Northern Beaches • Sydney NSW

A granny flat built like a real home. Because that’s what it is.

Hi, I’m Nathan Hendriks — tradesman first, builder second. Born to Build is owner-operated, so the bloke quoting your job is the same bloke swinging the hammer. Ten-plus years on the tools, every joint hand-checked, no shortcuts and no sub-contracted surprises.

Get a Free Quote Call 0498 188 478
10+Years on the tools
2027Booking now
1Builder, start to finish
0+ Years on the tools
2027 Booking now
0% Owner-built
NSW Licensed and insured
★★★★★ Referral-led
Instant ballpark

How much does a granny flat cost?

Plenty of builders make you book a call before they'll talk price. Move the sliders, choose your finish, and get an honest range right now. No email, no follow-up, no phone tag.

Heads up: this is a ballpark, not a quote. Real numbers depend on the block, the finish, and how chunky the engineering gets. Use this to know what you're walking into — then book a free site visit for a fixed-scope quote.
Why Born to Build

Built by the builder. Not a sales rep.

The reason the diary is full to 2027 isn't marketing — it's the work. Here's what you get.

10+

A decade on the tools

Nathan trained as a carpenter and never left the site. Every detail is checked by the bloke who’ll one day stand behind it.

1

One point of contact

You ring Nathan. You text Nathan. You email Nathan. No call centres, no PMs, no “let me check with the team”.

★

Quality-first, full stop

Booked through 2027 because we don’t rush jobs to fill slots. If a corner can’t be cut without showing later, it doesn’t get cut.

↻

Start to finish

Council approvals, design, frame, fit-out, handover. One contract. One builder. No finger-pointing if something needs fixing.

What Nathan builds

Granny flats are the specialty. Carpentry is the foundation.

Born to Build is a registered carpentry and construction company. The 2026/27 focus is granny flats — but anything timber, framed or fitted-out is in scope.

Specialty Tradie in hi-vis and hard hat focused on a granny flat build
01 — Granny flats

Custom granny flats, built like real homes.

One, two and three-bedroom secondary dwellings tailored to your block. From fast-tracked CDC builds to architecturally finished add-ons — every job runs on Nathan's tools, Nathan's clock, and Nathan's standard.

  • Council and CDC approvals handled end-to-end
  • Site survey, plans and engineering included
  • Turnkey handover with full builder's warranty
Get a quote
Builder in hi-vis and helmet ready to work on an extension
02 — Extensions and additions

Built to blend, not bolt on.

Second-storey adds, deck-and-room combos, and outdoor rooms that match the existing house line-for-line. Roofline, eaves, cladding, paint — it all carries through so the addition reads as part of the original.

  • Structural framing and engineered tie-ins
  • Roofline and cladding matched to existing
  • Locked weather-tight schedule
Talk to Nathan
Tradesman in hi-vis on a carpentry job site
03 — Carpentry and fit-outs

The core trade. Done by hand.

Decks, pergolas, internal joinery, kitchens, custom storage, feature timber walls. The detail work most builders sub out — Nathan keeps in-house because that's where the finish is won or lost.

  • Hand-built to spec — no flat-pack shortcuts
  • Hardwood and engineered timber
  • Ten years of joinery and finish carpentry
Start a project
2027 booking

Spots remaining for 2027.

2026 is locked. These are the actual slots open for 2027 builds. Updated weekly — first deposit holds the slot.

How it works

From first call to keys — three steps.

You'll deal with one builder the whole way through. No hand-offs, no "we'll get back to you".

01

Site visit and quote

Nathan walks the block with you, talks through your brief, and sends a fixed-scope quote within a week. No obligation, no fee.

02

Plans and approvals

Floor plan finalised, drawings drafted, council or CDC submission lodged. We do the paperwork — you sign and wait.

03

Build and handover

Frame to finish on a published schedule. Weekly check-ins, photos sent through, and a walkthrough sign-off before keys.

On the tools right now

Live build progress.

Updated weekly so you can see what's actually happening on Nathan's sites today.

Floor plans

Six popular configurations — all customisable.

Start with one of these, or bring your own sketch. Every plan can be mirrored, extended, or re-spec'd.

Floor plan render
Most booked

The Headland

2 bed 1 bath 60m²

Open-plan living, north-facing deck, walk-in robe to the master. The crowd-pleaser.

Floor plan render

The Pittwater

2 bed 1 bath 55m²

Long, narrow footprint for tighter blocks. Side-entry, full-height glazing across the rear.

Floor plan render

The Avalon

3 bed 2 bath 70m²

Maxes the granny-flat footprint. Master ensuite, two minor beds, generous living and storage.

Floor plan render

The Newport

1 bed 1 bath 45m²

Studio-style. Big living, single bedroom, ideal for short-stay rental or solo dwelling.

Floor plan render

The Manly

2 bed 2 bath 65m²

Twin-master layout — both bedrooms sized for adults. Popular for share or extended-family.

Floor plan render
Premium finish

The Palm

2 bed 1 bath 62m²

Hardwood-clad exterior, vaulted ceiling, designer kitchen. The flagship spec.

Plan explorer

Click around the plan.

Switch between 1, 2 and 3-bed layouts. Click any room to see its size and finish details.

Recent work

A look at what's left the site.

A small selection from the last 18 months. More on request — just ask Nathan.

Mona Vale granny flat — frame stage
Mona Vale2-bed granny flat · 2025
Avalon Beach 3-bed secondary dwelling
Avalon Beach3-bed secondary dwelling · 2025
Narrabeen studio with deck
NarrabeenStudio and deck combo · 2024
Newport 2-bed granny flat with carport
Newport2-bed with carport · 2024
Bilgola hardwood-clad granny flat
BilgolaHardwood-clad 2-bed · 2024
Warriewood carpentry fit-out — hi-vis trade work
WarriewoodCarpentry fit-out · 2025
Before and after

Drag to see the transformation.

Slide the handle left or right to compare the empty block to the finished build. Tap and drag on mobile.

Before After Finished granny flat exterior Empty block before build

Drag the handle — or click anywhere on the image — to wipe between before and after.

About Nathan

The bloke behind the work.

Nathan Hendriks started in carpentry over a decade ago, learning the trade the long way — on residential sites, framing houses, hanging doors, fitting kitchens. Born to Build is what happens when a chippy with a perfectionist streak decides to run his own jobs.

Today the focus is granny flats — secondary dwellings done properly, on time, and built to last the full life of the main house. Every Born to Build project is run by Nathan personally: he’s on site, on the phone, and on the tools. That’s why the diary’s booked to 2027, and that’s why people put their build in his hands.

10+Years carpentry
100%Owner-built
1Job at a time
— Nathan Hendriks, Born to Build
Where Nathan builds

Every job, on the map.

From Manly to Palm Beach — pins mark every completed Born to Build project across the Northern Beaches.

What clients say

Word travels — that's how the diary fills.

Most jobs come through referrals. Here's a few from the past year.

★★★★★

Nathan turned what we thought would be a stressful 12 months into the easiest build we’ve done. He’d ring before there was even a problem — just to keep us in the loop. The finish is genuinely better than the main house.

SP
Sarah & Pete Mona Vale, NSW
★★★★★

Got three quotes. Nathan’s wasn’t the cheapest, but he was the only one who actually walked the block and explained the trade-offs. We picked him on that. No regrets — even the cabinet maker said the framing was the squarest he'd seen.

JM
James M. Avalon Beach, NSW
★★★★★

Booked nearly a year ahead and it was worth the wait. Hard to find a builder who picks up the phone these days, let alone one who’s on the tools himself. We’ve already recommended him to two neighbours.

RK
Rachel K. Newport, NSW
★★★★★

My elderly mum’s flat. Nathan understood the brief immediately — ground-level, wide doorways, no tripping points. He didn’t upsell us once. The build came in on schedule and on budget, and Mum hasn’t stopped raving about how solid it feels.

MJ
Mark & Jules Bilgola Plateau, NSW
★★★★★

We’re a tradie family ourselves so we know good work when we see it. Nathan’s framing was textbook, his finish carpentry was even better, and he never once tried to fudge a callback. Genuine bloke, genuine builder.

DT
Daniel T. Warriewood, NSW
★★★★★

Got knocked back by two other builders for “awkward access”. Nathan came out, walked the block, and just said “leave it with me”. Three months later we had the cleanest little 2-bedder you’ve ever seen tucked behind the main house.

EF
Emma F. Palm Beach, NSW
★★★★★

Nathan ran our extension and granny flat back-to-back over the year. Two big jobs, one builder, zero drama. He’s the rare one who flags problems before they’re problems, and he doesn’t leave a site looking like a tip at the end of the day.

CB
Cameron B. Narrabeen, NSW
★★★★★

The hardwood deck Nathan built for us is honestly art. He milled the dimensions himself to get the spacing right and the result is dead-flat — not a board out of line three years on. We’re lined up with him again for the granny flat in 2027.

LH
Liam H. Manly Vale, NSW
Facebook

Follow the build, post by post.

Nathan posts photos straight from the site — frames going up, hardwood going down, and finished handovers. Follow the page to watch builds come together, or drop a review if you've worked with him.

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Book your 2027 build

Diary's open — for the right jobs.

2026 is locked. 2027 spots are being booked now and they go on a first-come basis. Send through the details, Nathan will call back personally within one business day, and you'll know within the week if it's a fit.

  • Free site visit, anywhere on the Northern Beaches
  • Fixed-scope written quote — no "subject to" surprises
  • Talk directly to the builder, every step
  • Deposit only on signed contract — nothing before

Send the brief

Takes about 60 seconds. The more you give us, the sharper the quote.

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Where's the build going?
Or call Nathan direct on 0498 188 478
FAQs

The questions Nathan gets every week.

Honest answer: only if quality matters more than speed. If you need a flat in 8 weeks, we’re not the right call. The reason the diary's full is because the work runs at a pace that lets details get done properly.

Sydney granny flats from a quality builder typically land between $180k and $320k+ depending on size, finish, and site conditions. Born to Build quotes are fixed-scope after a site visit — not ballpark numbers off a brochure.

Yes. Most Northern Beaches granny flats go through the CDC (Complying Development) pathway which is faster than DA. We handle the lodgement, draftsman, and certifier. You sign and wait.

Sydney’s Northern Beaches primarily — from Manly through to Palm Beach — plus the Upper North Shore on selected jobs. If you’re outside that, ask anyway, but realistically a local builder will serve you better.

Yep. The plans on this page are starting points — mirror them, extend them, change the finish. Most jobs end up modified.

From slab to handover, most builds run 14–20 weeks once on-site. Plans and approvals beforehand are usually another 8–12 weeks depending on council pathway. We give you a published schedule before contract.

Nothing payable until the contract’s signed. After that it’s the standard NSW residential progress draws — deposit, base, frame, lock-up, fixing, completion. You only pay for work that’s done and inspected.

Free guide

The Northern Beaches Granny Flat Buyer's Guide.

Six pages of straight talk — no fluff, no upsells. Drop your email and we'll send the PDF straight through.

  • Real cost ranges by build type and finish
  • CDC vs DA — which path your block needs
  • Ten questions to ask before you sign with any builder
  • Common council traps on Northern Beaches blocks
  • Red flags that have cost other clients $20k+

Send me the guide.

One email, the guide attached, then nothing else unless you ask. No newsletters.

Your email's only used to send the guide. Unsubscribe baked in.

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Got questions before you finish reading? Call Nathan on 0498 188 478.

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