The Casey trades that work alongside an alfresco build.

A modern alfresco isn’t a roof — it’s a roof, a kitchen, a gas service, an electrical run and a finished decking floor stitched together. On a typical Cranbourne build these are the trades we coordinate with and the order they sequence in.

Decking & outdoor flooring.

The deck builder comes in after our posts are landed but before the roof lining and ceiling fans go up — that way they can swing decking boards into place without working over our finished ceiling. We’ve worked with Pakenham Decking across the Cranbourne and Officer corridor on a lot of alfresco-and-deck combinations. Their bearer height comes in to clear our pad footings, their joists run at 450mm centres which matches the spacing we work to, and they leave 5mm expansion gaps around our posts so the deck doesn’t bind when the timber moves. The right deck builder makes our finished work look better — a bad one leaves gaps and chips around the posts that you stare at every time you sit outside.

Carport & outdoor structures.

A lot of Cranbourne owners doing an alfresco are also weighing up a carport or a covered side-access roof. The roof profile, Colorbond colour, gutter and fascia detail all want to match across the property — otherwise the back yard reads as unrelated builds. For the carport side we coordinate with Cardinia Carports on combined projects across the Casey/Cardinia boundary — they handle the structural steel and we handle the kitchen-end finishings. They build to the same AS/NZS 1170.2 wind-loading standard so the engineering line continues across both structures without a weak link. Matched roof pitch and matched Colorbond is the easiest single decision to make a back yard look intentional.

Indoor kitchen renovators.

Outdoor kitchens work best when the indoor kitchen flows into them — same finishes, same cabinet handles, same bench height where the layout allows. If you’re doing both renovations at the same time, the kitchen renovator’s spec influences ours (bench colour, cabinet pulls, tap finishes) and our build influences theirs (sliding-door width to the alfresco, indoor-outdoor sight lines). On combined jobs we coordinate with Pakenham Kitchen Renovations on the indoor side so the two builds finish to the same brief. One Caesarstone slab, two installations, one supplier — colour-matched, no thermal expansion mismatch between indoor and outdoor bench sections.

Licensed gas-fitter.

Every BBQ, pizza oven, wok burner and side burner needs a properly-sized gas line and a Victorian gas compliance certificate. The gas-fitter sizes the line off the appliance schedule — a 4-burner BBQ at 50 MJ/hr plus a pizza oven at 60 MJ/hr needs a heavier line than a standalone BBQ. We finalise the appliance list before the gas-fitter quotes so there’s no “sorry, the line’s too small for the oven you just bought” conversation a month later. About 70% of our alfresco builds include gas work.

Licensed electrician.

Ceiling fans, weatherproof power, LED downlights, exhaust ducting for an outdoor kitchen range hood — all need RCD-protected outdoor circuits and a Victorian electrical compliance certificate. The sparky cables before the ceiling lining goes up, not after.

Alfresco builds in Cranbourne touch four or five different standards depending on what’s included — structural, gas, electrical, glazing if there’s a window. These are the references we lodge under on every job.

• City of Casey — building permits, siting overlays, setback minimums, neighbour notification on jobs within 1m of a boundary. casey.vic.gov.au
• Victorian Building Authority (VBA) — registered builder lookup. Any alfresco build over $10K must be done by a registered builder. Verify before paying a deposit. vba.vic.gov.au
• AS/NZS 1170.2 — Wind actions — the structural loading standard for any roof we frame. Cranbourne sits in Region A2, terrain category 2. Posts, footings and roof connections are sized off this. Standards Australia
• AS 5601 — Gas installations — the install standard for every gas line, fitting and appliance. All gas work needs a Victorian gas compliance certificate issued by a licensed gas-fitter. Standards Australia
• AS/NZS 3000 — Wiring rules — the standard every outdoor electrical run is wired to. RCD protection, IP-rated fittings, weatherproof outlets. Electrical compliance certificate from a licensed sparky on every job. Standards Australia
• Housing Industry Association (HIA) — industry body with technical guides on outdoor-living build sequences and contract templates. hia.com.au

The trade ecosystem is half the picture — the build spec and appliance choice is the other half. These pages cover the options we install most often on Cranbourne jobs.

• Alfresco areas — roof structure, ceiling fans, lighting
• Outdoor kitchens — full builds, benches, cabinetry
• BBQ installations — gas, electric, built-in
• Pizza ovens — wood-fired and gas, freestanding and built-in
• Outdoor bars — bar fridges, wine storage, taps
• Cranbourne alfresco builds — primary service area
• All City of Casey — Berwick, Narre Warren, Hampton Park, Endeavour Hills