01
Timber fretwork and gable detail
Thin, exposed, end-grain, and the first element to go. We prime cut ends properly rather than coating over them, which is what gets it past the first hot summer.
Painters in
Camberwell.
Our own suburb. Federation red brick, Californian bungalows and the odd Victorian near the Junction — we have spent more time on ladders here than anywhere else.
Camberwell
The houses
around us.
Camberwell is where the studio is based, so this is the stock we know best. Between the Junction and Riversdale Road it runs mostly Federation and Edwardian — red brick with roughcast render in the gables, white timber fretwork, terracotta tile roofs and leadlight in the front windows.
That combination is unusually demanding to paint well. The fretwork is thin, exposed and almost always the first thing to fail, because it is end-grain timber standing proud of the wall with weather on three sides. Roughcast render holds dirt and chalked-out old paint in a way flat render does not, so it wants proper washing and a stabilising primer rather than a coat straight over the top.
The leadlight is the part people worry about, and fairly. Putty lines against leadlight have to be cut by hand. There is no way to mask them that does not either leave a gap short of the glass or pull the glazing compound when the tape comes off. It is slow, and it is the difference between a window that looks restored and one that looks painted around.
On these houses
What we watch for
in Camberwell.
02
Roughcast render
It traps dirt and chalked old paint in the texture. Washed down and stabilised before anything decorative goes on, or the new coat lifts with the old one still attached.
03
Leadlight surrounds
Cut by hand against the lead came. No tape shortcut, because tape either stops short of the glass or lifts the putty on removal.
What we do here
All four service lines,
across Camberwell.
Heritage & period
Victorian, Edwardian and Federation homes. Lead-safe preparation, period-appropriate colour, and the slow detail work that stock demands.
Luxury interiors
Panelling, joinery, specialist finishes and full repaints. Minimum three coats, and the preparation that makes three coats worth applying.
Exteriors
Render, weatherboard, brick and trim, specified for a Melbourne year rather than for a Melbourne week.
Commercial & strata
Retail, offices and common property. Staged around trading hours and left clean at the end of every shift.
Nearby
We work
next door too.
Next step
Tell us about the house.
Send through a few photos and what you have in mind. We will come back within one business day with an honest read on the work, the timing and the range it sits in.