Our office is at Unit 1/18 Lomandra Place, Coolum Beach. Call 0477 333 386 about renovating or extending a house in Coolum and you are calling a builder already based in the suburb.
Roebuck Concepts is led by Tom Roebuck, a licensed builder with more than 20 years in residential construction. The company holds QBCC licence 15280811; Tom holds individual QBCC licence 15015060. We are a member of Master Builders Queensland, and in August 2025 our Grandview Drive Extension — a Coolum Beach pole home extended in every direction — won three Master Builders Queensland Sunshine Coast Housing & Construction Awards.
Why does it matter that your renovation builder is based in Coolum Beach?
Coolum is small and tightly built: narrow older streets behind the beachfront, steep driveways on the headland, low sandy ground west of David Low Way, and a constant salt load off the surf. A builder working here every week knows which blocks fall away at the rear, where crane and pump access is genuinely possible, and which certifiers and engineers already have your street in their files. Our other Coolum work, including the Grandview Drive custom home and our new home builds in Coolum Beach, sits minutes from the office.
What kind of houses are being renovated in Coolum Beach?
Coolum grew hard through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and the housing stock reflects it. Most enquiries fall into four groups:
- Low-set brick-and-tile on flat sandy blocks between the highway and David Low Way, and through Mount Coolum — slab on ground, hipped tile roof, small windows, a dark closed-off centre. These respond to opening the rear to the north-east, lifting ceilings into the roof space and rebuilding the wet areas.
- Timber and fibro beach cottages near First Bay, Second Bay and Tickle Park, high-set on stumps and often extended piecemeal. Under-house conversion and re-stumping are common starting points.
- Pole homes stepping down the slopes behind the beach, including Grandview Drive — split levels, steep driveways and a view worth protecting. The most demanding to extend, and the most rewarding done properly.
- 1990s and 2000s rendered block in the newer estates, where the job is usually a second storey, a roof extension to reach a view, or a re-skin of what the salt has attacked.
What did the award-winning Grandview Drive extension involve?
The Grandview Drive Extension is an existing Coolum Beach pole home extended out, up and down while the original structure kept working underneath it. On 15 August 2025 at The Events Centre in Caloundra it won three Master Builders Queensland 2025 Sunshine Coast Housing & Construction Awards: Home Renovation/Remodelling Project over $1 million, Best Residential Swimming Pool and Best Use of Innovation.
How does salt air change the way a Coolum renovation is built?
Onshore wind carries salt well past the first row of streets, and on renovation work it shows up in brick ties and lintels in older cavity walls, roof sheeting and flashings, deck and stair fixings, garage door tracks, window hardware and balustrade fittings. Specification therefore matters more than finish: appropriate stainless or hot-dip galvanised fixings, isolation between dissimilar metals, marine-rated coatings, and flashings that let water drain rather than hold salt. Corrosion also widens the scope once a building is opened, which is why we investigate before demolition rather than after. Sunshine Coast Council lists both re-roofing and the replacement of external cladding as building work requiring approval, so corrosion repairs here are rarely a no-approval job.
Do you need council approval to renovate or extend in Coolum Beach?
Coolum Beach sits inside the Sunshine Coast Council area. For most building work you deal with a private building certifier, who assesses the plans and issues the development permit for building work under the Building Act 1975; council keeps the records. Council publishes a guide to what triggers a permit.
| Work | Building work permit |
|---|---|
| Alterations and additions to a dwelling | Required — including internal alterations, bathroom renovations, replacing windows and glazed doors |
| Converting a garage or shed to a habitable room | Required |
| Re-roofing, or replacing external cladding | Required |
| Re-stumping | Required if more than 20% of the total stumps are replaced |
| Decks, verandahs, patios, balconies | Required over 10m², over a 2.1m mean height and 2.4m maximum height, longer than 5m on any side, or 1.0m or higher above the surface below |
| Retaining walls | Required over 1m high, or within 1.5m of a building or another retaining wall |
| Pools, spas and safety barriers | Required |
A certifier cannot approve work that conflicts with the planning scheme or the Queensland Development Code. If your extension needs a variation — a setback or siting relaxation on a tight Coolum block — council must receive a request for a concurrence agency response for building work before the certifier can approve it.
Which planning overlays affect Coolum Beach and Mount Coolum?
Development here is governed by the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014, which commenced on 21 May 2014. Coolum has its own local plan code (section 7.2.8) over the zone provisions, and Part 8 contains 13 overlays. The ones that shape a Coolum renovation most often:
- Height of buildings and structures — usually decides whether a second storey or roof extension is straightforward or contested.
- Scenic amenity — where Mount Coolum forms the backdrop and roof forms read against the ridge.
- Coastal protection and acid sulfate soils — common on low sandy ground near the beach and behind the dunes.
- Landslide hazard and steep land — the sloping blocks and pole homes behind the beach.
- Flood hazard and bushfire hazard — near the creeks, reserves and national park edge.
A few kilometres north the boundary hands over to Noosa Shire Council and the Noosa Plan 2020. Our Sunshine Coast renovation builders page covers how we work across both councils.
What licence, contract and warranty protection should the job come with?
The QBCC requires building work valued over $3,300 to be carried out by a licensed individual or company, and home warranty insurance under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme where the value of the work including materials, labour and GST is more than $3,300 — which captures kitchen and bathroom refits, deck and verandah work, roof repairs, window and door replacement, and any work affecting structural integrity. The QBCC’s Level 1 renovation, extension and repair contract covers $3,301 to $19,999; a Level 2 contract covers $20,000 and over. On a Level 2 contract you must be given a QBCC-approved consumer building guide before you sign, and on any domestic building contract over $3,300 you must receive the signed, dated contract within five business days. Structural defects are covered for six years and six months from the cover commencement day.
What drives the cost of a Coolum Beach renovation?
We do not publish a square metre rate, because on renovation work it would mislead you. What moves the number is how much structure changes (removing load-bearing walls, lifting a roof, adding a storey); whether existing footings, stumps or poles can be reused; the corrosion specification the exposure demands; site access, since a steep or narrow block dictates crane and pump costs; and the number of wet areas. We price from a documented scope with prime cost and provisional sum items listed openly. For an addition rather than a whole-home renovation, see our home extensions page.
Frequently asked questions about renovating in Coolum Beach
Do I need council approval to renovate a house in Coolum Beach?
Almost certainly. Sunshine Coast Council lists alterations and additions to existing dwellings — including internal alterations, bathroom renovations and replacing windows and glazed doors — as work requiring a development permit for building work. A private building certifier assesses and issues it; council is involved separately if you need a variation to the planning scheme or the Queensland Development Code.
Can you extend a pole home in Coolum Beach?
Yes. Our award-winning Grandview Drive Extension is a Coolum Beach pole home extended out, up and down. Pole homes need engineering that respects the existing frame, careful assessment of poles and footings, and a build sequence that keeps the house stable while it is opened up.
Do you do roof extensions and second storeys in Coolum?
Yes. Both are shaped by the height of buildings and structures overlay in the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014, and re-roofing on its own already requires a building work permit. We check the height and scenic amenity position before design work starts.
How does salt air affect a renovation in Coolum Beach?
Salt attacks fixings, lintels, brick ties, roof sheeting, flashings, balustrade fittings and window hardware. The response is specification and detailing: suitable stainless or galvanised fixings, isolation of dissimilar metals, marine-rated coatings, and drainage that does not trap salt.
Is Coolum Beach under Sunshine Coast Council or Noosa Shire Council?
Coolum Beach and Mount Coolum are in the Sunshine Coast Council area, under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 and its Coolum local plan code. Noosa Shire Council and the Noosa Plan 2020 apply further north.
Can I stay in the house during the renovation?
Sometimes, depending entirely on the scope. If the roof is coming off, the only bathroom is being rebuilt or the house is being restructured, living on site is usually neither workable nor safe. We tell you at the scoping stage which parts of the program are liveable.
Talk to a Coolum Beach builder about your renovation
If you own a house in Coolum Beach, Mount Coolum, Point Arkwright or Yaroomba, start with a conversation about what the house can take and what the overlays allow. Call 0477 333 386, email tom@roebuckconcepts.com.au, or book a consult. Our office is at Unit 1/18 Lomandra Place, Coolum Beach QLD 4573.