Timber chosen for the climate, not the catalogue
Spotted gum and blackbutt for structure, western red cedar for anything exposed to wet and salt. We will tell you when a cheaper species will do the job and when it absolutely will not.
Workshop in Cairns ยท Building since 2009
About Timberapex: Premium Timber Home Builders
Timberapex designs and builds premium timber frame homes and cedar saunas across Australia from our base in Cairns, Queensland.
Our story
We started because too many timber homes were built badly
Timberapex began in a rented shed on the south side of Cairns with two carpenters, one ute and a pile of reject cypress that nobody else wanted. The first job was a 42 square metre cabin for a cane farmer at Babinda, and it is still standing without a single board replaced.
From there the work came the way it usually does up here: someone sees a veranda that has not twisted after eight wet seasons and asks who built it. By 2014 we had moved into our current workshop on Wharf Street and added our own drying racks, because relying on imported kiln-dried stock kept costing our clients money and time.
Today we run a crew of eleven, including two qualified joiners, an in-house designer and a project manager who has never once let a client find out about a delay from a subcontractor instead of from us.
- Owned and operated in Far North Queensland, not a franchise
- Every frame cut in our workshop, then test-fitted before delivery
- Fixed-scope quotes with the timber species, grade and finish written in
Wharf Street workshop, Cairns City
By the numbers
What sixteen years actually added up to
We keep these numbers because clients ask, and because they are the honest measure of whether a builder knows what they are doing in this climate.
240
homes, cabins and saunas completed
40
cyclone-rated frames signed off
9
years average client referral wait
0
frames shipped that failed test-fit
How we work
Four rules we do not bend
You can learn most of what matters about a builder from the things they refuse to do. These are ours.
One person answers your calls
Your project manager from first quote to final handover. No call centre, no handoff to someone who has never been on your block.
Prices written before work starts
Species, grade, moisture content, fixings, finish and freight all appear in the quote. Variations only happen if you ask for them.
We come back if something moves
Timber is a living material. If a door drops or a joint opens in the first two years, we fix it. That is not goodwill, it is how the trade should work.
From first call to keys
Our process, five steps and no surprises
The schedule below is what a typical home build looks like when the site is accessible and the weather behaves, which in the wet season it sometimes does not.
Check package pricing
Step 1
Site visit and honest conversation
We walk the block, check slope, drainage and access, and tell you straight away if the budget in your head does not match the site you own.
Step 2
Design and engineering
Our designer works with your plans or draws from scratch, and a certified engineer signs off on bracing, tie-downs and wind loading.
Step 3
Fixed quote with species named
You get a line-by-line quote. If you want to cut cost, we show you exactly which material swap saves what amount.
Step 4
Workshop cutting and dry test-fit
Every frame section goes together on our floor before it goes on a truck. Anything that does not close square gets re-cut here, not on your site.
Step 5
Install, finish and two-year check
We install, oil or stain, hand over the documents, then return at the two-year mark to look at how everything has settled.
Cedar lining, hand-finished bench seats
The material
Timber is predictable once you respect it
Most problems we get called out to fix on other people's work come down to moisture. Boards installed too wet shrink and split. Boards installed too dry swell and lift. We run our own moisture meter over every delivery and reject anything outside the range for the species and the job.
In Far North Queensland that matters more than it does in Melbourne. Ten wet months, salt in the air near the coast, and a sun that will bleach an unstained veranda in a single summer. We build for that, not for a brochure photo.
Cedar for wet areas
Natural oils, stable grain, handles steam and splash without treatment.
Hardwood for structure
Spotted gum and blackbutt carry the loads and hold their shape.
The crew
People who will actually be on your site
We are small on purpose. Everyone listed here has worked on our builds for at least four years, and you will meet all of them before the frame goes up.
Daniel Whitmore
Founder & lead builder
Twenty-two years on the tools, the last sixteen of them here. Runs the workshop and signs off on every frame.
Priya Raghavan
Design lead
Turns sketches and council rules into drawings the crew can build from. Also the person who tells you when a wall has to move.
Marcus Fielding
Project manager
Your single point of contact. Schedules trades, tracks deliveries and calls you before you have to call him.
Hannah Beckett
Joiner & finishing
Handles the detail work: benching, joinery, oiling and the last two percent that clients notice first.
We had three quotes for a cedar sauna and bathhouse. Timberapex was the only one that asked how often we would actually use it before they priced anything. Two years in, nothing has moved, nothing leaks, and the bench seats still look like the day they went in.
Trusted by
Independent, local, accountable
Timberapex is a family-owned Queensland company. We are not a network of franchisees and we do not subcontract the framing. If something is wrong on a job, the person who fixes it is the person whose name is on the contract.
- Queensland builder licence held by the company
- Public liability and contract works cover current
- All engineering certified before construction
What we build
Two things, done properly
We keep the range narrow so the quality stays high. Homes and saunas use different skills, and we have a dedicated crew for each.
Custom Timber Frame Homes
Full design and build for family homes, granny flats and off-grid cabins. Cyclone-rated frames, engineered tie-downs and a fixed quote before anyone picks up a saw. Most builds land between $1,850 and $2,650 per square metre depending on species and finish level.
See the home packages
Cedar Sauna and Bathhouse Construction
Western red cedar saunas, cold plunges and outdoor bathhouses, built to handle steam, salt and constant moisture. Standalone units start around $18,400 for a four-person barrel sauna, with full bathhouse builds from $46,000 including plumbing rough-in and heating.
See sauna builds and prices
From the journal
Things clients keep asking us
We write these up properly so you do not have to take our word for it on a phone call. Have a read, then ask us the harder questions.
All articles
Materials
Choosing Timber Species for a Hot and Humid Climate
Why spotted gum holds up better than merbau up here, what a moisture meter reading actually tells you, and which species we stopped specifying after one bad wet season.
Saunas
What Changes When You Build a Sauna Outdoors
Drainage, ventilation, roof overhang and why an outdoor sauna needs a different foundation to an indoor one. Plus the two mistakes we see on almost every DIY build.
Next step
Come see the workshop before you decide anything
We are on Wharf Street in Cairns City, and we are happy to show you a frame mid-build, the drying racks, and the actual timber we would use on your job. Bring your plans or just a rough idea of the budget.