Slab to Handover: The Four Build Stages and What You See in the Owner Portal
For an investor buying off the plan, or a developer managing a release of fifty lots, the hardest part of a build is often not knowing where it’s up to. A house going up three suburbs away, or five hours away, is easy to lose track of. Delays tend to surface late, and “where’s it up to?” becomes the most common question in the inbox.
At GDev, every home follows the same sequenced construction program. A standard single-storey (lowset) home takes about 20 weeks from site cut to practical completion. That program runs through four stages, base, frame, enclosed and fixing, followed by completion and handover. Each stage ends with a quality check and a progress claim, and each one shows up in the Owner Portal as it’s completed.
Before the slab: getting site-ready
Construction doesn’t start until the paperwork is done. Before a single peg goes in, our pre-site team works through finance approvals, soil testing, contour surveys, colour selections, covenant and building approvals, and final construction plans. Every one of those items sits on the pre-construction side of the portal, so owners can see what’s been completed and what’s still outstanding.
Resolving all of it before site start is deliberate. Changes made mid-build are where budgets drift and timelines slip, so we close them out first.
Stage 1: Base (slab)
Approx. 3 weeks
The first stage covers everything from the ground up to a finished slab. That includes site cut, surveyor set-out, piering and footings where the site needs them, under-slab plumbing, and the slab pour itself. Our slabs are built on engineer-certified soil and site preparation, which is the foundation (literally) for everything that follows.
In the portal, owners see each of these milestones ticked off with completion dates. Once the slab is signed off, the base claim is issued and its payment status is tracked in the same view.
Stage 2: Frame
Approx. 3 weeks
With the slab down, the frame goes up. Depending on the site, we build in steel or timber, with steel favoured for its strength and termite resistance. This is the stage where the home starts to look like a home, as walls, roof trusses and the overall shape of the floor plan take form.
The frame is inspected before the stage is marked complete. The portal then shows the frame stage, frame claim and payment as separate milestones, so owners always know exactly where the build sits financially as well as physically.
Stage 3: Enclosed (lock-up)
Approx. 4 weeks
Enclosed stage, often called lock-up, is when the home is closed in against the weather. The roof goes on, windows are installed, plumbing and electrical rough-ins are completed, and the external walls are finished with brick or cladding. By the end of this stage, the house can be locked.
So many trades work in sequence here that visibility matters most at this stage. Owners can follow roof installation, window installation, rough-ins and brickwork as individual updates rather than waiting weeks for a single “lock-up done” message.
Stage 4: Fixing
Approx. 4 weeks
Fixing stage covers the internal fit-out. Plasterboard goes up, wet areas are waterproofed, and cabinetry, stone benchtops, doors, skirting and fixtures are installed. This is where the finishes selected back at pre-site come to life.
Once fit-out is complete, the internal quality inspection is carried out and the fixing claim is issued, again tracked in the portal alongside every other milestone.
Completion and handover
Approx. 6 weeks
The final stretch is the longest, and it’s where the detail work happens: painting, tiling, final electrical and plumbing fit-off, floor coverings and a final clean. A final quality inspection follows, the home reaches practical completion, and the keys are handed over.
Because every milestone, photo and supervisor note has been visible along the way, handover rarely comes with surprises. Any minor items picked up after handover are logged and resolved through our maintenance team.
Highset homes follow the same stages but take a little longer, around 23 weeks, with the extra time mostly in frame and enclosed.
What the Owner Portal shows
Across every stage, the Owner Portal gives owners and partners:
a live milestone list for pre-construction and construction, with completion dates
progress claims and payment status at each stage
site photos and supervisor notes as work is completed
an overall progress percentage for each side of the build
For our channel partners, that means fewer status-chasing calls and an easier conversation with their own buyers. For investors, especially those buying interstate or out of town, it means seeing the build progress without ever having to visit the site.
One owner building their first investment property put it simply: they were kept up to date every step of the way with photos, despite the property being five hours away (Marie Zuffi, Google Review).
Built to a program, not a guess
A sequenced build program only works if every stage is managed the same way, every time. That consistency is what lets us give partners realistic timelines up front and keep them informed until handover.
If you’re planning a release or your next investment build and want to see how the program would run on your site, get in touch with our team.