Education
before the build.
Before You Build is an educational platform created for South Australian homeowners who are about to sign a residential building contract — the single most consequential document in any construction project, and one signature you only get one chance to get right.
We publish fifty-five concise, plain-English guides that decode the clauses, traps and terminology buried inside Master Builders (MBA) and Housing Industry Association (HIA) standard form contracts. Builders routinely amend these agreements to shift risk back onto the homeowner; our guides explain where, how and what to do about it — from cooling-off rights and variations to prime cost allowances, progress claims, practical completion, delays, defects, building indemnity insurance and dispute resolution. Each guide takes only two or three minutes to read.
The platform is built for homeowners who want to understand what they are actually agreeing to before the first shovel touches the earth, and who want the confidence to ask the right questions of their builder.
Before You Build operates in partnership with FBR Law, a boutique Adelaide construction law firm with more than thirty-five years of practice across South Australia. When education alone is not enough, FBR Law delivers fixed-fee contract reviews — a streamlined Contract Risk Review or a fully Bespoke Contract Review — that turn understanding into protection.
Every review is conducted by experienced construction lawyers, so every minute of your consultation is spent on what matters.