Moffat Beach, Sunshine Coast
Exterior painting in Moffat Beach, for the old beach houses and the new.
The fibro beach houses that are left, the older timber homes, and the newer builds going up beside them. Each one needs a different exterior quote.
- Since 1985
- /Family-run, locally owned
- /Fully insured
- /Dulux + Taubmans accredited
- /Lead & asbestos qualified
Local context
What this work looks like in Moffat Beach.
In 1940 Moffat Beach was little more than bushland. Within twenty years it was a holiday spot full of modest beach shacks, a lot of them fibro. Some of those houses are still here, standing next to newer homes on blocks where the old place came down. The 2021 Census counted 75.3 percent of occupied Moffat Beach homes as separate houses. Painting one of the old ones is a different job from painting the house next door, so the first thing we check is what the walls are made of.
What we watch for
Conditions that change the job here.
Fibro is the big one. Sheeting from before 1990 can contain asbestos, so it gets tested before anyone touches it. Queensland's guidance says sound asbestos cement can be painted with care, but power tools, sanders and pressure blasters must never be used on it. So a fibro house in Moffat is washed at low pressure and prepped by hand. Broken or crumbling sheets are a removal question, and more than 10 square metres of bonded sheeting needs a licensed removalist. Moffat Head shelters the beach from southerly winds, but the houses near the water still take salt on their seaward walls, and those get washed harder and specced heavier.
How it runs
What to expect.
We walk the house first and work out what it's made of, wall by wall. On a fibro house the test goes out before anything else, and the prep plan is written around the result. Sound fibro gets a low-pressure wash, hand scraping and hand sanding, then a sealer and two coats. Timber gets the usual routine: loose paint off, soft boards replaced, and a lead test on paint that could pre-date 1970. A newer house is simpler and quicker. Most single houses take five to ten working days, and a house that's fibro all the way round sits at the long end.
Usually included
- Asbestos test on fibro walls and eaves before any prep
- Hand prep and low-pressure washing on sound fibro
- Lead test on timber paint that could pre-date 1970
- Heavier system on seaward walls near the headland
- Newer builds quoted as a straight repaint
Know the wall first
On a Moffat Beach house, the cladding decides the prep.
Fibro is tested first
Sheeting from before 1990 can contain asbestos. It’s tested before anything is touched, and sound sheets are prepped by hand with no sanders or pressure blasters anywhere near them.
Timber gets the full routine
Older timber homes get a lead test on old paint, soft boards replaced, and loose paint taken back to a sound edge before the first coat goes on.
New builds are simpler
A newer house on a rebuilt block needs less repair. It gets a wash, fill, sand and spot-prime, and the system is picked for its cladding rather than borrowed from the shack next door.
How a Moffat job runs
Test the walls, then plan the prep around them.
01
Name every surface.
Fibro, timber, render or new cladding. We mark each wall on the quote visit, because each one gets a different preparation and a different price.
02
Send the samples off.
Fibro that could pre-date 1990 and paint that could pre-date 1970 are tested before work starts. The prep plan is written around what comes back.
03
Prep by hand where it counts.
Sound fibro is washed at low pressure and hand-scraped. Timber is sanded back to sound, soft boards are replaced, and bare timber is primed.
04
Coat the sea side heavier.
Seaward walls get the heavier system and sheltered walls the standard one. Two coats, then a daylight walk around the house before we pack up.
For agents and property managers
Moffat Beach sales and leases, on file.
About three in ten Moffat Beach homes were rented at the 2021 Census. On a fibro house we put the test results in the file with the before and after photos, so the next buyer or tenant can see what was done.
Common questions
What people ask before booking.
Can you paint a fibro beach house in Moffat without pulling the sheeting off?
Usually, yes. Queensland’s asbestos guidance says sound asbestos cement can be painted with the usual care. The rule is no power tools, no sanders and no pressure blasters on it. We test first, then wash at low pressure and prepare by hand. Cracked or broken sheets are different, and we’ll tell you if a wall needs a licensed removalist before it needs a painter.
Why does hand prep on fibro add to the price?
Because it takes longer. A sander or a pressure washer would be faster, but neither can go near asbestos cement. Scraping and sanding by hand, with the dust kept down, adds days on a house that’s fibro all the way round. We price it as its own line so you can see exactly what the sheeting adds.
We're keeping the old Moffat shack. Is it worth repainting?
If the sheeting and the frame are sound, yes. A repaint protects what’s there, and we’ll tell you honestly if a wall is past painting. A staged job works well on these houses too: the seaward walls first, and the sheltered side the following season.
Does Moffat Head protect my house from the weather?
Partly. Moffat Head shelters the beach from southerly winds, which is why the point break works. Houses close to the water still take salt on their seaward walls, though. Dulux recommends washing coastal paintwork every six months, and the walls facing the sea are the ones to keep up with.
My Moffat Beach house is a newer build. What does a repaint involve?
Less repair and about the same preparation. On a newer rendered or clad house we wash, fill, sand and spot-prime, then put on two coats. A fresh render patch needs 28 days to cure before paint. The bigger choice is usually colour. Dulux says dark colours take on more heat and UV, so a dark house facing the sea needs a dark-colour product and extra coats.