House painters for Auckland homes

What house painting covers here

We repaint the outside and inside of Auckland houses, starting on the North Shore: weatherboard, plaster and brick exteriors, interior walls, ceilings and trim, and small commercial buildings. Roofs, fences and decks are separate jobs that are not quoted here. Every job starts with a look at the surfaces, because prep decides how long the paint lasts.

• Exterior repaints

  Weatherboard, plaster and brick. Washing, scraping, spot-priming and two finish coats.

• Interior painting

  Walls, ceilings, trim and wallpapered rooms, with low-VOC paint and the textured ceiling check.

• Weatherboards, villas and bungalows

  Board profiles, where paint fails first, and why old villas take longer.

• Lead paint in older homes

  Wet methods, containment and clean-up for houses from the 1980s or earlier.

• Preparation

  Washing, scraping, sanding, filling and priming, and keeping wash water out of drains.

• Commercial painting

  Offices, shops and body corporate buildings of a domestic scale.

• What painting costs

  Published Auckland ranges by house size and surface, and what pushes a price up.

How a painting quote works

We come out, look at the surfaces and give you a written quote. A useful quote names each surface, the prep it needs, the primer and paint system, and the number of coats. That detail is what lets you compare two quotes fairly, because the cheapest one often leaves out prep.

1. Tell us about the house. Suburb, rough size, when it was built and what needs painting.
2. Site visit. Surfaces checked for flaking, rot, chalking, and the age of the paint.
3. Written quote. Surfaces, prep, paint system, coats, timing and price, line by line.
4. Prep and paint. Drains covered, old paint handled safely, then primer and finish coats.

Older houses: lead paint and asbestos

Plenty of North Shore houses predate 1980, and their paint history matters. WorkSafe advises presuming lead-based paint in buildings from the 1980s or earlier, and houses built before 2000 can contain asbestos in textured ceilings, soffits and fibre-cement cladding. Both change how old paint is removed and cleaned up.

• Wet scraping and wet sanding keep lead dust down. Dry sanding is not recommended without dust extraction, and open flame is out.
• Sanding, wire-brushing and water blasting are never used on material that may contain asbestos. If it is suspected, work stops until it is tested.
• Paint chips and dust are collected, bagged and kept out of gardens and stormwater drains.

When to book a repaint

Spring is when most Auckland homeowners start looking for painters, so diaries fill from September. Exterior paint needs dry surfaces and no rain forecast while it cures, which gives the drier months the edge. Interiors can be done all year. Booking early in spring gives the widest choice of dates.

Signs the outside is due: paint that leaves a chalky white mark on your finger, fine cracks at board ends, peeling on the sunny walls, or bare timber at sills and window heads. Catching it at that stage keeps the job to a repaint rather than a full strip.

Asked before a repaint

How much does it cost to paint a house in Auckland?

Published Auckland figures for repainting the outside of a three-bedroom, single-storey house run from about $5,000 to $15,500, with most between $8,000 and $14,000. Two-storey homes and villas cost more. Prep, access and the number of coats move the price most. See the cost guide for the full table.

How long does an exterior repaint last?

BRANZ puts the usual exterior repaint cycle at around 7 to 10 years for timber. Sunny north and west walls, salt spray near the coast, dark colours and rushed prep all shorten it. Washing the house once a year helps the paint reach the longer end.

Do I need a building consent to repaint my house?

Repainting is maintenance, which normally falls under the building consent exemptions, though the finished work must still satisfy the Building Code. Scheduled heritage places in the Auckland Unitary Plan are different: painting a surface that was never painted, or water blasting, can need resource consent. Ask Auckland Council if your house is scheduled.

Is there lead paint in my house?

WorkSafe advises presuming lead-based paint in any building put up in the 1980s or earlier. Older layers often sit under modern paint, so a recent repaint does not rule it out. A test tells you for certain, and it changes how the old paint should be removed.