FAQs.

Yes — Paddington is our home base, and we work across Red Hill, Bardon, Auchenflower, Toowong, Milton, Rosalie, Spring Hill, Ashgrove and the Brisbane CBD as a matter of course. If you're a little further out, just ask: we'll either say yes or tell you straight if travel makes the job uneconomic for you.

Yes. We hold QBCC Licence 1241313 (Queensland Building & Construction Commission) and carry public liability insurance for every job we run. The licence number is on every quote we issue, and we're happy to send a current insurance certificate before work starts if your property manager or strata committee needs it.

Almost all our work is fixed-price. We come and walk the job with you, write a fixed quote in plain English, and that's the price you pay. Hourly billing is reserved for true unknowns — investigation work, emergency callouts, or maintenance contracts where the scope can't be defined upfront. We don't trickle costs onto invoices that weren't on the quote.

No. Quoting is free — we visit the site, walk the work with you, and give you a written fixed quote within a few business days. There's no deposit charged for the visit and no obligation to accept. If you do go ahead, the colour consultation that comes with the quote is also free.

Bank transfer (preferred), credit card via Stripe, or cheque. We invoice progressively for larger jobs (typically a deposit on acceptance, a progress payment at a defined milestone, and the balance on completion); smaller jobs are invoiced on completion only. We don't ask for cash.

Standard is a 12-month defect period from practical completion — if a coat fails in normal use within that window (peeling, premature blistering, colour mismatch from a manufacturer batch issue) we come back and fix it at no charge. Wear-and-tear and customer damage aren't covered; manufacturer-defect repairs almost always are. The product itself is covered by the manufacturer warranty (typically 7-15 years on premium exterior systems).

Highly variable, but as a guide: a single interior room is usually 1–2 days; a typical 3-bedroom Queenslander interior is 5–10 days; a full exterior repaint of a similar house is 7–14 days depending on prep and weather. Commercial fit-outs and body-corporate work are quoted with a fixed program. The quote will tell you the start date, the day count, and the working hours.

Yes, in almost all cases. We work room-by-room or zone-by-zone, keep your sleeping rooms paint-free overnight, and use low-VOC paints that don't leave you with a headache. If you'd prefer to be out of the house entirely, we can program around that too — just say at the quote stage.

We move furniture for you. The crew brings drop sheets and protective covers; anything heavy gets shifted to the centre of the room and covered, anything fragile gets out of the way before we start. If you'd prefer to clear a room yourself we'll work with whatever you set up — just say so when we quote.

Ceilings get the same prep approach as walls — sand, fill any cracks, prime the bare patches, then two coats of a flat ceiling white (or a tinted off-white if that's your preference). Older Queenslander ceilings sometimes have battens or VJ boards that need extra prep; we'll flag those at the quote stage so there are no surprises in the invoice.

For most homes we use a low-sheen or matte on living-area walls (forgives imperfections, easy on the eye), semi-gloss on doors and trims (durable, washable), and flat on ceilings (no glare). Kitchens and bathrooms benefit from a low-sheen or semi-gloss because they wipe down easier. We talk through this on the walk-through — there's no one right answer, but there are wrong answers we'll steer you away from.

A single room is usually 1–2 days. A typical 3-bedroom interior runs 5–10 working days depending on prep needed and how many trades are stacked at once. The quote tells you the start date and the day count up front, and we stick to it — if weather or supply hits, we'll call you the morning of, not the day before.

Yes, in almost all cases. We work room-by-room or zone-by-zone, keep your sleeping rooms paint-free overnight, and use low-VOC paints that don't leave you with a headache. If you'd prefer to be out of the house entirely, we can program around that too — just say at the quote stage.

Minor patching, cracks and nail-pops are standard inclusions and aren't priced separately. Larger damage — water staining, plasterboard replacement, structural cracks — gets identified at the walk-through and quoted as an extra line. We'll never invoice repairs you didn't see coming.

Dulux, Wattyl or Taubmans, depending on the surface and the colour you've chosen. All Australian-made. We don't substitute generic equivalents to lift our margin — the brand and tint go on the quote and that's what gets opened on site. If you've got a strong preference for a particular brand or product line, just tell us at the quote stage.

Yes — included with any accepted quote. We'll either come back to walk through colours with you (preferred) or work through it over the phone with photos. The consult covers undertones, light direction, sheen choice, and how a colour you've fallen in love with on a chip will actually read on a wall.

April through October is the sweet spot — cooler temperatures, less afternoon humidity, fewer storms. Summer is workable too but we work earlier in the day to avoid the heat affecting drying times. We won't apply paint when rain is imminent or the substrate is still wet from a storm; we just call you that morning and reschedule the day.

Small repairs (replacing a piece of fascia, a few weatherboards, a deck plank) are part of what we do — the quote calls them out as separate line items so you can see the cost. For structural carpentry beyond that, we'll bring in a chippie we've worked with for years and project-manage that sub for you. We never paint over rot — that's the foundation of a coat that fails in 18 months.

Houses built before 1970 sometimes have lead-based paint in the older layers. We test if there's any doubt, and if it's positive we follow the WorkCover Queensland procedures for lead-safe removal — wet sanding, HEPA vacuums, full PPE, sealed waste disposal. The cost goes on the quote so you can see it; we don't surface it as a surprise later.

If the prep is done properly and we use the right product, yes. Modern exterior acrylics from Dulux Weathershield, Wattyl Solagard and Taubmans Tradex are engineered for Queensland conditions and carry 7-15 year warranties when applied to the manufacturer's spec. We apply to that spec — film thickness, recoat times, primer compatibility — so the warranty is real, not theoretical.

A typical 3-bedroom Queenslander or post-war house takes 7–14 working days depending on prep needed, weather and the size of the elevations. Multi-storey or larger homes scale up from there. The quote tells you the day count and start date; weather can push the finish out by a day or two, but we'll always call you that morning rather than ghosting.

Yes — eaves, fascia, gutters and downpipes are usually painted at the same time as the rest of the exterior so the house ages evenly and you don't end up with a beautifully painted weatherboard against a flaking gutter. If you only want some of these elements done, that's fine too; tell us on the quote walk-through.

We paint Colorbond and concrete-tile roofs — both involve a different prep approach (high-pressure wash, then a roof-specific primer and topcoat system) than the rest of the exterior, and we quote it as a separate line. Tiled roofs in particular need to be assessed for broken tiles or pointing before we paint, otherwise you've spent money on paint that won't fix the underlying problem.

Yes. Drop sheets and tarps over garden beds, drainage diverted away from anything sensitive, masking on windows and outdoor lights. We don't pressure-wash near power outlets or weak masonry. If you've got something specific you want protected (a sandstone path, an outdoor kitchen, a child's cubby), point it out at the quote and we'll make a plan for it.

Yes — most office, retail and body-corp jobs we run are out-of-hours work. Evenings, weekends, public holidays. We use low-odour, low-VOC paint systems so the space is occupiable the next morning, and we leave the area cleaner than we found it. The quote shows the after-hours hours separately so you can see what you're paying for.

Yes — public liability cover and current Queensland WorkCover. Certificates are on file and we send them with every quote. If your building manager or strata committee needs higher limits than our standard $20m policy, we'll arrange a job-specific extension and include it in the quote price.

Body-corp work runs through the committee or strata manager. We attend a committee meeting if helpful, send a fixed proposal with scope, program, price and certificates, then work to whatever decision-and-sign-off process you've got. During the job we report progress weekly to a single nominated contact, and we don't deviate from the agreed scope without written approval.

Yes — see our intumescent coatings page for the full detail. Commercial fit-outs needing fire-rated paint on structural steel get a documented application, dry-film thickness records, and a compliance certificate at handover. Most office and retail fit-outs don't need this; some warehouse and mezzanine projects do. We'll flag it at the walk-through.

For small commercial jobs (a single retail fit-out, a 5-room office repaint) usually within 2–3 weeks of an accepted quote. Larger programs need longer lead time so we can resource the crew properly. If you're up against a tenancy deadline or a hard opening date, tell us at the quote stage and we'll either confirm the date or tell you straight if it's not realistic.

Yes. Every commercial job ends with a handover pack: scope-of-work confirmation, paint specifications used (with batch numbers where applicable), insurance certs that were in force, and any compliance certificates the products required (intumescent DFT, anti-graffiti coatings, food-grade in commercial kitchens, etc.). It's there so you can answer your auditor or insurer in one email.

Standard is a 12-month defect period from practical completion — if a coat fails in normal use within that window (peeling, premature blistering, colour mismatch from a manufacturer batch issue) we come back and fix it at no charge. Wear-and-tear and customer damage aren't covered; manufacturer-defect repairs almost always are.

Yes. We'll send references from commercial property managers and body corps we've worked with on jobs of similar scale to yours. Where the reference is from a publicly accessible building, we can also walk you through the finished work in person if it helps the committee make a decision.

Intumescent paint is a fire-rated coating applied to structural steel. Under fire it swells dramatically (often 50× its dry thickness) and forms an insulating char layer that slows the steel's temperature rise. The Building Code of Australia mandates a fire-resistance level (FRL) for steel members in many buildings; intumescent paint is one accepted way to meet that FRL. If it's required for your build, your fire engineer or certifier will have specified it.

Because the fire-resistance rating is engineered around a specific DFT for a given steel section. Apply less than spec and the rating doesn't hold; apply much more and you waste product or risk poor adhesion. We log per-element DFT during application using a calibrated gauge, and the records go in the handover pack so the certifier can verify compliance without re-testing.

Yes. Intumescent paint is functional, not decorative — most products are off-white. Where the steel will be visible we apply a compatible topcoat (specified by the intumescent manufacturer to maintain fire performance) in the colour the architect or interior designer has chosen. The topcoat goes on after the intumescent has fully cured and been DFT-tested.

Both. Workshop application is generally faster and cleaner — the steel arrives on site already coated. On-site application is needed for tie-in welds, retrofits, and elements that can't be coated before erection. We do both; the program in the quote will tell you which approach we're taking and why.

We work with the main intumescent systems supplied into Australia — Promat, Nullifire, Jotun, Hempel, and a few others depending on what your fire engineer has specified. The product is normally chosen by the engineer to match the FRL and exposure category; we apply whatever they've spec'd, not whatever we have on the shelf.

Yes — that's most of why intumescent jobs cost what they do. Every application records substrate conditions, ambient conditions, product batch numbers, and per-element DFT readings, and the handover includes the manufacturer's certificate of conformance plus our application record. Your certifier should be able to sign off the FRL component without needing additional inspections.

We coordinate. If the engineer wants random DFT testing, third-party inspection, or sample destructive testing on a coupon, we set that up at the program stage so it doesn't hold up handover. The cost goes on the quote. We've worked with most of the Brisbane consulting fire engineers and know how each of them likes the verification handled.

The product warranty comes from the manufacturer (typically 10–25 years for the fire performance, subject to environmental conditions). Our application warranty is 12 months for adhesion and finish defects. The two together — manufacturer product cover plus our application cover — is what the certifier and the long-term owner are looking for.

Most contracts cover an annual or 2-yearly inspection of all painted elements, a written report identifying what needs touch-up versus full re-coat, and a budgeted allowance for the work itself — typically split between routine refresh (lobbies, stair wells, doors) and one-off remedial work (graffiti, water damage, vehicle damage to bollards). The exact scope is agreed at the start of each year so you've got cost certainty.

Depends on exposure and use. Sun-exposed exteriors typically need a full re-coat every 7–12 years if maintained, longer if not visibly fading. High-traffic interior elements (lobbies, hallways, corridors) need refresh every 3–5 years. Doors, skirtings and trim on heavy-use spaces often want a yearly touch-up. We assess each element at the inspection and recommend accordingly.

Yes — usually as a call-out service with a fixed response time (typically 48 hours). If the building is in a graffiti-prone area we'll often recommend an anti-graffiti clear coat on lower wall elements, which lets us pressure-wash off paint hits without re-painting. The clear coat is a small upfront cost that saves a lot of weekend call-out fees.

We're flexible. We run contracts as small as a 4-unit body corporate (a few hundred dollars a year) and as large as a multi-building commercial portfolio (low five figures a year). The contract is sized to the building, not the other way around. If you're not sure whether a maintenance contract makes sense, we'll do a free initial inspection and tell you straight.

Most clients prefer a fixed annual fee covering inspection, reporting, and a defined work allowance, with anything beyond the allowance billed at agreed hourly rates. Some prefer pure per-job billing with a free annual inspection. Either model works; we'll structure whichever is easier for the body-corp committee or the commercial finance team to budget.

Yes — every contract has a single point of contact at your end (building manager, strata manager, or facilities lead) and a single point of contact at our end. Inspection scheduling, work scheduling, after-hours access, key handovers, all run through those two contacts. Committee or board members get reports through the contact, not direct.

Standard is 48 hours for non-urgent work and 24 hours for urgent (graffiti on a public-facing wall, vehicle damage to a structural element, water-damaged ceiling). Genuine emergencies get same-day response where physically possible. The contract spells these times out so there's no debate when something goes wrong.

In our experience, almost always yes — typically 20-40% cheaper across a 5-year window. The savings come from avoiding emergency call-out rates, batching small jobs together, getting bulk paint pricing, and catching problems before they become substrate damage. We're happy to show the working at the start of the contract so you can see the comparison numbers.

Yes — included with every accepted quote at no extra charge. We'll come back to walk through colours with you, bring sample pots if you want to try a few in-situ, and write the palette decisions up so you've got something to refer to. The free version is for clients we're painting for; if you want a consultation without booking work yet, see the next question.

Yes. Standalone colour consultations run at a flat fee (around $250 for a typical 3-bedroom home, more for larger or multi-storey houses). The fee covers an on-site walk-through, palette recommendations, and a written summary. If you book the painting work afterwards, we credit the consultation fee back against the job — so it costs nothing if you do go ahead.

Walk the rooms in natural light, look at how the existing flooring, furniture and fixtures sit together, identify the undertones already in the space (warm/cool, yellow/grey/pink), recommend three to five colours that will work, and explain why each one will or won't read the way you want. Then we put sample boards or sample-pot patches up on the actual walls so you can see them in your light, not the showroom's.

No strong allegiance — Dulux, Wattyl and Taubmans all make excellent paint. Each brand has signature palettes that work better in certain rooms (Dulux for whites and neutrals, Wattyl for richer warm tones, Taubmans for bold accents) and we'll guide you to whichever brand suits the colour story you want. The application performance is more brand-driven than the colour itself; we'll tell you the practical differences as well.

Happy to do that — bring out the chips or the colour names and we'll walk through them with you in the rooms they're going in. Sometimes the answer is 'yes, perfect'; sometimes it's 'almost, but go one step warmer'; occasionally it's 'this one is going to read badly under this room's light, here's why'. We'll always explain the reasoning so you can decide for yourself.

Heritage palettes need extra care because the colour names you're working from (federation green, colonial cream, Queenslander red) aren't standardised across brands and don't always match the period authentically. We can match an existing colour from a sample (a hidden patch behind a switch plate, or a small chip), recommend Dulux Heritage or Resene Heritage range for period-appropriate colours, and advise on how the colour will weather differently from a modern formulation.

Both — depending on the wall and the room. A feature wall behind a bedhead, fireplace, or in a powder room often works beautifully; a feature wall on a poorly-lit hallway end almost always looks worse than a single colour through. We'll tell you which side of that line your room sits on. Either way, we'll cut a clean line at the edge and not let the feature paint bleed into the surrounds.