Painting or staining a fence is priced per metre and starts around $35 per metre inc GST for one side of a fence in good condition. Weathered, previously coated or two sided jobs cost more because of the prep work.
Typical cost: $35 to $85 per metre inc GST
New or good condition timber, one side: $35 to $50 /m. Minimal prep, oil based stain
Weathered timber, one side: $50 to $65 /m. Clean, sand back, then coat
Previously painted fence: $60 to $85 /m. Scraping and priming needed
Both sides: roughly 1.8x one side. Neighbour access required
Two coats instead of one: add 30 to 40%. Recommended on bare timber
Gates: $60 to $120 each. More cutting in and detail
What you actually pay for when you paint a fence
Most of the cost of a fence painting job is not the paint, it is the hours spent before the paint goes on. On a clean, near new timber fence a painter can move quickly, and the rate sits at the bottom of the range. On a fence that has been standing for ten years the same run needs a wash, a scrub of any mould, a sand of the rough grey surface fibres and spot priming of bare patches. That prep can easily be half the labour on the job.
The second driver is coverage. Rough sawn palings drink far more product than smooth dressed timber, and a coat of oil based stain on a weathered fence can soak in almost completely. That is why a single coat often looks patchy and why most painters quote two coats on bare timber.
Finally, there is access. A fence you can walk both sides of with a spray gun is the cheapest scenario. A fence hard up against garden beds, a retaining wall or a neighbour's shed has to be cut in by hand, which slows everything down.
One side or both sides
Legally you can only paint your own side of a boundary fence without the neighbour's permission. In practice most homeowners paint one side, and that is what the base rate assumes.
Doing both sides is not exactly double. There is only one set up, one clean and one travel cost, so both sides usually runs around 1.8 times the one side price. If you and your neighbour split it, both of you come out ahead compared to painting separately a year apart.
Melbourne timing and weather
The best windows in Melbourne are late spring and early autumn. Timber needs to be dry, ideally after several days with no rain, and the surface temperature needs to stay above about 10 degrees while the coating cures.
Midsummer is workable but a north or west facing fence in full afternoon sun can flash dry, which leaves lap marks. Painters often start those runs early and work around the shade.
Winter jobs are possible in a dry stretch, but expect the booking to move if the forecast turns. We will always tell you before the day rather than coat a wet fence.
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