Skilbeck Builders

The local hairdresser gave us some very good advice when we were looking for a builder to construct our house in Lorne on the Surf Coast. Get Steven Skilbeck, he’s the only one who’ll be building your house when the surf’s up, he advised. It was great advice. We’ve never had a reason to regret our decision to engage Skilbeck Builders. That was way back in 1993 when Steve was just establishing his building business on the coast. He had started in Aireys Inlet where he lived, but was keen to break into the bigger scene at Lorne where the building trade was cornered by the popular resort’s established set. Steven had gained the experience from helping his father build their house in a premium area of Lorne, but was keen to get a foothold himself by having his own commercial projects to display. We had purchased a block of land on Wallace Street, one of the steepest roads in Lorne, and were in search of a builder to meet our humble means. We had no hesitation after meeting Steven that he was the man and he promptly took on the task of building a holiday home to accommodate the needs of a large family. It was a home built with simple taste and style, but taking in the panoramic vistas of the street. The open plan provided spectacular views of the ocean from every room in the house, notwithstanding the wide north-facing deck running all along the front of the building. And it was all done on budget and on time for summer 1994, despite an untimely delay over a neighbor’s objection that the pitch of the roof was too high. That was 1994. We hadn’t seen Steven in 20 years until we decided to retire to live permanently in Lorne In December 2015. The holiday house needed to be turned into our permanent home and it needed a massive renovation. When my wife rang, Steven instantly recognised the voice on the phone and he was immediately over from his home at Eastern View to discuss a renovation. Seven months later the three-bedroom house with a self-contained flat had been turned into a magnificent five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with every mod-con. The panoramic views have been maintained and the excavation, landscaping and extension of the house means mum and dad have all their creature comforts but there’s still room to accommodate their visiting children and grandchildren without any imposition. Once again the renovation, which cost five times the original build of the house, was completed on time and budget. Although the many variations from the original plan ordered by the lady of the house did add to the cost appreciably and did cause Steven some angst, there was never a crossword spoken between builder and owners. We can highly recommend Steven Skilbeck and his loyal local team of tradesmen if you are building a house on the Surf Coast. They are reliable, efficient and easy to deal with. And they don’t surf on the job.

Steve's ability to organise, execute and be on point with budget, deadlines and quality of workmanship made our renovation and refurbishment so stress free. We were away for the majority of the time and felt so connected at every stage. Steve's level of professionalism, knowledge, detail and finish exceeded our expectations - we are delighted with the result and highly recommend.

Steve and his team have done great work at our beach house. We would never use anyone else. His work is always excellent - and it is good to be able to use a builder we can trust. Highly recommended!

If I could give 6 stars I would. We purchased land in Aireys Inlet. After asking around as we live in Melbourne we kept hearing get 'Skilly' if he was available and lucky for us we were able to secure his services. I never thought building a house would be so seamless and such a pleasure! Steve and his team were professional from the get go , I knew exactly what was happening and when , I never received an invoice that was unexpected and most importantly for me , he listened . Steve and his team always had the patience and took the time to explain to me every step of the process. Steves attention to detail and quality of work assured us we'd made the right decision. Our build was on time and on budget. I would highly recommend Steve and the team for any building work you're looking to undertake.