House painting in Takapuna

A mix of eras and styles

The North Shore Heritage review says baches, farmhouses and grand villas were all Takapuna had until the 1920s, followed by more modest bungalows as the population grew. Many original lots have since been subdivided for infill, often leaving one villa or bungalow among newer homes. It describes no dominant housing style today.

The review also notes that beachfront and lakeside sites began to be redeveloped from the 1980s with large new houses. On one Takapuna street a painter might find a weatherboard bungalow, a plaster or block home from later decades and a modern beachfront house, each needing a different system.

• Remnant villas and bungalows: weatherboard prep, lead-safe methods.
• Plaster and block homes: crack repair, sealer where chalky, masonry paint.
• Large modern houses: height and access planned, often two storeys.

Beach, lake and salt air

Takapuna Beach is one of the North Shore’s main coastal spaces, and some of the suburb’s houses sit right on it or on the edge of Lake Pupuke. Beachfront Takapuna houses take the salt air off the Gulf; Lake Pupuke is fresh water, so lakeside sections face a different set of conditions. Sea-spray exposure is judged house by house, as how long exterior paint lasts explains.

A house a few streets back from the sea may sit in a different exposure zone from one on the beachfront. For houses near the beach, a yearly wash to clear salt from sheltered walls keeps paint going longer. Villas and bungalows among the infill are covered on weatherboard and villa painting.