Dec 8, 20213 min read

Building the ultimate backyard granny flat as a teenage retreat

There comes a time in every family's journey, where our homes start to feel smaller and smaller as the kids get bigger and bigger. Once they start to approach the teenage years, that's when the hobbies start, friends from school start visiting more often and as they become more independent, Mums and Dads all over Australia are starting to see an opportunity to add a little bit of space at their place, without the headache and expenses of renovations or selling up and moving.

That's exactly what our clients Catherine and Alex did at their home, transforming some unused space in their backyard into the ultimate teenage retreat for their two eldest kids.

Catherine and Alex opted for our two-bedroom Rhodes Granny Flat and were immediately drawn to the design, visual appeal and the flexibility of the customisation.

The Rhodes

“Everyone who comes over is blown away by it, from tradies to friends, everyone is like really impressed with the look, the tradies are impressed with the quality of the build. We just feel like we made the best investment we could have made.” – Alex.

Catherine and Alex's journey began with a free site inspection where our expert team was able to determine how and if the Granny Flat would fit into their desired location. In this case, some minor customisations were made to the Granny Flats roof which allowed it to fit into the required building hight envelope.

The original site before the build

All of our Granny Flats arrive flat-packed on pallets making it simple for us to unload into almost any driveway. Access to Catherine and Alex's backyard was through a narrow walkway down the side of their main home, which was simple to navigate as each piece of the Granny Flat was able to be carried through from the driveway.

The first step was building the subfloor, it was important that the deck of the Granny Flat was level with the existing decking surrounding Catherine and Alex's pool. As you can see constructing a subfloor on land with a steep gradient is no problem for the team.

One of the most time-consuming steps when installing a Granny Flat is the subfloor installation, it can take day or two depending on the size of your unit and it is imperative this step is done perfectly. Once the subfloor is complete, we can get started!

Two days after the completion of the subfloor the Rhodes is starting to take shape. Our engineered design means there is no need for screws and nails, the interlocking framework clicks together simply and quickly. Cyclone rated steel tie-downs run through the corners of each wall ensuing the Granny Flat is well tensioned and ready for decades of use.

Shortly after the Granny Flat was completed to lock up stage, from there the work begins on the fit-out. Some of our clients choose to complete the fit-out themselves with local tradespeople, in the case of Catherine and Alex's Rhodes they chose the Custom Creations NSW team to complete their fit-out, adding a Kitchenette and Bathroom to finish off their ultimate teenage retreat.

Once the Rhodes was complete, we finished up with a coat of paint to tie in with the main home, joined the existing pool decking to the new Granny Flat decking and we handed over the keys to Cathrine and Alex's Ultimate Teenage Retreat.