Painting a Californian Bungalow in St Kilda, Elwood and Balaclava

St Kilda is best known for its Victorian terraces and Art Deco flats, but mixed in through St Kilda East, Elwood and Balaclava are streets of interwar Californian bungalows. Built mostly in the 1910s to 1930s, they are some of the most loved houses in the area, with their deep verandahs, broad gables and solid proportions. They also have a set of features that catch out painters who treat them like any other house.

Here is what to know before you repaint one.

What makes a bungalow different

A typical bungalow combines several materials on one facade. There is often face brick, either red or dark clinker, on the base of the walls and the verandah piers. Above it you may find roughcast or pebbledash render on the gables, piers or upper walls. The gable ends themselves are frequently filled with timber shingles, battens or boarding. The eaves are deep, with exposed rafter tails, and the windows are timber casements or double hungs, many of them with leadlight.

Some bungalows are weatherboard throughout, with the same gables, verandahs and joinery. Either way, the result is a lot of edges, a lot of timber end grain and several different surfaces that each need their own preparation and coating.

Face brick: usually leave it alone

The most important decision on many bungalows is what not to paint. Original face brick was meant to be seen, it needs no maintenance coating, and once it is painted it is very hard to go back. Painted brick also has to be repainted for the life of the house.

On heritage-listed or overlay properties, painting previously unpainted brick can need council approval, and much of the City of Port Phillip sits under a heritage overlay. If you are tempted to paint the brick to modernise the look, check with council first and talk it through with us. Often a fresh scheme on the render and timber does more for the house than painting the brick ever would.

Roughcast and pebbledash render

Roughcast is textured render with a coarse, stony surface, and it is a lot of surface area for its size. It soaks up more paint than smooth render and needs a roller with a long nap or brushing to get coating into every hollow. Spraying is sometimes used, but only with careful masking near the brick and timber.

Near the bay, roughcast also collects salt and grime in its texture. It needs a thorough wash and a good dry-out before painting, and any drummy or blown sections should be cut out and patched to match the texture. A breathable masonry paint suits it far better than a thick membrane that traps moisture. Our Render and Masonry Painting service covers this preparation.

Shingles, battens and gable timber

Gable shingles and battens are the bungalow features that weather fastest. They face the sky, they have joints everywhere, and the bottom edge of each shingle holds water. Paint on them tends to crack and lift well before the walls below need attention.

We scrape and sand back to a sound edge, replace any split or rotten shingles rather than filling them, prime bare timber and finish with a flexible exterior system. Because the gables sit high, they are often the part that needs a platform or scaffold, so it pays to do them at the same time as the rest of the house.

Eaves, rafters and verandahs

Exposed rafter tails are end grain, and end grain drinks water. Each one needs to be checked, filled or repaired where soft, and sealed properly. Deep bungalow eaves also tend to hold mould on the shaded side, which has to be washed off and treated before any paint goes on.

Verandah posts, beams and timber floors take hard wear and full sun. Verandah boards in particular may need a floor-grade coating rather than wall paint. The timber work generally falls under our Weatherboard Restoration and Repaint service.

Windows and leadlight

Bungalow windows are a big part of the character. Timber sashes need careful scraping and sanding, and leadlight panels need masking and gentle handling, because the lead cames and old putty do not like pressure washers or heat guns. Any glazing putty that has failed should be replaced before painting so the new coat seals the joint.

Lead and asbestos

Every bungalow in the area was first painted long before 1970, so assume lead in the older layers until tested. We prepare those surfaces with wet methods and containment, in line with the approach in our guide to lead paint in pre-1970 St Kilda homes.

Some bungalows also had sleep-outs or rear additions clad in fibre cement sheet, and fibre cement from before the 1990s may contain asbestos. It should not be sanded or water-blasted. If we see it, we will flag it and recommend testing before preparation.

Choosing colours

Interwar bungalows have a recognisable palette: creams, buffs and stone tones on render, set against deeper browns, greens or reds on the timber trims and window frames. Many owners now choose a lighter, more contemporary scheme, which can work well as long as the brick and roof colours are part of the decision. Our guide to choosing heritage colours for bayside period homes walks through how to build a scheme around the fixed elements.

Cost and timing

Bungalows sit across our usual ranges. A full exterior repaint of a single-storey weatherboard bungalow commonly runs about $10,000 to $18,000, while a larger rendered bungalow with extensive repairs, or a full repaint inside and out, can sit higher. The detail and preparation, not the wall area, are what drive the price. Our Heritage and Period-Home Repaints service is built around exactly that kind of work.

Getting a quote

Send us a photo of the front of the house and tell us what is peeling or tired. We will inspect the brick, render and timber, flag anything that should be left unpainted, and give you a fixed written quote anywhere in St Kilda, Elwood, Balaclava, St Kilda East and Middle Park.