Search for a renovation cost per square metre and you will find figures from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, with nothing behind them. The honest answer from a licensed Queensland builder is that per square metre is a fair planning tool for a new house and a poor one for a renovation.
Why does cost per square metre work for new builds but not renovations?
On a new home, cost spreads evenly across the floor plate. Slab, frame, roof, cladding and services all scale with size, so dividing the contract price by floor area gives you something worth comparing.
Renovation cost concentrates instead. Take a 200 square metre house where you rework a 12 square metre bathroom, the kitchen and a deck. Divide the spend by 200 and the rate is too low to budget with; divide it by the 30-odd square metres you touched and it looks like a misprint. Your price is set by what is already there, and the frame, stumps, wiring and roof do not scale with floor area.
What does a renovation cost per square metre figure hide?
- The condition of what stays. Rot, termite damage, undersized framing and asbestos-containing sheeting in older homes surface only once the building is opened up.
- Access and siting. Steep blocks around Ninderry, Marcus Beach and Noosa Heads, and pole homes on sloping ground, slow every trade down.
- Work with no area attached. Demolition, re-roofing, restumping, rewiring, retaining walls and stormwater add nothing to the floor plan.
- Finish and exposure. Two kitchens of the same 20 square metres can sit at completely different price points on joinery alone, and near the beach at Coolum or Yaroomba, corrosion category lifts fixings, flashings and glazing.
Are there published renovation cost per square metre figures for Queensland?
Not from any official source. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports alterations and additions to residential building as a dollar value only: in its Building Approvals, Australia release for July 2026, they totalled $1,288 million nationally in seasonally adjusted terms, with no floor area beside it. Much renovation work adds no new floor area, so there is nothing sensible to divide by. Neither the QBCC nor Master Builders Queensland publishes a renovation rate per square metre.
How do cosmetic, structural and whole-home renovation costs differ?
| Type | Typical scope | Why a rate per square metre misleads |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic | Paint, floor coverings, joinery fronts, tapware, lighting, minor tiling. | Cost tracks fittings, not area. A 25 square metre repaint and a 25 square metre kitchen refit are worlds apart. |
| Structural | Load-bearing walls, re-roofing, restumping, adding a level, decks and pools on sloping sites. | Engineering, propping and access dominate. One steel beam and its footings can outcost a room of finishes. |
| Whole-home | Full strip-out and rebuild behind the retained shell, usually with an extension. | Closest to a new build, so a rate misleads least, but the retained structure still swings the price. |
Our Grandview Drive Extension at Coolum Beach makes the point: a pole home extended in every direction, where almost none of the cost sat where a floor-area calculation would put it. It won three 2025 Master Builders Queensland Sunshine Coast Housing and Construction Awards, for Home Renovation/Remodelling Project over $1 million, Best Residential Swimming Pool and Best Use of Innovation.
What should you use instead of a cost per square metre?
- A written scope before any price. Agree what is being done, room by room, before anyone quotes.
- An itemised schedule with named allowances. Trade by trade, with a stated budget against tiles, tapware, appliances and joinery.
- Early engineering and certifier input. Structural advice taken before the design is locked avoids the redesign and rework that follow when it arrives late.
- Like-for-like comparison. Different inclusions, not different rates, explain most of the gap between quotes.
What does Queensland law require in your renovation contract?
The QBCC requires a written contract for domestic building work priced over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST: a Level 1 contract from $3,301 to $19,999, and a Level 2 contract at $20,000 and over. For a Level 2 contract, the QBCC consumer building guide must be given to you before you sign. Most residential building work valued at more than $3,300 must also carry Queensland Home Warranty Scheme cover, with the premium paid by the contractor before work starts. Roebuck Concepts holds QBCC licence 15280811; Tom Roebuck holds individual licence 15015060.
Common questions about renovation cost per square metre
Is there an average renovation cost per square metre in Queensland?
No official figure exists. The ABS publishes alterations and additions as a dollar value with no floor area attached, and neither the QBCC nor Master Builders Queensland publishes a renovation rate.
Why can two renovations of the same size cost very different amounts?
The money sits in what you cannot see: site slope, footing depth, whether load-bearing walls come out, and the condition of the existing frame and roof.
Do kitchens and bathrooms cost more per square metre than the rest of the house?
Substantially more. They concentrate plumbing, waterproofing, tiling, joinery and appliances into the smallest floor areas in the home, so a whole-house rate flatters them badly.
Do I need a building approval to renovate on the Sunshine Coast?
Usually yes for structural work. Sunshine Coast Council lists alterations and additions, re-roofing, cladding replacement and restumping of more than 20 per cent of the total number of stumps as needing a development building work permit. Planning assessment is separate, under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 or, in the Noosa Shire, the Noosa Plan 2020.
When does a Queensland renovation need a written contract?
The QBCC requires one for domestic building work priced over $3,300 including labour, materials and GST. At $20,000 and over it must be a Level 2 renovation contract, and the QBCC consumer building guide must be given to you before you sign it.
Is cost per square metre ever useful for a renovation?
Only for genuinely new floor area in a straightforward extension, as an early feasibility check. Once the work touches the existing structure, roof or services, the rate stops describing anything real.
If you are weighing up a renovation or a home extension between Coolum Beach and Noosa, we would rather work through your scope than hand you a rate. Call 0477 333 386 or get in touch.