Platinum House History Package - $6000 (incl GST)

This exclusive package provides an incredibly detailed history of your house and the people who lived there. It includes everything in the Gold Package, but with a much more detailed history of the whole lifetime of the house, from when the land was first sold by the Government, right up to, and including, yourselves as the current owners. You can choose to document your own period of ownership, including family photos, a family tree and the story of how you came to own the house. This package also includes an analysis of the house style and any changes made to it over the years. If you would like to document your own alterations to the house, for example images and plans of before and after your renovations, this is the package for you.  It also includes a series of aerial photographs of the house, from 1936 or 1946, to the present, showing the changes over time. The final report is provided as a beautiful, high quality, professionally printed, hardcover book with colour images. You receive TWO copies of the book (perfect for sharing it with friends and family!), as well as  a USB with an electronic copy of the final report and all the images, documents, titles, maps, photographs from the report (perfect to print out and frame to hang on your wall!).  The price includes the research, purchase of all relevant documents, preparation of the report and the printing and delivery of the hardcover books and USB.

The history in this package includes:

• Background history of suburb/street 
• History of subdivision of land
• Date of construction
• House name (if it had one) 
• Architect (if applicable)
• Original owner(s) names 
• Detailed history of all the families that lived there up to yourselves
• Search for old photos of house, street, suburb and families
• Search for old maps/plans of the house, street and suburb 
• Search of old newspapers for articles about the house or families 
• A series of aerial photos showing the evolution of the house and street 
• An analysis of the architectural style, original building features, interior decoration
• Summary of any major alterations to the house 
• Record of any renovation work you have undertaken on the house (great for capturing the "before" and "after" photos!
• Table of owners of the land, from when it was first sold by the Government, right up to yourselves as the current owners

To search for this information, I visit the house (if in or near Brisbane), a variety of archives, libraries, historical societies and also search extensively online. This package involves approximately 50 to 60 hours work.

You also have the option of purchasing additional copies of the book and/or USB for relatives or future house owners, at an additional cost.

Silver House History Package -  $2600 (incl GST)

This package provides a short history of your house and the people who lived there. The final report is emailed to you as a PDF, laid out in high-resolution book format with colour images.  The price includes the research,  purchase of all relevant documents and preparation of the report.

The history in this package includes:

• Original owner(s) names  
• Date of construction 
• House name (if it had one) 
• Brief history of the main families that lived there up to the 1950s
• Search for old photos of house 
• Search of old newspapers for articles about the house and families

To search for this information, I primarily search online but visit archives / libraries / historical societies as required and if time permits. This package does not include a visit to the house and involves approximately 15 hours of work.

You also have the option of purchasing the history as a hardcover book and/or a USB with an electronic copy of the final report on it, at an additional cost.

Date of Construction Research (including Pre-1911 and Pre-1947 checks)  - $1700 (incl GST) (Brisbane Only)

If you'd like to know when your house was built, or need to establish if the house or extensions were built pre-1911 or pre-1947 to determine planning/Character Overlay requirements under Brisbane City Plan, this is the package for you! It includes four hours research to begin with, but may need to be extended if it is a tricky one. The price also includes the purchase of up to two historical Certificates of Title for the land, or Birth, Death or Marriage certificates, if required. If more time or more documents are required, I will contact you for approval before I proceed. The results of my research are emailed to you as a PDF report. NOTE: Although for most Brisbane houses I am confident that I can find the year a house was built, I cannot guarantee this for all houses. I also may not be able to find conclusive evidence of a date of construction, but can usually find "circumstantial evidence" to work out the most likely date. In some cases, I may only be able to narrow it down to a range of a few years and in rare instances I may not be able to establish a date at all. Unfortunately, this is just the nature of historical research, as different sources of information survive for different houses and I never know until I've had a look!

If your house is located outside Brisbane, please contact me for a custom quote.

House Name Search / Hourly House History / Hourly Family History Research - $240/hour (incl GST)

If you have a specific question you would like answered about your house, e.g if it ever had a name or if there are any old photos of it,  then I recommend hourly research. Alternatively, if you have a family history mystery that you would like me to look into, I also do genealogical research. I charge $220 per hour and a maximum number of hours can be set for these types of requests. However, I am happy to negotiate to suit your budget for house or genealogy research, or if more research is needed I can extend it, with your approval. If the purchase of historical Certificates of Title for the land, or Birth, Death or Marriage certificates is required, this is an additional cost on top of the hourly research ($30 each), however I will contact you for approval before purchasing them. House name searches take about five hours, so cost $1100 plus the price of purchasing Certificates of Title ($30 each). The number of titles required varies from house to house, so an exact price for the complete package cannot be given here. We can agree on a maximum number, or start with a set number and increase as required, with your permission. 

The results of my research are emailed to you as a PDF, or provided on a USB at additional cost.

House Name Search Note: If you would like to try doing your own search to find out if your house ever had a name and what it was, you can download my Top 5 Tips for Naming Your House here. In addition to summarising how to search for a previous house name, it also includes a range of other ways to name your house, based on the most popular ways people chose house names in the past. It also includes a list of examples of each type of name, as well as a selection of common house names that can be used on any home.

Pre-Renovation Advice Service - $2800 (incl GST)

If you are planning to renovate an old Queensland house, it is important to get to know your house a little better first. By better understanding the age, history, design and construction of your home, you can ensure that your renovation is appropriate and sympathetic and will add the maximum value to your property. This package combines my many years of experience as an architectural historian, as well as my previous employment as a heritage consultant. I will visit your house, work through it room by room with you and discuss your ideas and plans. I will identify the style and era of your house, discuss the original design intent, point out important original features that should be kept if possible and provide advice on the right style of any replacement features (e.g. verandah railings, fences, etc). I'll also answer any questions you may have.  I also email you a PDF report containing my findings and advice, so you can refer back to it as required. 

*Please note that I am not a qualified builder, town planner or architect, so I cannot advise on technical or legal aspects of your plans. 

Memory Keeper Package -  House History or Family History Books - Contact me for a custom price

Have you already researched the history of your house or family but it's all sitting on your computer never to see the light of day by anyone else? Or have you had to make the difficult decision to sell the family home? I offer a service to capture your special memories, by compiling all your information and photographs into a beautiful, high quality, hardcover "coffee table" book with colour images, so that the whole family can enjoy reading about it!  You can purchase as many or as few copies as you want and choose from a black or white cover.  It makes a great gift for family members and it will become a wonderful memento to be cherished by them forever!

As the time required to undertake this work will vary greatly from client to client depending on the amount of information, number of photographs and detail required, I price each one individually. Contact me now for a custom quote!