FAQs

Me, Anthony Painter. I'm a licensed builder with 26 years in residential construction in Queensland, and a Construction Management graduate from QUT. I've worked across estimating, scheduling, site supervision, contract administration and dispute resolution, including years inside a major project builder. More on the About page.

It's written by someone who actually builds. A lot of construction content comes from marketers, developers or industry bodies repeating talking points. Mine comes from being on site and running every part of a building job.

Am I the best builder? No. I learn something new every week. But I'm obsessive about the details that matter, because that's where homes fail: the same waterproofing problems, the same houses that don't outlast the builder's warranty. So the focus here is on:

• building knowledge and the building process, explained plainly
• project, construction and quality management methods
• science-backed details, methods and materials
• checklists that show you what "normal" should look like

If they're good enough for pilots and surgeons, they're good enough for builders and homeowners.

In The Checklist Manifesto, surgeon Atul Gawande shows that most failures don't come from a lack of knowledge. They come from not applying what we already know, consistently, every time. A checklist fixes that. Mine were built and tested on real builds, mine and clients', and they work the same way: they catch the step that's easy to miss under pressure.

Yes, and it comes down to disappointment. After studying construction management, I wanted to keep raising the standard. What I found was an industry focused on cash flow, speed and bare-minimum quality.

Many volume builders don't run proper project, quality or communication management plans. Their "specifications" are often marketing documents that don't line up with the NCC or Australian Standards, and leave plenty of wiggle room. And the associations mostly lobby government and sell insurance rather than stand up for homeowners.

So I'm putting that frustration to use: helping homeowners understand what should happen and why, and ask the questions builders would rather not hear.

Yes. Constructor isn't owned by, paid by or affiliated with any builder, and takes no builder advertising, payments or referral fees. Constructor is an ACCELX website.

No. Everything here is general information to help you know what to look for and what to ask. For decisions about your own build, talk to your builder, an independent inspector, an engineer or a solicitor.

Free membership opens the members library: trade specifications, technical data sheets, standards and tolerances, contract documents and real project files, sorted by trade. You also get the free C1 Before Buying Land checklist. Sign up free, with just your name and email.

No. There's no newsletter. We only email you to sign you in, and about anything you've bought.

That's right. Click Sign in, enter your email, and we'll send you a one-time sign-in link. If it doesn't arrive within a few minutes, check your spam or promotions folder.

Comment sections attract spam, link farming and scams such as fake giveaways, so they're switched off across the site. If you have a question about a guide, send it through the contact page. Good questions often become new guides.

Sign in, then open Account to update your details. To delete your account and data, contact us and we'll take care of it. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle your information.

No. Buy the checklist for the stage you're at now, or a bundle if you know you'll need several. Most owners buy as they go. Find your build stage.

Every checklist is a fillable PDF with tick boxes and comment fields. They work in Acrobat Reader, Chrome and Edge. Some email and browser preview panes don't show PDF forms properly, so open the file in one of those apps instead. You can print as many copies as you need for your own build.

No. They help you know what to look for and ask better questions. If you're unsure about something or find a possible defect, get advice from your builder, an independent inspector, an engineer or a solicitor.

No subscription. Every purchase is one-off and the checklist is yours to keep. Checkout is handled by Polar.sh, which manages secure payment and tax; we never see or store your card details.

Each purchase is licensed for personal use on your own build. For a second address, or for someone else's build, they're welcome to buy their own copy.

See the refund and access policy on the Checklists page, or contact us and we'll sort it out.