Painter Downer
Painting, pressure washing and renovation work for homes across Downer, the inner-north suburb built on a 1940s research station whose original buildings still stand as the Frencham Place shops and hall.
Google Rating
★★★★★
5.0 (21)
ACT Licence
118644C
Public Liability
$10M Insured
Your local Downer painter
Careful painting for Downer's older homes
Downer sits in Canberra's inner north, bounded by Northbourne Avenue, Antill Street and Phillip Avenue, between Lyneham, Watson and Dickson. Before it was a suburb, this land was a CS&IR agricultural experiment station, set up in 1940. Its former machine shed and workshop still stand on Frencham Place as the Downer shops and community hall. Around two in three homes here are separate houses, and the rest are semi-detached homes, townhouses and apartments.
At Sattlers Painting we paint interiors and exteriors, pressure wash, and handle renovation and extension work across all of Downer, from Swinden Street to the streets around the oval. We're based in Franklin and work right across Canberra and Queanbeyan, from the inner north out to Belconnen.
The thing to plan around here is age. Downer was gazetted in 1960, so its earliest homes predate 1970, when the lead content of house paint was limited. On an older home, the first coats under today's colour may contain lead, so the prep matters as much as the finish.
What we paint in Downer
What we do for Downer homes
We offer four services in Downer. Each card covers what's different about doing that work here, and links through to the full service page.
Interior painting in Downer
We paint walls, ceilings, doors and trim, room by room or through the whole house. In an older Downer home we check the existing finish before anything gets sanded, because earlier coats can sit under the current colour. We keep the work contained so the house stays liveable while we go.
Local-fact callout: Three-bedroom homes are the most common in Downer, at about 45% of occupied dwellings (2021 Census).
Exterior painting in Downer
We paint walls, trim, eaves, fascias and doors, matching products and timing to each wall and its aspect. Downer oval is enclosed by a heritage-listed tree belt inside Melba, Bradfield, Frencham and Bonython streets. On nearby homes, we set up ladders and drop sheets so the trees are left alone.
Local-fact callout: 67% of occupied homes in Downer are separate houses (2021 Census).
Pressure washing in Downer
We wash paths, driveways, fences and exterior walls, either as prep before a repaint or to freshen a place up between tenancies. Getting the dirt and grime off first gives the new coat a clean surface to bond to.
Local-fact callout: 36% of Downer homes were rented at the 2021 Census, compared with 31% across the ACT.
Renovation and extension painting in Downer
Much of Downer's housing is more than 50 years old. On a renovation, that means new plaster and joinery meeting older walls and trim. We prep both so the new work and the old read as one finish, not two.
Local-fact callout: Downer was gazetted in 1960, on land gradually resumed from the experiment station for housing between 1955 and 1965.
Why Downer's older homes are different
Built for older homes and older paint
Paint containing lead was used in Australian homes before 1970. The main risk comes when it's disturbed, or when old paint is flaking or chalking. Sanding, scraping or heat-stripping can turn it into dust and chips. Downer's earliest homes are old enough for that to matter, so we treat prep on an older house differently from prep on a newer one.
We ask when the house was built and what work has been done on it before we plan the prep.
Where old paint may contain lead, we don't dry sand or heat-strip it, and we recommend a test before work starts.
We contain the dust and clean up properly, and ask that kids and pregnant family members stay clear of the prep area.
Suspected asbestos sheeting, likely in homes built before the mid-1980s, we leave undisturbed and flag with you rather than sand or wash it.
Local-fact callout: Downer was gazetted in 1960. ACT Health advises that lead-based household paints were used in Australia before 1970.
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Honest-caveat callout: Not every older home has lead paint, and you can't tell by looking. Where it matters, a test settles it before we start, rather than us guessing either way.
The practical side
Working around Downer
Downer has Northbourne Avenue and the light rail along its western edge and a heritage-listed oval at its centre. Here's how that shapes the way we set up a job.
Homes on the Northbourne Avenue edge sit near the Swinden Street and Phillip Avenue light rail stops, so we sort out parking and access before day one.
The heritage-listed trees around the oval stay untouched. Nothing gets tied to them or cut back, and any tree work is outside our job.
With over a third of Downer homes rented, we're happy to arrange access times with landlords, property managers and tenants before we start.
For townhouses and apartments, we work in with your body corporate on scope and sign-off.
On frosty winter mornings we hold exterior coats until the surface has warmed, rather than rushing the start.
Local-fact callout: Swinden Street began as the tree-lined entrance drive to the 1940s experiment station.
Getting to us
Finding Sattlers Painting from Downer
We're based in Franklin, in the Gungahlin district, north of Downer along the light rail corridor.
From Franklin we head down Flemington Road onto the Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue, then turn into Downer at Phillip Avenue or Swinden Street.
Downer painter FAQs
Questions from Downer homeowners
Our house is one of Downer's older homes. Is the old paint a problem?
It can be, if it's disturbed. Paint from before 1970 may contain lead, so we ask about your home's history and recommend a test where it matters. Then we choose prep methods that don't turn old paint into dust.
We live near Downer oval. Can you work around the heritage trees?
Yes. We set up ladders, scaffolding and drop sheets so the heritage-listed trees around the oval are left as they are.
Do you work with landlords and property managers?
Yes. Plenty of Downer homes are rentals, and we're happy to arrange access with tenants and agents. We can also do end-of-lease repaints and pressure washing.
We're renovating. When should the painter come in?
Talk to us early, before the plaster and joinery go in. That way we can plan how the new work and the existing walls and trim will be prepped to finish evenly.
Are you actually local to Downer?
We're based in Franklin, down Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue from Downer. Robert runs every job personally.
Let's sort your repaint
Get your Downer painter quote
From a house near the oval to a townhouse or apartment, we'll give you a straight price and a clear plan, with no pressure. We're a fourth-generation family business with over 20 years of hands-on painting. We're licensed (118644C), insured, and HIA members for over 20 years.
Not in Watson? See all the Canberra suburbs we paint →
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0408 421 247
Address: 6 Maris Street, Franklin ACT 2913
Sattlers Painting Pty Ltd - ACN: 159 058 778
Licence: 118644C
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