised or engineered to manage potential flooding.
Council may also restrict what parts of the block can be built on.
Vegetation Protection Overlay (VPO)
This overlay protects significant or native vegetation — like established trees or remnant bushland.
You usually need council approval to remove or even prune protected vegetation.
It can impact site access, layout, and where your home can be positioned.
Design and Development Overlay (DDO)
This one sets out specific design rules for the area — like maximum building height, setbacks, roof pitch, or materials.
It’s often used to maintain visual consistency or protect scenic views.
It can limit how creative you can be with the facade or floor plan.
Neighbourhood Character Overlay (NCO)
This overlay protects the existing look and feel of a neighbourhood — things like single-storey streetscapes, front gardens, or low fencing.
If your block has an NCO, your design needs to blend in, not dominate.
You may need a planning permit even for standard builds or renovations.
We check this early using VicPlan and local council portals — so we’re not designing blind.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Site Access: The Hidden Challenge That Can Derail Your Build
Site access is one of the most overlooked factors when choosing a knockdown rebuild site.
But it’s also one of the most critical.
If trucks, bins, or machines can’t access the site safely and efficiently, your pool of available builders shrinks fast.
It doesn’t mean the home can’t be built — but it might mean only custom or specialised builders will touch it, which drives up the price and reduces flexibility.
Common access problems I look for:
• Overhead powerlines that require disconnection or shutdown, these are expensive and require scheduling with power authorities.
• Bus stops or street signs in front of the property, which block delivery space or require traffic management plans, narrow streets, tight corners, or dead ends that prevent delivery trucks and concrete pumps from turning or reversing safely
•Fire hydrants and red zones where staging or parking is restricted.
•Steep driveways, fencing, or existing landscaping that physically block machinery from entering.
•Neighbours’ objections or easements that interfere with side or rear access.
Why it matters:
When builders assess your site, access is one of the first things they look at.
If it’s too hard, they won’t quote at all — or they’ll charge a premium to cover the logistical headaches.
That’s how you end up spending tens of thousands extra on things that feel like “hidden costs” — but really, they’re costs that come from sales consultants not spotting the issues early enough.
Watch the Neighbours: Privacy and Shadowing Rules Can Block Your Build
When planning a knockdown rebuild or new construction in Victoria, it's crucial to consider how your design affects neighboring properties.
Two key factors: overshadowing and overlooking, can lead to planning objections or require design modifications.
Overshadowing: What You Need to Know When Rebuilding
Overshadowing is one of the most common causes of planning objections — and one of the most important things we check early.
When you rebuild in an established area, your design must allow your neighbours to keep reasonable access to sunlight — especially in their backyard.
Here’s how it works under Victoria’s ResCode standards:
The 75% / 40m² Rule
If your new home reduces sunlight to a neighbour’s backyard, you must still ensure that:
• At least 75% of their secluded private open space, or
• A minimum of 40m² with a 3m minimum width,
receives five hours of direct sunlight between 9am and 3pm on September 22 (spring equinox).
If their backyard already gets less than this, you cannot reduce it further.
🔎 This is assessed by looking at how the shadows move across the yard throughout the day — not just at one fixed time.
North-Facing Windows: What the Rules Say
If your neighbour has a north-facing living room or bedroom window within 3 metres of the boundary, your new build needs to respect it.
This rule exists to make sure that homes using north light for warmth and energy efficiency don’t lose that benefit when a new build goes up next door.
How Much Space Do You Need to Allow?
It depends on how tall your wall is.
If your wall is between 3.6 metres and 6.9 metres high, you need to set it back from the boundary by:
• 1 metre + 0.6 metres for every metre above 3.6m
Example:
If your wall is 6.9m high:
1m + (0.6 × 3.3) = 3 metres setback required.
If your wall is over 6.9 metres, you’ll need to allow even more:
1m + (0.6 × 3.3) + 1m for every metre above 6.9
Where Does This Apply?
The required setback applies for a width of 3 metres on either side of the affected window — that’s a 6-metre-wide section on your boundary that must be treated carefully.
And for a window to be protected, it must face true north ±30° — not east or west.
Why This Matters
This is one of the most common compliance issues that causes delays, objections, or forced redesigns.
It’s often missed by sales consultants or designers who don’t check window orientation early enough.
We always map this out at the start — because it's much easier to design around it than to argue it after the fact.
Overlooking: How to Protect Privacy and Avoid Rework
Privacy matters — and not just for you.
When you're building next to existing homes, overlooking into a neighbour’s backyard or windows can trigger immediate objections, delays, or planning refusal.
The 9-Metre Rule
If your new windows, balcony, deck, or raised space have a clear line of sight into a neighbour’s:
• Habitable room window, or
• Secluded private open space (usually a backyard) and they are within 9 metres horizontally, then privacy screening or design changes are mandatory.
How to Comply
You’ll need to use one (or more) of these options:
• Offset the windows: Keep them at least 1.5 metres apart from your neighbour’s
• Obscure the glass: Frosted or patterned glass up to 1.7 metres high
• Raise the sill: Place the bottom of the window 1.7 metres above floor level
• Install privacy screens: Fixed external screens up to 1.7 metres high, with no more than 25% transparency
This applies to any view within a 45-degree angle from your window or balcony edge.
Screens must be permanent and designed to blend in — cheap-looking bolt-ons often won’t pass assessment.
Important Exemptions
You don’t need to screen:
• Ground-floor windows or spaces that are less than 800mm above ground
• Anything facing a 1.8m solid fence or wall on the boundary
(These already block the line of sight)
Overshadowing is one of the most common reasons new home designs fail to comply — and it’s often not picked up until six months or more after a client has paid their deposit.
While it can be tricky to assess early, it’s not impossible — especially when you're working with someone who knows what to look for.
When you deal with a professional who understands how overshadowing works, you can avoid the delays, redesigns, and headaches that come from getting it wrong.
Clients who are aware of the rules are far less likely to hit issues later.
This is why who you choose to guide you through the process matters.
Dream it
〰️
Dream it 〰️
Connection Points and Services: The Hidden Infrastructure
Every block has a network of services beneath or beside it — and you need to know where everything is.
Sewer:
• Is the tie at the front or rear?
• A rear connection might need an easement or extra trenching
• Disconnection before demo must be done by a licensed plumber
Stormwater:
• You need a legal point of discharge from council
• Poor fall or no outlet can require pumps or regrading
Electricity:
• Overhead supply may need upgrading to underground
• Clearance from powerlines can block construction unless modified
Water & Gas:
• Water meters often need to be relocated before the build
• Old gas lines may require removal or protection
NBN or Telstra pits:
• Can’t be driven over unless properly reinforced
• Relocation is possible but expensive
Getting services wrong leads to build delays, additional costs, and sometimes complete redesigns of slab or driveway locations.
We always investigate this early.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Looking for land in an Estate instead?
This guide covers land in knock down rebuild — but if you're purchasing within an estate:
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