Our studio is a raised Queenslander. Come and stand under it, and you will understand the rest of this page better than we can explain it.
THE STARK STUDIO · 9 FORSYTH ST, FAIRFIELD · A RAISED QUEENSLANDER WITH A NEW LEVEL BENEATH
THE HOUSE ABOVE IS ORIGINAL. EVERYTHING BELOW THE VERANDAH IS NEW.
THE STUDIO MID-RAISE · FAIRFIELD, 1989
What a raise involves
A raise happens in a fixed order. The house is disconnected from its services, lifted, and set onto new steel posts and footings. The lower level is slabbed, framed and enclosed, the services are reconnected, and a new stair joins the two floors. Above, the character of the house is kept. The verandahs, ceilings and joinery can stay exactly as they are, or be reworked in the same job. The lift takes days. The lower level takes months.
WHAT THE NEW LEVEL CAN BE
The new level can be a full second floor of living: an open-plan kitchen and living area that steps straight out to the garden, bedrooms, a bathroom, a rumpus, a home office, or a self-contained level for parents or tenants. At the smaller end it is a garage, laundry and storage. Most families build the whole footprint, because the cost of the lift is the same either way.
/02
A HOLLAND PARK QUEENSLANDER BEFORE AND AFTER BEING RAISED
Before and after
BEFORE
HOLLAND PARK, 2022 · MID-RAISE
AFTER
HOLLAND PARK, 2023 · RAISED WITH A NEW LEVEL BENEATH · UPPER LEVEL OPENED UP FOR OPEN-PLAN LIVING
Why Stark for a raise
/03
A raise is the one renovation where the drawings and the building cannot be separated. The height, the stair, the light under the verandah and the price all depend on each other, and we resolve them in one room before anyone is on site.
THE STARK CREW · UNDER A RAISED QUEENSLANDER
ONE CREW, FIRST DRAWING TO HANDOVER
DESIGN AND BUILD, ONE STUDIO
Our architectural designer and our builder sit at the same table from the first sketch, so what gets drawn can be priced, approved and lifted without surprises.
TWO GENERATIONS OF QUEENSLANDERS
Two generations of one family, the same kind of house. We know how a timber house moves, where the stumps fail, and what to check before the jacks go under it.
ONE CREW, FIXED PRICE, WARRANTED
The same crew from the lift to handover, a fixed price from complete documentation, a construction program you can hold us to, monthly site meetings and a seven-year structural warranty.
4.8
HOUSES RAISED
48 in Brisbane
SINCE 1989
THE UPPER LEVEL OF A RAISED QUEENSLANDER, OPENED UP AND REFRESHED
WEST END, 2025
HOLLAND PARK, 2023 · RAISED AND BUILT UNDER
How it happens
The raise and build under process, from consult to handover
Consult
1–2 WEEKS
An hour at our Fairfield studio. We talk through height, access and what the lower level needs to do, and you leave with an estimate. If you would rather we see the house first, a site visit is $450.
Design
12–18 WEEKS
Our architectural designer resolves the new level with the old house: the stair, natural light, how the living opens up, and how the house meets the street and the yard. The drawings are priced as they develop.
Plan
6–8 WEEKS
Engineering, soil testing, energy compliance and the building approval, through a private certifier, all arranged by us. The fixed price is set once the documentation is complete.
Build
9–12 MONTHS ON SITE
One crew from the lift to handover, with a detailed construction program. You move out for the build and come back to a finished house, top and bottom, in one go.
04 BUILD · FINISHED, THE STUDIO
DESIGN STUDIO · WHERE THE DESIGN AND PLANNING HAPPEN
STUDIO BATHROOM UNDER THE RAISED HOUSE
What a raise costs in Brisbane
/05
Three stages, priced in the order they happen. Most raises land between $500k and $1.5m all in, depending on how much you build below, how much you rework above, and the level of finish. Design and planning are fixed fees. The build is two rates: new floor below the house per square metre built, and the house above per square metre reworked. Figures include GST.
WHAT MOVES THE RATES
Soil and slope, street access, how many wet areas go below, whether the finished height passes 9.5m, the level of finish, and what the frame looks like once the house is up. Each is answered in the questions further down.
01 DESIGN
$10–20k
Concept to construction drawings
02 PLANNING AND APPROVALS
$10–15k
Engineering, soil testing, approvals, for one fixed fee
03 BUILD · TWO RATES
NEW FLOOR, BUILT
$5,500–7,500 / m²
New level below: lift, steel, slab, enclosure, services and fit-out. Finishes set the top of the range.
$2,500–4,500 / m²
The house above, per square metre renovated: repairs, replanned rooms, wet areas and finishes.
110 m²
A SMALL LOWER LEVEL
70 m² of new level below: a bedroom, bathroom, laundry and rumpus.
40 m² reworked above: a new internal stair, one bathroom updated and the living room opened up.
01 DESIGN
$10–20K
$10–15K
03 NEW FLOOR 70 M²
$385k
03 REWORK 40 M² ABOVE
$100k
ALL IN, FROM · AT THE LOWER END OF EACH RATE
180 m²
A FAMILY LOWER LEVEL
100 m² of new level below: two or three bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry and rumpus.
80 m² reworked above: a new kitchen, open-plan living and refreshed bathrooms.
01 DESIGN
$10–20K
$10–15K
03 NEW FLOOR 100 M²
$550k
03 REWORK 80 M² ABOVE
$200k
ALL IN, FROM · AT THE LOWER END OF EACH RATE
240 m²
A FULL SECOND HOUSE
140 m² of new level below, the whole footprint: open-plan kitchen, living and dining, with a butler’s pantry, laundry, bathroom and a media room or garage.
100 m² reworked above: the old kitchen and living become a main bedroom with ensuite and parents’ retreat.
01 DESIGN
$10–20K
$10–15K
03 NEW FLOOR 140 M²
$770k
03 REWORK 100 M² ABOVE
$250k
ALL IN, FROM · AT THE LOWER END OF EACH RATE
Raise, extend or rebuild a Queenslander?
/07
Three ways to get more house on the same block.
Compared on the four things that decide it: footprint, cost, time and what survives.
RAISE AND BUILD UNDER
Kept, or grown a little for a larger level below
Higher per m² than new, the lift and steel are in the rate, but less overall because the house is kept. From $500k
9–12 months, out of the house throughout
The original house above, reworked at least in part
HOME EXTENSION
Grows into the garden
Higher per m² than new and a little under a raise, but less overall because the house is kept. From $500k
6–9 months, usually out of the house
The original house, opened up and partly reworked
KNOCKDOWN AND REBUILD
Reset to what planning allows
Lowest per m², but every square metre is new. From $1m
12–18 months, out of the house throughout
None of the original. Not possible under a character overlay
In their words
/08
What Brisbane clients say about their raise
We have just moved back in and are thrilled with our freshly renovated home. Especially the new kitchen that leads onto our back deck. Absolutely amazing.
CHEVY BLACK
WHERE WE RAISE HOUSES
BRISBANE’S CHARACTER SUBURBS, WITHIN 7 KM OF OUR FAIRFIELD STUDIO
From the journal
/09
Renovation advice from the Stark Builders journal
Fixed price, honestly: how we cost a whole-home renovation
Why we price from complete documentation, what a first estimate is for, and the three places renovation budgets usually go wrong.
Costs
28 Jul 2026
READ — 5 min read
Raising a Queenslander: what changes underneath
Lifting a timber house is the easy part. The decisions about stumps, bracing, drainage and the new lower level are where the project is won or lost.
Build
3 Jul 2026
READ — 7 min read
Is a raise right for your house?
/10
If three or more of these are true, it usually is.
Not every Queenslander should be raised, and we will tell you if yours is one of them. But the houses that suit it share a few things, and most of them you can check from the footpath.
Timber house on stumps or posts
Brick and slab homes rarely raise economically.
Block under about 600 m²
Too small to extend outward without losing the garden.
Less than 2.4m of clearance underneath now
Under 2.4m it cannot be habitable space, so you are paying for room you cannot use.
In a flood-affected or overland-flow area
Raising lifts living areas above the mapped level.
Pre-1947 and in a character overlay
Demolition is controlled, so a raise is the only viable way to get more house on the block.
You need more than one extra room
A whole new level is where a raise beats an extension.
Before you start
/11
Height limits, character overlays and flood rules for raising a house in Brisbane
Four things worth knowing before you call anyone.
None of them rule a raise out. They decide the approvals path, the program and where the money goes.
01
HEIGHT
Most raises sit well under Brisbane’s 9.5m height limit. Occasionally a steep block pushes past it, and council planning is involved, which adds time.
02
CHARACTER OVERLAY
Pre-1947 homes in the Traditional Building Character overlay can be raised. Demolition is controlled, so the street-facing form is protected and a raise is often the only way to add space.
03
FLOOD
Raising is often the cleanest answer on a flood-affected block, and can change your insurance position.
04
TIMBER AND TERMITES
A raise exposes every bearer and joist. We inspect and treat the frame while it is open and replace what the years have taken.
THE BACK OF A RAISED HOUSE · NEW LEVEL OPENING TO THE GARDEN
The rooms nobody could see from the street are the ones the family lives in.
Common questions
/12
Raise and build under questions from Brisbane homeowners
How long does a raise and build under take?
A standard raise runs nine to twelve months on site, with four to six months of design, engineering and approvals before that. The lift itself takes days; the lower level takes the time.
Can we live in the house during the work?
No. A raise is a full construction site from the lift to handover, so you move out for the nine to twelve months on site and come back to a finished house, top and bottom. We work through the timing with you before the contract is signed.
Do we need council approval to raise?
Usually not. For most raises a private certifier issues the building approval. Council planning is only needed occasionally, for example when the street facade is altered or the new level sits inside a boundary setback, and we manage it when it is.
What does a raise typically cost?
Most raises land between $500k and $1.5m all in, including design, approvals and GST. Floor area sets the base. What moves the number fastest is the count of wet areas below, the level of finish and any architectural features such as large openings, cantilevers or double-height spaces. Poor access or a house in bad condition can push a full project past $2m. You leave the studio visit with a range, and the price is fixed once the documentation is complete.
Will the old house be damaged by the lift?
Not when it is done properly. Timber Queenslanders were built to be moved. We brace, lift evenly and re-level before any new work begins, and repair any hairline movement in the fit out. The one common exception is old sash windows: a re-levelled frame can leave worn sashes sticking, and some need restoration.
How high can the house be raised?
As high as the design needs. On most blocks that gives a full 2.7m ceiling on the new level, and the overall height limit is rarely the constraint. On flood affected blocks the limit can be relaxed so that 2 full levels sit above the flood level.
Do you handle the engineering and soil tests?
Yes. Soil testing, structural engineering and energy compliance are arranged by us inside the plan stage, for one fixed fee, and the results are priced before you sign a building contract.
Can the new lower level match the old house?
It can, and usually should at the street. Below the verandah line we tend to go more open and contemporary, but cladding, colours and window rhythm are drawn to sit with the original.
Ask us directly.
A short call is usually the quickest way to work out whether a raise suits your house, and what it might involve.
ONE STUDIO
We design, and we build what we design. The same people draw the house, get it approved and build it.
9 FORSYTH ST,
FAIRFIELD QLD 4103,
AUSTRALIA
QBCC 22698 · QBCC 15229232
MEMBER — MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA
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