Golden Beach, Sunshine Coast
Exterior painting in Golden Beach, on the Passage side of Caloundra.
Sheltered water out front, salt air all the same. Houses, townhouses and the older unit blocks, plus plenty of homes whose owners live somewhere else.
- Since 1985
- /Family-run, locally owned
- /Fully insured
- /Dulux + Taubmans accredited
- /Lead & asbestos qualified
Local context
What this work looks like in Golden Beach.
Golden Beach faces the Pumicestone Passage instead of the open surf, and that shapes most of the exterior work here. The sandspit at the top of Bribie Island keeps the big swell off the foreshore, but the air is still salty and the walls facing the water still wear first. It's also a suburb of owners who aren't always here. At the 2021 Census, one in five private dwellings in Golden Beach was empty on census night, and 29.1 percent of occupied homes were flats or apartments. So a lot of our quotes here go to someone in Brisbane, or to a body corporate committee, rather than the person standing in the yard.
What we watch for
Conditions that change the job here.
Most of the suburb went up from the 1960s, spreading south toward Bells Creek in the early 1970s, so plenty of the houses are now forty to sixty years old. Eaves that could pre-date 1990 get an asbestos test before we sand, and paint that could pre-date 1970 gets a lead test. Council describes the foreshore as generally protected from large surf, but salt still settles on the walls that face the Passage. Dulux recommends washing coastal paintwork every six months, against once a year inland. Bare galvanised iron and Zincalume, like gutters, balustrades and flashings, get a metal primer first, as Dulux specifies within one kilometre of the sea.
How it runs
What to expect.
Plenty of Golden Beach owners can't be on site, so we plan for that. The quote visit happens with you, your agent or your property manager, and the written scope comes with photos of every wall that needs more than a wash and two coats. During the job you get a photo update at the end of each stage, so you see the prep before the paint covers it. On a unit block we go through the committee first: colour approval, resident notices, and which balconies we need on which days. A standard house runs five to ten working days. A block takes longer, because the residents set the order of work.
Usually included
- Passage-facing walls washed and specced for salt, sheltered walls quoted lighter
- Photo updates at each stage for owners who live away
- Body corporate unit blocks, with committee colour approval first
- Asbestos test on eaves and lead test on old paint before any sanding
- Metal primer on bare galvanised iron and Zincalume near the water
Painting by the Passage
Sheltered water still brings salt to the wall.
Calm water, salty air
Council calls the Golden Beach foreshore generally protected from large surf. The walls facing the Passage still collect salt, so they’re washed before every coat and specced heavier than the sheltered side.
Older stock, tested first
Most of the suburb went up from the 1960s on. Eaves that could pre-date 1990 are tested for asbestos, and paint that could pre-date 1970 for lead, before anything is sanded.
Owners who live away
One in five dwellings stood empty on census night in 2021, so plenty of owners manage from somewhere else. You get a written scope, a photo of every problem wall, and an update at each stage.
How a Golden Beach job runs
Quote on site, report from site, finish on site.
01
Walk it with whoever's here.
You, your agent or your property manager. We go wall by wall, mark what faces the water, and note anything soft, flaking or due for a test.
02
Test, then put it in writing.
Asbestos and lead tests come back before the scope is final. The written quote names the prep for each wall, the system, the coats and how the high work is reached.
03
Wash the salt off, then prepare.
Every wall is washed, and the water-facing ones get more time, because paint over salt sits on salt. Then scrape, sand, fill and prime bare metal, with photos at the end of each stage.
04
Two coats and a photo walkthrough.
Two coats over the prep, then a daylight walkthrough with you, or a full photo set if you can’t get here. Touch-ups happen before we pack up.
For agents and property managers
Golden Beach rentals and owners at a distance.
Nearly a third of Golden Beach homes were rented at the 2021 Census. We take access through the property manager, give tenants notice of the dates, and send the before and after set with the invoice.
Common questions
What people ask before booking.
I live in Brisbane. Can you paint my Golden Beach house without me there?
Yes. We do the quote visit with your agent or property manager, or with you if you can get up for the day. You get a written scope with photos of anything that needs repair, then a photo update at the end of each stage. Nothing gets painted over before you’ve seen what the prep found.
Is the Passage side as hard on paint as a surf beach?
Not as hard, but harder than it looks. Council describes the Golden Beach foreshore as generally protected from large surf, so you don’t get the spray of an open beach. The air is still salty, though, and Dulux’s advice says salt and moisture in coastal air is corrosive. We spec the walls facing the water for that and wash them before every coat.
Our unit block in Golden Beach needs painting. Who do we deal with?
Usually the body corporate committee or the strata manager, and we’re used to both. The committee approves the colours first, ideally against the original scheme, and we give residents a notice with the dates and the balconies we need. Nearly three in ten occupied Golden Beach homes were flats or apartments at the 2021 Census, so it’s a regular job here.
My Golden Beach house was built in the 1970s. Is there anything to test?
Two things. Fibro eaves and soffits from before 1990 can contain asbestos, so we test before anyone sands. Queensland’s guidance says sound asbestos cement can be painted with care, but power tools and pressure blasters must never be used on it. Paint that could pre-date 1970 gets a lead test too. On a house that age we plan for both from the start.
The walls on my Golden Beach place leave white dust on my hand. What is that?
Most likely chalking. Dulux explains that sunlight breaks down some of the chemicals in paint and leaves a fine powder on the surface, and that it shows most on dark colours. Some of what comes off can be salt or dirt. Chalky paint isn’t peeling, so it can usually be washed, prepared and recoated rather than stripped.