Site prep and foundation. Geotech, levels, services, then concrete. This is the stage where surprises live — if the soil report flagged anything, the cost-and-time impact lands here. Slab-on-grade is the most common; pile-and-bearer or waffle slabs come up for steeper or weaker sites.
Frames and trusses. Walls go up, the roof structure is craned in, and within two or three weeks the building reads as a house from the road. Easy to mistake this for being almost done. It is not almost done.
Roof on, exterior cladding, windows and doors. The building gets weathertight. Once the roof is on and the windows are in, the inside of the building stays dry through the next phases — which is when the slow trades start.
Lock-up. The point at which all penetrations are flashed, the building is enclosed, and the keys are issued to one trade at a time rather than left out at smoko. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical first-fix happen around here.
Insulation and lining. Wall and ceiling insulation goes in, then the GIB (or other lining) goes up. Stopping and painting is two to three weeks of slow, crucial-finish work that nobody wants to rush.
Fix-out. Doors, skirtings, kitchens, vanities, tiling, joinery. This is where the build becomes visible as a finished house, and where the variations and PC-sum decisions come home to roost.
Practical completion and handover. Final inspections, code compliance certificate (CCC), defect list and walkthrough. Don't sign off on practical completion until the defect list has been worked through — not just acknowledged.