Find a trusted painter in Adelaide

Prepping and painting Adelaide’s stone villas

Most of the painting on an old Adelaide villa isn’t on the walls at all. Bluestone and sandstone fronts are usually left bare, so the work is in the timber: window frames and sashes, fascias, barge boards, the verandah and its cast iron lace or timber fretwork. That’s slow, detailed prep, which is why villa exteriors vary so much on price and need to be quoted on site.

Older homes need a careful approach. Paint applied before 1970 may contain lead, so a good painter won’t dry sand it or burn it off, and will contain and clean up the dust. Bubbling, flaking paint and powdery render near the bottom of masonry walls is often salt damp. Painting over it won’t last, because the salt keeps pushing through. Get the damp fixed first, then repaint with a coating suited to masonry.

When to paint in Adelaide’s heat

Adelaide’s summer is tough on exterior paint jobs. On very hot days paint can dry before it levels out, leaving lap marks and a weaker bond, and west-facing walls cop the worst of the afternoon sun. Most painters prefer to do exteriors in spring and autumn, starting early and following the shade around the house. Check the temperature limits on the tin, and expect a careful painter to reschedule rather than push through a 40-degree day.

Winter is cooler and wetter, which slows drying outside but suits interior work. Strong UV also fades dark colours faster, so a lighter shade or a quality exterior paint will hold its colour longer on a sunny wall.

Painters need a CBS licence

In South Australia, painting a house counts as building work, so the painter must hold a CBS building work contractors licence with painting in its conditions, even for a single room. That’s different from states where small painting jobs need no licence at all. Check the painter’s name or licence number on the CBS Occupational Public Register and make sure painting is covered. Our licence checks for SA page shows how.

House painting costs in Adelaide

Adelaide painters work within the national guide of around $65–$100 an hour or $550–$850 a day per painter, though most quote a fixed price for the job. Repainting a single room typically costs $400–$1,000 and a three-bedroom interior $3,500–$8,000. A single-storey brick or rendered exterior is usually $4,000–$12,000, and weatherboard or two-storey homes $8,000–$20,000. A fair quote names the paint and the number of coats, lists the prep, and says whether ceilings, doors and trims are in the price. The painter price guide has more jobs and prices.

One painter for your Adelaide home

Tell us about the house and the suburb, whether it’s a bluestone villa in Rose Park or a brick veneer in Modbury, and we’ll put one local painter in touch after checking their licence, insurance and reviews ourselves. You get one quote to consider, with no pile of calls and no cost to you.

For painters outside Adelaide, see our painters page. Our Adelaide page lists other trades we match locally. Get a free quote when you’re ready.