Upper North Shore · AS 3660.1
A termite system sized to Warrawee's large, leafy blocks and timed to your builder's program, whether the job is near the quiet station streets or a rebuild bordering Duff Street Reserve.
Quick answer
Yes. With bushland close by, Warrawee sits inside a termite-prone part of Ku-ring-gai, and the NCC requires new homes here to carry a compliant termite management system before the Occupation Certificate is released. That system is installed to AS 3660.1, with collar work finished before the concrete pour and the paperwork prepared for your certifier afterward.
Termite barriers in Warrawee
Warrawee is a small, residential Ku-ring-gai Council suburb about 18 km north-west of the Sydney CBD, in postcode 2074. It developed in the early twentieth century as an exclusive area of large blocks, and it still has no shops, offices or through roads, with even Warrawee station carrying no commercial activity. Heritage homes such as Pibrac and Harry Seidler's Exley House sit among later houses, and houses make up about two thirds of dwellings, with apartments forming most of the rest. Most of our work here is knockdown rebuilds on generous, established blocks, since the suburb has almost no commercial or multi-dwelling development.
With no shops or offices to draw in food waste and the rodents that follow it, Warrawee's pest pressure is almost entirely residential, and the same is true for termite risk. Large blocks with decades of garden plantings hold old stumps and buried timber that can feed a colony long before a new slab goes down, and generous roof voids on older houses give termites more cover once they find a way in. A rebuild on one of these properties needs a barrier sized to the whole block, not just the footprint of the new house, because the surrounding garden is often where the pressure actually starts.
Reviewed by Ismail, founder · Upper North Shore coverage · Updated September 2026 · More Upper North Shore suburbs
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Local conditions
Three things shape termite risk on a Warrawee rebuild more than on a typical suburban block.
Warrawee's generous, early twentieth-century blocks have usually carried decades of planting, and old stumps or buried offcuts from that gardening history are common. A colony can be feeding on that material well before a new slab is poured, so soil treatment across the whole block matters as much as the perimeter edge on these larger properties.
Duff Street Reserve lies close to Warrawee and can bring termites, funnel-webs and possums onto neighbouring blocks. Rebuilds nearer that bushland get a full perimeter system rather than a token strip, with extra care at any point where a garden bed or retaining wall meets the reserve edge.
Heritage and older brick homes in Warrawee often have larger roof voids and sub-floors than a standard suburban house, giving termites more cover once they get inside. We take the extra time these properties need, checking the full roof space and sub-floor rather than assuming a smaller home's coverage is enough.
What we install here
Given how little shop or multi-dwelling land Warrawee has, our work here is almost entirely knockdown rebuilds, new homes on large subdivided blocks and the occasional secondary dwelling. A raft or waffle pod slab suits most of these lots, though we switch to a suspended floor on piers wherever the ground falls away toward bushland. Pricing is one number off the plans, and the barrier inspection is booked to finish comfortably ahead of your pour date.
Local knowledge
Much of our Warrawee work sits near Curtilage Park and Warrawee station, where rebuild blocks back onto established gardens that have carried plantings for a century. Duff Street Reserve, a stretch of bushland close to the suburb, gets extra attention on rebuilds along its edge, since it can bring termites, funnel-webs and possums onto neighbouring properties. Because the suburb has so little commercial land, almost every job here is a residential block rather than a multi-dwelling site.
Ku-ring-gai Council certifies Warrawee builds, and like every NSW certifier it needs proof the termite system actually went in before releasing the Occupation Certificate. We leave a notice fixed permanently inside the meter box describing the system, and issue a separate installation certificate that names the products, marks the protected areas and records who installed them. Data sheets and maintenance notes travel with both documents.
Warrawee at a glance
| Suburb | Warrawee, NSW 2074 |
|---|---|
| District | Upper North Shore |
| Distance from Sydney CBD | 17.5 km north-west |
| Certifying council | Ku-ring-gai 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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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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Warrawee questions
Still unsure? Call and talk it through with a licensed technician.
+61 450 515 215With blocks this size, we'd rather see the site before the garden is cleared than quote off plans alone, since mature trees and old timber affect what the perimeter needs to cover. Once demolition and the plumber's rough-in are booked, our visit falls in right before the concreter arrives, and we work to whatever date your builder sets rather than a fixed slot of our own.
Being next to established bushland rather than a neighbour's backyard changes how thoroughly we treat the boundary. Retaining walls and any garden bed that borders the reserve get particular attention, and it's common for owners on that edge to ask for physical collars in addition to the chemical perimeter, especially where the block steps down toward the trees.
Often, since these larger blocks have the room for it. A secondary dwelling gets full collar coverage and its own certification just like a standalone house, and where the original home already carries protection, we work out how the new system ties into what's already there rather than starting again.
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 Upper North Shore.
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.
