Repainting Red-Brick Walk-Up Apartments in the Inner West

By Alex Dzissah, Founder, AKD Painting

The three-storey red-brick walk-up is one of the most common buildings in the Inner West. Summer Hill, Ashfield, Marrickville and Balmain are full of them, built between the wars and through the mid-century, and most are now at the age where the exterior, entries and balconies are due for a repaint. These blocks have their own particular needs, and knowing them is the difference between a repaint that looks sharp for years and one that fails at the edges.

What these blocks are made of

A typical Inner West walk-up is face brick with rendered entries and stairwells, steel or timber windows, shared balconies with concrete slabs and steel balustrades, and deep eaves. The face brick itself is usually sound and best left unpainted. The work is in everything around it: the render, the metal, the timber and the eaves.

The face brick usually stays

Just like a period house, the red brick on a walk-up is generally better cleaned than painted. It is low maintenance as it is, and painting it commits the block to a recoating cycle. The exceptions are where the brick has already been painted, or an entry feature wall the committee wants refreshed. We give the committee a straight recommendation rather than an automatic upsell.

Where the value is

The surfaces that make a walk-up look cared for are the rendered entry and stairwell, the front doors and window frames, the balcony soffits and balustrades, and the eaves. These are also the surfaces residents and prospective tenants actually see and touch every day. Getting them right, with rust treatment on the steel and durable finishes in the high-traffic areas, is where a walk-up repaint earns its keep.

The eaves and the weather side

Eaves and the weather-facing elevations flake first, and on the blocks near the water, salt speeds that up. Thorough wash-down, scrape and prime on these areas, and an exterior system built for the exposure, is what stops the repaint failing early on the side that gets the most weather.

This post is part of our full guide to strata and apartment painting in the Inner West.

Frequently asked questions

Should the red brick on our walk-up be painted?

Usually not. Sound face brick is low maintenance left bare, and painting it commits the block to recoating. We recommend cleaning it and putting the budget into the render, metal, timber and eaves.

Which surfaces make the biggest difference?

The rendered entry and stairwell, front doors and window frames, balcony soffits and balustrades, and the eaves. Those are what residents see and what wears first.

Do older walk-ups need anything special?

Yes. Rust treatment on steel windows and balustrades, crack-bridging on render, and exterior systems on the weather side, especially on the blocks near the water.

Own or manage a red-brick walk-up in the Inner West? We know exactly what these blocks need. Book a free on-site quote via our contact page, or call 0474 854 369.