Our Client Journeys
Hear from our clients and how we created their very own special terrace.
Request an obligation free site visitTen years later Martyn’s light well extension resolved our need for an additional bathroom on the first floor without compromising any existing floor space.
We first met Martyn at one of his project displays in about 2002. We watched Martyn build a terrace extension across the road and decided to discuss with him the options for extending our Surry Hills terrace. In 2003, Martyn designed and built our attic and ensuite while I was pregnant with our daughter. As expected, the quality of the design and the workmanship was exceptional, and the project was delivered on time (about 4 weeks before my daughter was born!) and within budget. We were particularly impressed with the minimal disturbance procedures Martyn used, which made the experience as hassle-free as possible.
Louise Fleck, Surry Hills
Ten years later, Martyn’s light well extension resolved our need for an additional bathroom on the first floor without compromising any existing floor space. Due to our unique location with another terrace up to our light well Martyn designed, had approved, and then built the perfect solution for us. Once again, the project was delivered on time and within budget, to high quality.
The first floor bedroom, with light well extension/ensuite, is now the best bedroom in the house!
We have referred Martyn from Special Terrace House to our friends and have no hesitation recommending him to any terrace owner needing the best solution for their situation.
Innovative Design Ideas, incorporating future overall design and high quality terrace renovation.
Martyn Calleia of Special Terrace House has just completed our attic conversion and first floor renovation on our terrace house in Glebe. Due to the original layout, it was a little difficult to conceptualise how to get staircase access to the attic room, create a bathroom on the first floor, and maintain a good flow to the bedrooms and of the corridor. We had several builders in, but Martyn stood out with his innovative design ideas, but maintaining the traditional terrace appearance. His experience with terrace renovations was clearly evident.
Mohan and Janet Jayasundera
We eventually plan to complete the ground floor renovation at a later date, shifting the original steep staircase, opening up the kitchen and living spaces and adding a bedroom. Martyn’s designs and work carefully incorporated the future renovation ideas, to enable this to be done seamlessly into the future, integrating with the work done so far.
As we live in Perth, we wished to find a trusted and reliable builder, who would work independently and keep us informed throughout the building process. When I first met Martyn, his attention to detail and integrity was clearly evident. Our trust in him was well rewarded, with clear communication throughout the process and weekly detailed reports and photographs of the progress.
There are many aspects that are impossible to do from a distance, such as selecting electrical fittings, tiles, liaising and explaining the scope of works with painters ect. Martyn was very helpful in doing these for us, even sending us photographs from suppliers and web links, facilitating the whole process.
Despite some unexpected work required such as rewiring found to be needed to some of the original part of the terrace on the ground floor, Martyn organised this work for us, and still managed to complete the entire project on schedule.
When we first saw the project when it was close to practical completion, we were very impressed with the quality of work and essentially the whole renovation was beyond our expectations. We are looking forward to engaging Martyn again in the future to complete the terrace renovation when we get him to do the ground floor works.
Ground Floor addition - Job well done, professionally managed, on time and of excellent quality.
Dear Martyn, I just wanted to drop you a note of thanks for the completion of our ground floor addition at Nickson Street for a job well done, professionally managed, on time and of excellent quality. After our inspection of your previous renovations, the quality of the build was obvious and then your design and positioning of the kitchen, laundry and toilet which allowed us great open access to the rear yard was much better than the other company who had put in a proposal. Thanks again Martyn, we would have no hesitation in recommending Special Terrace House to other potential clients in the area!
Jim and Sue, Nickson Street Surry Hills
External access and understated plus and Quality and Detail of the match existing staircase a key visual stand out.
I chose Martyn from Special Terrace House after viewing a number of his attic conversions over the years and always admiring the quality of the build. Martyn converted my attic as an additional living area with front and rear dormers plus a small ensuite on my reference # 9 model terrace house. One of the key benefits of choosing Martyn is his vast experience in terrace renovations. This allows him to provide good advice on how to best utilise any space, cost implications of choices and also what council will allow.
Margo Chesher, Darlington
Martyn is clearly a multi skilled & experienced builder which allowed him to either do the work himself or manage the external trades efficiently. My ensuite was finished to a very high quality as were the floorboards, gyprock & smooth plastering the existing walls.
The quality and detail of the staircase that matched my existing staircase is a key visual standout of my build. The position of the window at the top of the stairs has allowed unexpected light to the lower floors.
An understated plus of Martyn’s building approach is the workers’ entrance into the roof space via an external scaffold and work platform rather than through the house. This reduced the interactions, mess and noise from the house until the house was opened for the construction of the staircase
near the end of the build. This proved a real plus through covid-19 social distancing period.
Martyn’s pride in the quality of his work makes it easy for me to recommend him to anyone as you can trust he will do a quality job. – I also trusted him fully with access to my house.
Rear First floor Extension-attention to detail, excellent craftsmanship, pride in work and great problem solving skills.
We engaged the services of Martyn Calleia of Special Terrace House to assist in the design, approval and construction of a rear first floor addition to our terrace house in Waverly street Randwick. We were initially impressed with Martyn’s pragmatic approach to the renovation. Not knowing what could be achieved within Council’s parameters and our budget, Martyn was able to suggest various options for the construction and provide detailed cost estimates and timing for each option. Martyn’s suggested options were all consistent with our needs and expectations.
David and Naomi Anderson
Impressed with the design options, we decided to engage Martyn to prepare and lodge the development application and construct our renovations. Martyn demonstrated strong awareness of Councils’ requirements and was successful in having development application approved with no amendments.
When the build commenced, we were further impressed with Martyn’s attention to detail and excellent craftsmanship. The finishing was of the highest standard and we admired the pride that Martyn took in his work.
Another impressive feature of Martyn is his problem solving skills. Martyn was able to adapt to the relevant conditions and be flexible in determining the right solution to any unexpected issue. It is clear to us that this has arisen because of his extensive experience in terrace renovations.
Martyn completed the works ahead of schedule and the costs were as agreed in our building contract. No hidden costs or nasty surprises.
We are extremely happy with our renovation and have since recommended Martyn to some of our close friends. We would encourage anybody considering a terrace renovation to get in touch with Martyn to discuss your options.
Top Quality, re tweaked design, tenants could remain in occupation.
I highly recommend Martyn Calleia for any building work but in particular terrace house renovations. We had our attic room added to the top of our Tudor street terrace house which is now finished is perfect in workmanship and detail. We are absentee owners living 600km away so before finding Martyn I thought I could get started with a construction certificate from Sydney City Council then just find a builder; how easy is this I thought. After months of trying to deal with Council and getting nowhere I came across Martyn’s billboard hanging outside a terrace.
Charlie Mackinnon, Tudor Street Surry Hills
On meeting Martyn and inspecting his work I was convinced that I found not only a builder but a council and neighbor negotiator because I had a distant farm to run and really didn’t have the skills or patience to deal with all involved. So Martyn said he could get everything in place ready to start the build.
The main point of difference getting Martyn as compared to other builders I got to quote was him redesigning the project and tweaking the design slightly to accommodate anticipated engineering to achieve desired heights above and below the attic room.
He also negotiated with our neighbours to put scaffold on their property so as to access the project externally for minimal disturbance which meant our tenants could remain in the terrace during construction while other builders wanted tenants out during construction.
Martyn was able to reproduce the detail in the new stair to match the existing original staircase. His attention to detail and passion for reproducing top quality workmanship is very evident right throughout our experience with Martyn and especially now on seeing the finished project so I could highly recommend Martyn Calleia for any project but especially terrace house projects.
Hassel Free Attic Conversion Proceeds Fantastic Ground Floor Addition.
Dear Martyn, my wife and I would like to thank you for the completion of another job superbly done. Last year when we engaged you to convert our attic we couldn’t believe that we found a builder who could take our concept and then provide some very good design ideas, draw up the plans, negotiate with council for all the required approvals and complete the job on time and to budget. The quality of the work was exceptional and the whole attic conversion was as close as you could get to a hassle free renovation. Consequently we had no reservations whatsoever to ask you back this year to complete the rest of our renovation work.
Bruce and Jacky Gendre, Wilson street Darlington
The ground floor remodeling required demolition work to the rear of the house, installation of an underground rainwater tank, gas hot water and rebuilding to provide a new kitchen, dining room and laundry. Upstairs the bathroom needed complete stripping out and replacement.
This was a significantly larger renovation than the attic conversion but yet again you have delivered a fantastic job from start to finish. As with the attic conversion, we explained our ideas and you brought your design and expertise, drew up the plans, obtained council approval, project managed the site, subcontractors and delivered an excellent quality of finish.
Thanks to your professionalism, attention to detail and excellent skills, we now have the terrace that we always wanted. We would happily recommend you to anyone who is thinking about any building work to their terrace house.
Once again, many thanks to the hassle free renovation.
With Martyn you need not retain an architect.”- When friends visit they say “it looks as though it’s always been there.
From the start, Martyn and his team were enormously helpful in dealing with Woollahra council and arranging for the DA of our attic extension with ensuite to proceed painlessly. We had specific needs that any addition had to match the heritage feeling of our 1880’s Paddington terrace and Martyn’s design met all our expectations and more. With Martyn you need not retain an architect. Martyn designed and built a cutting edge ensuite bathroom with exceptional design flair. As the project developed we had input and collectively decided to leave the chimney sand stock bricks exposed which is a wonderful feature.
Keith and Gale, Paddington
Martyn completed the job on time and was a pleasure to work with. He has very high standards of workmanship and attention to detail and is also a master carpenter and tiler.
The match existing staircase was a key feature of the project and when friends visit they say “it looks as though it has always been there.”
Martyn made this renovation enjoyable. The whole experience was surprisingly pleasing and we have now a room that is our favourite in the house.
We’re very proud of our newly renovated terrace house which is a fine example of a Reference #10 attic with ensuite within Woollahra Council.
We would be pleased to show you Martyn’s work prior to signing a building contract with him and know that he will design and build you a renovation as great as ours.
Creating a plan we were very happy with and handling all of the approvals with council. “Martyns’ team left nothing unfinished.”
Special Terrace House (and Martyn) was recommended to us by a neighbour. We’d been having some difficulties with a builder, and had been attempting to get the drawings for a new attic done by an architect that didn’t specialise in terraces. We feel very lucky to have brought Martyn onto the project. With his Knowledge of terrace houses he was able to see some faults in our current plan (which would have meant our project would not have passed council approval) and left us with a room not legal as a bedroom.
David Toussaint, Paddington
In the pre project phase he was methodical and educational, creating a plan that we were very happy with and handling all the approvals with council. This is a huge weight off your mind.
Once the work commenced we were extremely happy with the work and attention to detail. Martyn’s team left nothing un-finished and left our house looking like it did before. Martyn was also very understanding helping us to finish the project on time and cause as little disturbance to our lives as possible.
On a personal note he is also a very trustworthy and nice man, who became a regular part of our home and is very good making sure life can go on as normal as possible, which was important to us having a young child in the home.
If we do any work again on our terrace, we will definitely go straight to Martyn.
The internal stair layout was slightly varied and necessary space for the bed was achieved by structurally altering the chimney breast internally.
Martyn of Special Terrace House was engaged to construct our attic conversion in Surry Hills. Our plans were already approved however the small terrace and the existing approved layout meant we could barely squeeze a bed up there and the layout was tolerable but impractical. From the beginning of our contact with Martyn he was very pragmatically minded and pointed out to us some practical improvements to the layout that would help to maximise functional space.
Dr Philippa Ell, Little Albion Street Surry Hills
This meant that ensuite was re designed, the internal stair layout was slightly varied and necessary space for the bed was achieved by structurally altering the chimney breast internally.
Martyn also communicated well with our private certifier who was happy with the minor changes.
The quality of Martyn’s building work was excellent and he had creative problem solving skills when unexpected gremlins arose from the previously assumed plan measurements.
The ensuite was also completed to the highest standard and many of our friends have been quite taken back by its striking appearance and precise construction despite the small space. The tiling work was also very well done and a clear feature of the room.
Martyn has managed to help us harmoniously marry the wonderous history of our little terrace with our own modern taste and desire to make the house light and bright.
We’re very pleased with our new and improved home!
Everyone is impressed
Thanks for everything you have done. The end result is fantastic. We have only had a few visitors but everyone is impressed. Our handyman (an English carpenter) reckons the staircase is the nicest he has seen. Gilliane has only 1 word “Beautiful”. I wake up every morning and wonder where I am. Can’t believe I am in the same house. Thank you and Shaun. Incidentally the stairs have been good for me and I am now almost pain free. Bloody amazing . Lots of lessons from a great job. Thanks again.
Leon and Family, Brougham Street Potts Point
Painless Attic Conversion proceeds Quality Ground Floor addition.
Dear Martyn,
Thankyou for making our two room Attic Conversion so painless, and it is so wonderful to be able to park the car in the garage.
Best wishes for the future.
The Roberts Family ~ Dave, Lorraine, Jasper & Samantha
Another Great Job – Open Plan Ground floor addition.
Thankyou Martyn for another great Job! The ground floor addition now makes a great connection to the rear yard and new Deck. The Kitchen, Laundry and relocated toilet are tucked neatly away and we’re really impressed once again with the quality of the build. I’m sure where – ever we move to will need the Martyn touch.
Best wishes to you and your family,
Lorraine & Dave Roberts, Redfern
Martyn has Delivered a Seamless Renovation.
Martyn Calleia from Special Terrace House was referred to us by our friend Scott who he designed and built terrace additions for twice in Surry Hills. After quoting on our project and walking through a completed example of a similar project we were confident that Special Terrace House and Martyn was the right builder for our terrace extensions. Throughout the project Martyn consistently communicated with us, listened to what we wanted and was very focussed on attention to detail and quality well beyond our expectations which shines through in the finished product.
Steven and Hans, Darlinghurst
Martyn has delivered for us a seamless renovation involving an open plan ground floor addition, first floor bathroom renovation and attic conversion with ensuite to our Darlinghurst terrace. We are really happy with the end result. Our terrace house looks amazing and we now have an open plan connection to the rear yard, an extra bedroom with ensuite and more natural light within the core common areas of the terrace around the match existing staircase along with many other quality upgrades undertaken by Martyn and his team.
We continue to receive compliments from friends and family on the renovation which is credit to Martyn and his focus on the customer and quality.
Martyn is a proven professional in terrace houses.
We recently completed another successful project using Martyn Calleia from Special Terrace House. We transformed an original run down inner city terrace which not only was dilapidated, but also presented some major challenges in terms of an outdated floor plan and plumbing and electrical infrastructure. Having previously used Special Terrace House on the attic conversion, he was a natural fit for the job. Martyn designed a major reconfiguration of the bathroom and kitchen / living areas including services, and opening of walls.
Kate and Garry, Nickson Street Surry Hills
Martyn is a proven professional in terrace houses and together we came up with fantastic ideas for converting what was once a dysfunctional labyrinth of rooms into a beautiful modern and cohesive living space. Doubts about where to begin were immediately dispelled within the first meeting as Martyn was very effective in communicating his vision for the property. You find yourself quickly drawn in to his enthusiasm. He came up with great ideas we could not have envisaged without him. But a dream dreamt alone remains a dream.
A dream dreamt together becomes a reality. The planning and execution undertaken by Martyn and the team at Special Terrace House is the reality. Martyn’s design and build quality are first rate. A comprehensive and detailed plan of execution resulted with clear timelines for the entire project. Underpinning this were a team of excellent trades who work effectively as a team under Martyn’s direction for a common outcome.
Not only was the project completed on time and to set standards, but it was a pleasure having and accommodating the team in our space, the result is a transformation we are still smarting about with excitement. Try him and see for yourself.
Two years later we had no hesitation in engaging Martyn to complete the ground floor addition.”
We engaged Martyn to design and complete a first stage attic / ensuite conversion of our Surry Hills reference #12 terrace, with the plan of the second stage open plan ground floor addition he designed at a later date. Based on our first experience, we again engaged Martyn from Special Terrace House to complete the ground floor addition and then front yard restoration to its original state. The attic conversion, designed and built by Martyn from Special Terrace House, was a great success completed efficiently, on-time and budget.
Verity, Surry Hills
Martyn Calleia, was approachable, suggested a great design which he even walked us through a previously completed example and built our project with attention to detail to ensure it was completed beyond our expectations.
The various tradesmen that worked on-site during the renovation period were first class. We have now had the benefit of living with this completed attic conversion. Over the subsequent 2 year period, there has not been a single issue surface with any of our terrace modifications. Over this period of time, we have even more appreciated the quality of workmanship and skill that went into the design. Our terrace has been a wonderful place to live since completion of the attic conversion, and much of this has been due to the character and quality match existing staircase with custom skylight over the stair void and clever use of premium terrace space that Martyn is well renowned for.
Two years later, we had no hesitation in engaging Martyn of Special Terrace house again to complete the open plan ground floor addition covering other more structurally complicated areas of the terrace. Once again, Martyn walked us through his previously completed example.
This time we moved out for the renovation period as the scope of works was much larger. Again, Martyn was on site every day both working and supervising his team and ensuring that everything came together with the utmost precision and detail.
Once again, Martyn has created and constructed a great terrace design which has been delivered with optimal workmanship and finesse. Based on our experiences with Martyn the years, we naturally came back for the front yard restoration where he turned the 1970’s bricked up front terrace back to a beautiful Victorian garden with match existing Iron picket fence over new curved match existing wall which he hand crafted, and then had the marble threshold and sills fabricated and installed with the match existing tessellated tiles.
We have no hesitation in highly recommending Martyn from Special Terrace House for design and construction of any terrace projects.
Martyn’s Talent and creativity gave us a very functional design.
We wanted to renovate and extend our terrace to accommodate our growing family. We wanted a well designed compact ground floor plan that would be stylish, visually striking but most importantly functional and practical. Martyn’s talent and creativity gave us a very functional design that is truly unique and has that “wow” factor. At every stage Martyn was very involved and has been a pleasure to deal with. He gave us timely and professional advice at all times. His insistence on getting the design elements right and the practical ideas he offered have been crucial to the project. His design flair and breadth of building experience in terrace houses has resulted in an architecturally distinctive terrace that we are proud of. A big thank you Martyn and Special terrace house.
Emily and Michael, Annandale
