Caloundra, Sunshine Coast
Restoring Caloundra's pre-war beach cottages.
The old timber stock at Kings Beach and Moffat, where heritage detail and full salt exposure land on the same wall.
- Since 1985
- /Family-run, locally owned
- /Fully insured
- /Dulux + Taubmans accredited
- /Lead & asbestos qualified
Local context
What this work looks like in Caloundra.
Caloundra's premium work is mostly the old beach cottages, and they're a harder problem than a hinterland Queenslander. A house at Kings Beach or Moffat has the same pre-war timber detail as one in Maleny, but it's sitting in salt air that never lets up. So you're doing heritage prep and coastal specification on the same building, and the two pull in different directions. The traditional finish someone wants on a 1930s cottage isn't always the one that will survive twenty metres from the water.
What we watch for
Conditions that change the job here.
Coast-facing walls at Kings Beach and Moffat take real salt loading, so those elevations get a heavier system than the sheltered sides of the same house. We spec them separately rather than treating the building as one surface. Older fibrocement eaves on the streets set back from the water sometimes need an asbestos test before anything disturbs them. Pre-war timber here has usually been repainted many times over, and the lower layers need a lead test before we sand.
How it runs
What to expect.
The quote starts with testing rather than measuring. Lead on the older timber, asbestos on any fibrocement eaves, and both need to come back before we can price the job properly. We also map the exposure while we are there, marking which walls face the water and which do not, because those get different systems. Testing can add a week to the front of the job, so tell us early if you have a date in mind. Finding out on the first morning is what actually causes delays.
Usually included
- Heavier coating system on coast-facing walls, standard spec elsewhere
- Lead testing on pre-war timber before any sanding
- Asbestos testing on older fibrocement eaves before disturbance
- Heritage detail work on gables, brackets and verandah timbers
Heritage in salt air
Two problems that pull in opposite directions.
The look and the system can differ
Colour and detail stay traditional. What goes underneath does not. A heritage range over a modern exterior system gets the 1930s look without repainting every four years.
One house, two specifications
A wall facing the water at Moffat takes salt and driving rain a rear wall never sees. The same system on both means one fails early or the other is overspent.
Testing sits ahead of measuring
Lead in the pre-war timber, asbestos in older fibrocement eaves. Both results have to come back before the job can be priced properly rather than guessed at.
How a beach cottage runs
The first week is testing, not painting.
01
Get the samples away.
Lead on the older timber, asbestos on any fibrocement eaves. Testing can add a week to the front of the job, so tell us early if you have a date in mind.
02
Map the exposure.
We mark which walls face the water and which do not while we are on site. Those two groups get different systems, and that map is what the quote is built on.
03
Find the original colour.
It usually survives somewhere protected, inside a cupboard, behind a downpipe, under a verandah architrave. Looking is cheaper than guessing from a fan deck.
04
Prep the detail by hand.
Gables, brackets and verandah timbers on a pre-war cottage get hand work. The salt spec changes the products, not the care the detail needs.
05
Build the exposed walls heavier.
Coast-facing elevations get the heavier system and sheltered sides get the standard one. That difference is deliberate and it is written on the quote.
Work in Caloundra
View all projects →Common questions
What people ask before booking.
Why quote one wall differently to the rest of the house?
Because they’re not doing the same job. A wall facing the water at Moffat takes salt and driving rain that a rear wall never sees, and putting the same system on both means one fails early or you overspend on the other. Two specs on one house is normal here.
Can a heritage look survive this close to the beach?
Mostly. The colour and the detail can stay traditional; it’s the product underneath that has to change. We’ll use a heritage colour range with a modern exterior system beneath it, which gets you the look without repainting every four years.
When does an asbestos test get triggered?
Any time we’re disturbing fibrocement on a pre-1990 house, which around here usually means eaves and soffits. If the material tests positive we don’t sand it, and the work goes to a licensed removalist before we paint. We’d rather find that out at quote stage than on day one.
Will you match a colour off the original house?
Usually we can. Original colour often survives somewhere protected, inside a cupboard, behind a downpipe, or under a verandah architrave. We’ll go looking before we start guessing from a fan deck. On a pre-war cottage that’s often the difference between a repaint that looks right and one that looks new.