House painters in Warrandyte

Homes in Warrandyte

Victoria’s first official gold discovery was made at Anderson’s Creek in Warrandyte in 1851, and a few early cottages and stone buildings still stand around the old township by the river. From the 1950s onwards, artists and owner-builders added homes that suited the bush: mud brick, recycled timber and local stone, with exposed beams, big windows and wide decks.

Many homes are clad in timber, from weatherboards to rough-sawn boards and cedar, often finished in a stain or oil rather than paint. Most sit on steep blocks with long driveways under the trees. Much of Warrandyte is a designated Bushfire Prone Area, so newer homes and extensions are built to the bushfire construction standard, AS 3959.

On a Warrandyte home, the paint work is usually in the timber: windows and doors set into mud brick or stone, fascias and barge boards, decks, pergolas and the cladding itself.

What to look for on a Warrandyte repaint

• Bushfire overlays. Many Warrandyte properties are in a Bushfire Management Overlay, which mainly controls new buildings and works. If a repaint is part of a bigger job, such as a new deck or replacement cladding, check with the City of Manningham first.
• Stained and oiled timber. Rough-sawn cladding and decks finished in stain or oil wear by fading, not peeling. Recoating keeps the natural look; switching to paint is a bigger change that is hard to undo.
• Mud brick and stone. Mud brick and stone are usually left natural, not painted. The timber frames, doors and beams set into them are what need attention, and they are prepared and painted by hand.
• Steep sites and slow drying. Steep blocks and long driveways make access the first thing to plan, under OH&S procedures. Shaded timber dries slowly after rain, so the schedule follows the forecast.