Newcastle based builder Rohan McDonald’s business Abundance Property Services builds up to 20 homes a year across New South Wales.

Understanding construction codes are an important part of his work day, but until recently they caused more lost time and money than just about anything else.

McDonald would call contractors in, let them know what building codes applied to the job, and then wait for mistakes because the written information was too complex or confusing.

That changed when McDonald discovered a way to turn those building code riddles into easily understood diagrams.

“It’s been a game changer for my business,” Mr McDonald said.

“We can save anywhere up to a day to two days of mistakes just on waterproofing.”

“Obviously that saves a lot of money too, especially when we’re not having to chase people and get it done, you know, three or four times. 

The key has been an Australian developed app called Tools – the brainchild of Jerry Tyrrell, a 53-year-veteran of the building industry who has dedicated the last ten years of his life to develop, deliver and retail the product.

“I would argue that most bad building is unintentional,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“It’s because of the absence of knowledge and skill, and I just wanted to make sure that the skill was readily available, and I think I’ve done that. 

“I’ve illustrated a lot of trade and compliance and best practice and all the ingredients of what no doubt the Building Ministers across Australia are trying to do, but they’ve done it in words and inaccessible documents.

“I’ve managed to illustrate it in an app that sits on people’s phones so they can access most solutions in under 12 seconds.”

“It translates all of the objectives of what you’re building into a picture.”

“It’s all the major items, it’s the dimensions, it’s the overlaps, it’s the thickness, it’s the fire rating, it’s the detail of waterproofing, it’s the height of the box gutter, it’s the height of the handrail.

“It’s all those missing pieces the industry is guessing because they can’t quickly get access to, and if they do bother to look for a standard or a National Construction Code, it will take them maybe 10 or 20 minutes. That’s if they’ve got the current document available.”

Launched in May 2022  the technology has been a slow burn with 2200 subscribers and 16,000 users, but Tyrrell said momentum and time is on his side as he works towards his company’s goal of “No major defects on Australian construction sites by 2030”.

And once his app becomes ubiquitous in Australia he intends to take on the world.

“I’ve got a model in my head that all construction could be the same, that there’d be code specific issues, very small changes, but I’m just saying a good builder can be a good builder in Australia, a good builder in Europe,” he said.

“I’ve been pushing for countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia to fund the rebuild of all these disaster areas, Palestine and Syria and Ukraine and anywhere else that’s a mess – they just need the right tools.

“There might be very minor changes for materials and also local signs, but the basic rules would apply globally.”

As Tyrrell prepares to conquer the world, Rohan McDonald is more than happy to wile away on another worksite, saving time, money, and worry.

Learn more about the app in the video below.

Author: The Good Builder

The Good Builder is a media platform that provides news and insights for Australia’s home building industry. From exclusive stories and curated insights to bold industry perspectives, we deliver the news and updates that keep builders, suppliers, and the entire home building industry inspired and ahead of the curve.