03/11/2026
Building a childcare centre isn't a smaller commercial job. It's a different one.
We recently handed over the Gowrie Childcare extension in Dubbo: a new classroom, amenities, a meeting room and renovated offices. If you're an operator planning a build or extension, here's what I'd want you to know.
Bring the builder in early. The most expensive mistakes are made before construction starts. A builder at the table during design can flag buildability, sequencing and cost issues while they're still cheap to fix.
Plan around who's still there. On an extension, the centre usually keeps operating. Staging, site access, noise and keeping the work zone separate from children and families all need to be agreed before day one, not worked out on the run.
Design at child height. Basins, joinery and windows are built for the children using them, not the adults inspecting them. At Gowrie, that meant round windows over built-in seats set at a child's eye level.
Get the wet areas right first. Amenities rooms take heavy daily use. The waterproofing membrane is inspected and signed off before any tile goes down, because a failure there is a problem for the next decade, not the next inspection.
None of this is complicated. It just has to be decided early.
Planning a childcare build or extension in Newcastle or Dubbo? Talk to us before the drawings are locked.
