Exterior painting across Ivanhoe 3079, Ivanhoe East and Eaglemont. Repairs done before paint, and no callout fee to come and look.
An Ivanhoe exterior is rarely a straightforward repaint. The blocks are large, a lot of the housing is two storey or built on ground that falls away toward the Yarra, and there is usually a mature tree standing exactly where a ladder would want to go. That combination decides more about the price and the timeline than the paint does, and it is the part most quotes gloss over.
Melbourne City Maintenance has worked across Melbourne’s north and inner north since 2005. We come out, look at the access as carefully as the surfaces, and tell you what the house actually needs before anyone puts a number on it.
Request a free quote · or call 0403 162 374
- Trading since 2005 — over twenty years on Melbourne’s northern housing stock.
- Licensed and insured — $20 million public liability, WorkCover registered.
- A three-month check-in after every job, once the exterior has been through some weather.
We Come to You in Ivanhoe
Coverage. All of Ivanhoe 3079, plus Ivanhoe East and the Eaglemont side. Fairfield, Alphington, Thornbury and Preston are part of the same run for us.
Travel. No callout fee. You are not charged for us coming out to look at the job.
Timing. Exterior work is weather-dependent and we will not pretend otherwise. We agree a start date and then work to it, but coatings have minimum application conditions and we would rather move a day than put a coat on that will not cure properly.
Quoting. Exteriors are quoted after we have seen the property. Two houses of the same size on the same street can differ by thousands depending on what the surfaces need and how we can get to them.
What Makes an Ivanhoe Exterior Different
Access first, because it is the thing that moves the price. On a single-storey house with clear ground around it, ladders and trestles are enough. On a two-storey Ivanhoe frontage, or on a block that falls away at the back, they are not — and a quote priced on ladders where scaffold is actually needed is the one that runs over. Scaffold on sloping ground also has to be levelled properly on base plates before anyone stands on it, which is time before a brush is even opened.
Then the surfaces, because most houses here have more than one. Weatherboard, rendered sections, face brick, timber windows and eaves often appear on the same elevation, and each one wants different preparation and a different product. A house treated as though it were all one surface is the house that fails in patches three years later.
The aspect matters too. North and west walls take the ultraviolet and fail by chalking and fading. South walls stay damp, hold mould and lichen, and need washing and treating rather than sanding. Same house, same paint, two different preparation jobs.
How an Exterior Job Actually Runs
Repairs come first. Rotten boards, failed joints, cracked render and loose putty are dealt with before any coating goes on, because paint does not hold damaged material together — it just hides it until the next wet winter.
Then preparation: washing down, scraping and sanding back what has failed, filling, and priming every bare surface. This is the part that decides whether the finish lasts three years or ten, and it is also the part that is invisible in a finished photo, which is why it is the easiest place for a cheaper quote to save money.
Then the coats. And then, in Melbourne, the weather check — exterior coatings have minimum surface temperatures and will not cure below them. Through a Melbourne winter the dew point matters as much as the forecast, and a coat applied late on a cold afternoon can still be soft the next morning. We would rather lose the afternoon.
What We Do on an Ivanhoe Exterior
Weatherboard and timber repairs
Rotten and split boards cut out and replaced, sills and mouldings made good, before any painting starts. This is the work people call us back for. More on weatherboard repairs.
Render and brick
Cracked and drummy render cut out and patched, and brick assessed honestly — painting brick is a one-way decision and not always the right one.
Eaves, gutters and fascia
The parts nobody looks at until they fail, and the parts that are hardest to reach once the scaffold has come down.
Windows and trim
Timber windows cut in by hand, sashes freed where they have been painted shut, and putty replaced where it has gone.
How Pricing Works
Exteriors are quoted per job after we have seen the property. The number is driven by three things: how much repair is hiding under the current paint, how we can physically reach the surfaces, and how many different materials are on the house.
Access is the one people underestimate. If scaffold is needed, it is hired, erected, and taken down again, and that cost sits in the quote whether the painting takes a week or three. It is also the reason a very cheap exterior quote is worth a second question — ask what it assumes about access, and whether repairs are included or extra.
Quotes are free, and we will tell you if part of the house can wait a season rather than being done now. Smaller repair work is booked by time instead — the handyman rates are here.
Nearby Areas We Cover
The full list, and how far we travel, is on our areas we serve page.
Worth Reading Before You Book
Common Questions
Do I need scaffold, or will ladders do?
It depends on the height, the ground and how long the work takes. Single storey on flat ground is usually ladders and trestles. Two storey, or a block that falls away, is usually scaffold. We tell you which before you get the quote, because it is the single biggest variable in the price.
Can you paint over brick?
Usually, but think carefully. Painted brick has to be repainted for the rest of the building’s life — there is no going back to bare brick without a great deal of expense. We will give you an honest view rather than just quoting the job.
What time of year should an exterior be done?
Spring through autumn is easiest. Winter is not impossible, but coatings have minimum application temperatures and short cold days limit how much can go on and cure properly. If you are planning ahead, booking in late winter for an early spring start usually gets a better run of weather.
How long will the paint last?
On a properly prepared exterior, eight to ten years is a fair expectation on most surfaces, less on the north and west walls that take the most sun. On a poorly prepared one, three. The difference is almost entirely preparation.
Do you charge to come out and quote?
No. There is no callout fee in Ivanhoe and you are not charged for the inspection.
Get a Quote for Your Ivanhoe Exterior
The useful first step is having someone walk the outside of the house, look at the surfaces and work out how we would reach them. It takes about half an hour, it is free, and it is what separates a quote from a guess.
Request a free quote · or call Melbourne City Maintenance on 0403 162 374.
A friend found reviews of this company on a neighbourhood website so I included MCM in my list when I sought quotes for repairing and painting weatherboards on my house.
