Neutral Bay is a dense, popular pocket of the Lower North Shore where apartment living dominates. The suburb is full of older Art Deco and post-war walk-up blocks running back from the harbour, classic 1930s through 60s buildings with compact kitchens that were never designed for the way people cook and entertain today, plus a scattering of semis and period homes through the quieter streets. The most common job here is taking a small, dated apartment kitchen and making it properly usable: a smarter layout, better storage, a quality stone benchtop and finishes that lift the whole unit, all without touching the waterproofed wet areas. We are a family-run joinery based in Liverpool servicing Sydney-wide, and Neutral Bay is part of our Lower North Shore run across 12 years in the trade. What makes an apartment job here smoother is that we run one team across cabinetry, tiling, plumbing, electrical and painting. In an older walk-up or a block with one shared lift, the last thing you want is to personally coordinate five contractors. We measure, then give you a fixed-price quote with no provisional sums, so the number is real from the start. As a licensed NSW contractor the trade work is signed off properly and we provide the paperwork strata managers ask for. Because we buy appliances at trade cost, your budget goes into the finishes you see. Most Neutral Bay kitchens are on site for around three weeks, start to finish.
We come to your Neutral Bay apartment or home, measure carefully and check the plumbing and power. You get one fixed price covering every trade with no provisional sums. In a strata block we confirm lift bookings, stair access for walk-ups, work hours and common-area protection before locking anything in.
We settle the layout, door finishes, benchtop stone, handles and appliances, then order at trade cost. Once you sign off the design is fixed. In a compact apartment kitchen, this planning is what turns a tight footprint into a layout that actually works.
Cabinetry is built while we coordinate the trades in order. One in-house team means the plumber, sparky, tiler and painter are all ours, which matters in an older walk-up or a block with one shared lift. You get a firm start date and a realistic finish, usually around three weeks.
We remove the old kitchen, run new services, fit cabinetry and stone, tile, paint and connect appliances. We protect common areas, clean up thoroughly, walk you through everything and hand over your warranty paperwork and a finished kitchen.
Most Neutral Bay kitchens land between $20,000 and $55,000, with typical apartment jobs in the $25,000 to $45,000 mid-range. Because a lot of kitchens here are compact, the spend goes into quality joinery, stone and finishes rather than size. What moves the number is stone choice, laminate versus two-pac doors, and any layout change. Working in older walk-up blocks with stair-only access can add labour, which we factor in honestly. We give you one fixed-price quote with no provisional sums, so there are no surprises mid-job. Buying appliances at trade cost helps the budget stretch to better benchtops and cabinetry in a smaller footprint.
Once cabinets are manufactured and we start on site, a typical Neutral Bay kitchen runs around three weeks. We demolish first, rough in plumbing and electrical, fit cabinetry, template and install the stone, tile the splashback, paint and connect appliances. In older walk-up and strata blocks the work-hour rules and stair or single-lift access can shape the daily pace, but the overall timeline holds. The lead time before we start depends on cabinet manufacture and your finishes. Because we run one team across every trade, we are not waiting on outside subbies between stages, so the build stays predictable rather than dragging.
Yes, and we do a lot of them. The Art Deco and post-war walk-up blocks here are great buildings but they bring practical considerations: stair-only access, tight kitchens and strata rules about work hours, protecting common areas and giving neighbours notice. We sort the building manager and owners corporation requirements before we start and plan how materials come up the stairs. The kitchens are usually galley or one-wall layouts where the goal is more bench and storage without touching the waterproofed wet areas, which cannot legally be moved. As a licensed NSW contractor we supply the documentation strata managers require to keep approvals moving.
We are a family-run business, so the same people who quote your kitchen are the ones who finish it. Twelve years in, we know how to work in older walk-up and strata blocks with stair access and strata rules, and how to make a compact apartment kitchen genuinely work. One team handles cabinetry, tiling, plumbing, electrical and painting, which is a real advantage when access is limited and you do not want to coordinate five trades yourself. You get a fixed-price quote with no provisional sums, trade-cost appliances, a roughly three-week build and a licensed NSW contractor behind the work. We are Liverpool-based and the Lower North Shore is a regular run for us.
InsideOut Joinery & Renos is a family-run custom joinery and renovation business based in Liverpool, Sydney NSW 2170, serving homeowners Sydney-wide. Call 02 5000 0402 or email info@insideoutjoinery.au. One team covers every trade, with a typical 3-week turnaround, trade-cost appliances and 12 years of experience. Licensed contractor — licence 383725C, ABN 62 912 909 739.