Inner West · AS 3660.1
Under-slab collars and perimeter barriers fitted to your builder's schedule across Erskineville 2043, from the Ashmore precinct's new apartment blocks to the heritage terraces near Erskineville station.
Quick answer
Erskineville sits in a termite-prone pocket of Sydney, so new homes, granny flats and the Ashmore apartment builds all require a termite management system under the NCC. Installation follows AS 3660.1, with penetration collars and any under-slab work finished before the concrete is poured. Before sign-off on the Occupation Certificate, your certifier is given the durable notice for the meter box along with the installation certificate.
Termite barriers in Erskineville
Erskineville is a compact City of Sydney suburb about 4.3 km south-west of the CBD, in postcode 2043, wedged between Newtown, Alexandria, Camperdown and Beaconsfield. It was called Macdonaldtown until 1893 and moved through brickworks, tanneries and factories before settling into the tight grid of workers' cottages and terraces that still cover most of the suburb, protected today by heritage conservation areas over roughly three quarters of the land. New building here is concentrated in the Ashmore precinct, where former industrial sites are being turned into apartment blocks, alongside scattered knockdown rebuilds, rear infill and granny flats squeezed onto older terrace and cottage blocks near Erskineville Road and the station.
That mix of very old and very new construction matters for a termite barrier. Erskineville's terraces and cottages sit hard against shared walls and narrow rear lanes, many with timber floors and sub-floor voids that have never been opened up since the original build, so a rebuild is often the first real chance to put a compliant system in from scratch. The Ashmore apartment buildings bring basement car parks, lift pits and dozens of service penetrations on a single slab, where a missed collar is a gap that will not be found again until the fit-out is finished. Whichever building type you have, the barrier has to be planned and signed off before the concrete goes down, not patched in afterwards.
Reviewed by Ismail, founder · Inner West coverage · Updated September 2026 · More Inner West suburbs
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Local conditions
Three things shape how we detail a barrier on an Erskineville block, from the age of the building to what sits next door.
Terrace and cottage rows share party walls and back onto narrow lanes, so a gap in one sub-floor barrier can let activity travel into the next property. We treat the full perimeter available and detail carefully around party wall footings, not just the street frontage.
The Ashmore precinct's apartment slabs carry basement car parks, lift pits and stacks of plumbing penetrations for many units at once, so we map every collar position and inspection point from the drawings ahead of quoting. A missed penetration under a finished basement floor is far harder to fix later.
Knockdown rebuilds on Erskineville's older blocks often uncover timber stumps, ageing sub-floor framing and buried offcuts from the original cottage, all of which can carry existing activity. Clearing that material and treating the soil properly before the new slab is poured matters as much as the barrier itself.
What we install here
We work on Erskineville knockdown rebuilds, boutique infill townhouses, granny flats behind existing terraces and the multi-unit slabs going in across the Ashmore precinct. Waffle pod and raft slabs are typical on the flatter blocks, with suspended timber or concrete floors where an older cottage footprint is retained. Quoting happens from the drawings, as a single fixed figure covering every stage, and site access is arranged directly with your builder so a terrace rebuild or an apartment slab keeps moving.
Local knowledge
Erskineville station sits close to the heart of the suburb, and the rail corridor is a fixed reference point when we plan access to terrace rear yards along the line. Park Sydney Village and the shops on Erskineville Road mark the edge of the Ashmore build zone, where much of the current apartment construction is concentrated. Swanson Street Reserve and Jack Floyd Reserve are the nearest green spaces to the older cottage streets, useful markers when we are describing a block's position over the phone before a quote.
The City of Sydney certifies building work in Erskineville, and its certifiers ask for two documents before an Occupation Certificate is issued. One is a durable notice, fixed inside the meter box, that records the termite management system used. The other is an installation certificate setting out the products installed, the areas of the building they protect, and the licence of the installer who carried out the work. We prepare both and hand them over with product data sheets and advice on ongoing inspections.
Erskineville at a glance
| Suburb | Erskineville, NSW 2043 |
|---|---|
| District | Inner West |
| Distance from Sydney CBD | 4.3 km south-west |
| Certifying council | Sydney CBD Council |
| Standard applied | AS 3660.1 termite management systems |
| Installed | Before the slab pour, then staged through the build |
| Documents supplied | Installation certificate and durable notice |
| Typical builds covered | New homes, knockdown rebuilds, granny flats, duplexes, townhouses |
Systems we install
Every photo below is from one of our own Sydney jobs. We look at your slab design, site and budget, then recommend a system or a combination.
01A termite-resistant sheet laid over the whole prepared footprint before concreting, so termites can't come up through the slab anywhere.
02A sealed collar on every pipe, conduit and service that passes through the slab. These gaps are the most common hidden way in.
03Protection at the slab edge and into the wall cavity, which stops termites building hidden tunnels up the outside of the slab.
04An APVMA-registered termiticide zone in the soil, with an optional pipe network under paving so it can be recharged later without digging.
05Barriers for bearers, piers and raised timber floors on sloping or elevated blocks, where there's no slab to protect.
06Detailing for sandstone cuts, block retaining walls, step-downs and cut-and-fill sites, which are common across Sydney.
Why during construction
A retrofit can only treat around a finished house. A pre-construction system protects the parts nobody will ever be able to reach again.
A barrier put in during the build costs a fraction of a post-construction system, and far less than repairing termite damage.
New houses (Class 1) and outbuildings (Class 10) with termite-susceptible framing need a compliant termite management system.
Pipe penetrations and slab joints can only be fully protected while they're still open, before the concrete goes in.
An under-slab system covers ground that no treatment from outside the finished house can ever reach.
Your certifier needs the certificate and durable notice before issuing the Occupation Certificate. We supply both together.
Documented, compliant protection gives buyers, building inspectors and lenders confidence when the home is sold.
Installation stages
A termite barrier isn't a single visit. Each part goes in when the site is ready for it, and we fit around your plumber, concreter and bricklayer.
Send your plans and slab details. We recommend a system and give you one fixed price that covers every stage.
Collars go on every service once the plumber has set out, then the membrane or soil treatment is installed across the prepared site.
Perimeter and cavity protection is fitted as the brickwork or cladding goes up, so there's no unprotected gap at the slab edge.
Where it's specified, the chemical perimeter or reticulation system is completed around the building before paths and gardens go in.
A durable notice goes in the meter box, and the installation certificate goes to your builder and certifier.
The owner gets simple care instructions and an inspection schedule so the system keeps doing its job for years.
Compare systems
Both can meet AS 3660.1. The best choice depends on your slab type, what surrounds the house and how much ongoing upkeep the owner wants.
Physical protection
Entry-point protection
Soil protection
Top-up protection
Most of the Sydney builds we work on use a combination: physical collars on every penetration plus a physical or chemical perimeter.
For builders & developers
Builders, developers and owner-builders get a fixed quote from plans, a technician who turns up when the site is ready, and paperwork that never holds up sign-off.
Consistent pricing across lots, one point of contact and a full document set for every dwelling.
Missing durable notices and unclear install records are a common reason Occupation Certificates get held up. We hand everything over together so your certifier has it all in one go.
Paperwork
A complete document set for the builder, the certifier and every future owner of the property.
A permanent notice in the meter box showing the system, install date, installer, any chemical's life expectancy and inspection advice.
For: certifier, owner, future owners
Written confirmation of the system and products used, the areas protected and our licence details.
For: builder, certifier, owner
Details of the physical system or termiticide installed, including safety data sheets for any chemicals.
For: builder, owner
How to keep the system working, plus the recommended inspection frequency under AS 3660.2.
For: homeowner
From real jobs
Photos from our own Sydney sites, not stock images. Tap any photo to see it larger.
Membrane barrier across a large residential slab
Barrier work on a Sydney Harbour site
Installation through sandstone excavation
Perimeter barrier and sleeves on a new slab
Waffle pod formwork with collared penetrations
Membrane detailed against a retaining wall
Membrane sealed around a column
Protected slab edge with collar in place
Collared penetrations before the pour
Perimeter barrier on a completed slab edge
Pipe penetrations sealed into the membrane
Collars fixed through mesh before concreting
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Real, verified reviews from homeowners and businesses we've worked with.
Pricing
Every build is different, so we don't guess. We price from your plans and give you one fixed written quote. Quoting is free.
After handover
A barrier only works while it stays intact and visible. Pass these on to the owner.
Free fixed quote
Tell us about your build and get a clear, fixed price, fast. We usually reply within 30 minutes during business hours.
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Erskineville questions
Still unsure? Call and talk it through with a licensed technician.
+61 450 515 215Yes. The NCC requirement applies to the new work, regardless of what the original 1890s cottage had. Once the slab or suspended floor is being rebuilt, a compliant termite management system has to go in before it closes up, with collars on every penetration and a durable notice left in the meter box. It is usually simpler and cheaper to install properly at rebuild stage than to retrofit later.
An Ashmore apartment slab has far more penetrations across a single basement floor, shared by many units, so we mark up the collar positions and plan inspection access straight off the drawings, well ahead of the pour. A terrace or cottage rebuild is usually one perimeter and one set of penetrations, which makes the barrier visit simpler but no less important to get right the first time.
No. A barrier installed to AS 3660.1 blocks the concealed entry points a colony would otherwise use and forces any activity into the open where it can be seen, but it does not make the building termite-proof. Erskineville's older housing stock and shared walls mean regular inspections, at least every 12 months, are still the way to catch anything early.
In most cases, yes. The National Construction Code requires a termite management system for new houses and outbuildings in termite-prone areas where the primary building elements can be damaged by termites. Sydney is termite-prone, so the system is installed to AS 3660.1 and your certifier asks for the installation certificate and durable notice before the Occupation Certificate is issued.
It depends on slab area, perimeter length, the number of pipe penetrations, the system chosen, site complexity and how many visits the build needs. Send us the plans and we return one fixed written quote covering every stage. Quoting is free.
Nearby
Same crew, same staging and the same certifier-ready paperwork, right across the Inner West.
Service areas
From the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West to the Hills, the Shire and the western growth corridors. Every suburb has its own page with the local ground conditions, the council that certifies the work and the questions builders there ask us.
Slab pour coming up?
Send us your plans today for a fixed quote, or call and talk to a licensed technician about your site.
