Seed Building Consultants

Website

Seed Building Consultants Independent building advice for people planning tiny or modular homes, including second dwellings and granny flats.

If you've been wondering whether a granny flat, tiny home or second dwelling is a 'real option' or just a headache waiti...
01/10/2026

If you've been wondering whether a granny flat, tiny home or second dwelling is a 'real option' or just a headache waiting to happen – here's some context worth knowing.

Victorian Government data shows approvals for small second dwellings have nearly doubled in the past year, and that's not a fluke, it's the exact outcome a state planning reform was designed to create. We've written up why, and what it might mean for your own place.

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/second-dwellings-are-booming-in-victoria

Every business has an origin story. Seed's starts decades before the name existed.Early in his career, our Director Paul...
30/09/2026

Every business has an origin story. Seed's starts decades before the name existed.

Early in his career, our Director Paul Wainwright was mentored by the late architect John Baird, founder of Fairweather Homes, one of the pioneers of energy-efficient prefab housing in Australia. While most of the industry was focused on speed and standardisation, Baird was already designing around orientation, ventilation and material choice.

Many of his principles – north-facing orientation, verandas and pergolas designed for the sun, high insulation, renewable timbers – are now embedded in building legislation. Paul has spent 35-plus years since carrying that thinking forward, refining it for the homes people want to build today.

We've just published the full story on the blog, including how it connects to modular building.

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/why-seed-exists-bringing-35-years-of-sustainable-building-to-you

If you've been researching second dwellings, you've probably come across the term "modular home" – and wondered what it ...
27/08/2026

If you've been researching second dwellings, you've probably come across the term "modular home" – and wondered what it actually means for your build.

Our latest blog breaks it down: what a modular home is, how it differs from other build types, and why it's often a smart, practical choice for a granny flat or second dwelling – from faster build times, to less disruption to your existing garden, to more design flexibility than most people expect.

Our Director, Paul Wainwright, brings extensive experience in the modular and second dwelling space – and gives his independent take on when modular makes sense (and when it doesn't).

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/why-modular-homes-are-a-smart-choice-for-your-second-dwelling

Dream big. Build small.Sometimes the smallest footprint holds the biggest ideas.~ Inspiration for your modular home or s...
21/08/2026

Dream big. Build small.

Sometimes the smallest footprint holds the biggest ideas.

~ Inspiration for your modular home or small second dwelling. ~

Downsizing isn't about having less. It's about having exactly what you need, in a space that actually fits your life now...
14/08/2026

Downsizing isn't about having less. It's about having exactly what you need, in a space that actually fits your life now – not the life you were living ten years ago.

Easy to say. Harder to live by – because everyone has that one category of stuff they can't picture parting with. For a lot of people, it's books. Shelves and shelves of them, and the idea of downsizing sounds lovely right up until you picture packing them away.

So this week we went looking for someone who'd solved exactly that, and found a home tour where the owner built an entire library into a genuinely small footprint – floor to ceiling, beautifully done, and still a small home. Worth a watch if 'downsizing' makes you think immediately of the one thing you couldn't part with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-L_36GTd0g

If you're in the early stages of planning a granny flat, tiny home or second dwelling, here's a question worth asking be...
30/07/2026

If you're in the early stages of planning a granny flat, tiny home or second dwelling, here's a question worth asking before you fall in love with a design: can machinery and tradespeople actually get onto your site?

It sounds obvious, but access is one of the most commonly overlooked parts of planning a second dwelling. Driveway width, side gate clearance, slopes, overhead power lines, shared driveways – none of it shows up on a floor plan, and all of it can affect what's actually possible to build, and how much it costs.

It's also a big part of why Paul's site visits matter so much – there's no substitute for standing on the block and seeing the access route for yourself.

We've written a full post on it, covering what to check and when to ask.

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/the-site-question-most-people-forget-to-ask

Who do you call first – plumber, concreter, electrician, carpenter?Turns out that's one of the questions we get asked mo...
24/07/2026

Who do you call first – plumber, concreter, electrician, carpenter?

Turns out that's one of the questions we get asked most. And it's a fair one – getting the order right (and the people right) is half the project.

"People are often surprised how much of a build comes down to sequencing and knowing who to trust. I've spent decades building relationships with the right plumbers, concreters and electricians on the Peninsula and beyond – it's not just about finding a tradesperson, it's about finding the right one for the job and getting the timing right so nobody's waiting on anybody else." – Paul Wainwright, Seed Building Consultants

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/seed

With sunny weather forecast this weekend, we're planning a walk along the Two Bays trail – forest one minute, coastline ...
17/07/2026

With sunny weather forecast this weekend, we're planning a walk along the Two Bays trail – forest one minute, coastline the next.

This is why we love living on the Peninsula.

If you're after a good excuse to get outside this weekend, this track comes highly recommended.

Planning permit or building permit? A lot of people assume it's one and the same thing – but they're actually asking two...
09/07/2026

Planning permit or building permit? A lot of people assume it's one and the same thing – but they're actually asking two different questions.

A planning permit is about whether your proposal suits the land itself: zoning, overlays, how the building sits on the block. A building permit is about whether what gets built is actually safe and compliant – structure, energy efficiency, fire safety.

Since December 2023, most granny flats under 60m² in Victoria no longer need a planning permit. But here's where people get caught out: that doesn't mean the paperwork disappears altogether. The building permit is still always required, no exceptions.

And the planning permit can still come back into play – overlays like bushfire or heritage, or blocks under 300m², can bring it back regardless of the exemption.

We've broken the whole thing down on the blog, plainly and without the jargon.

If you're standing at the start of this process and not sure which permit applies to you, that's exactly the kind of thing we're happy to talk through – no builder ties, no sales pitch, just an honest look at what your site actually needs.

https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/planning-permit-vs-building-permit-whats-the-difference-in-victoria

Something we hear a lot from homeowners – after all the planning, permits and decisions that go into adding a second dwe...
02/07/2026

Something we hear a lot from homeowners – after all the planning, permits and decisions that go into adding a second dwelling, the design question can feel like an afterthought.

But it’s worth asking early: will this dwelling actually look like it belongs on my property?

That doesn’t mean the second dwelling needs to be a copy of the main house. It means thinking about things like roofline, materials, scale and how access works – and making sure those decisions are deliberate rather than default.

Our Director, Paul Wainwright, works with homeowners across a range of approaches – flat-pack and modular through to fully custom designs – and he can help you think through what makes sense for your specific block and home.

We’ve written about it in our latest post:
https://www.wainwrightconstructions.com.au/advice/why-your-second-dwelling-deserves-its-own-design

Address

489 Waterfall Gully Road
Rosebud, VIC
3939

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Seed Building Consultants posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category