Is there lead in the old paint?
AS/NZS 4361.2:2017 is the guide to managing lead paint in residential, public and commercial buildings. Its 2017 edition cut the threshold for lead paint from more than 1% lead to more than 0.1%, so paint that passed under the 1998 edition can count as lead paint now.
On an older shopfront, a back of house area or a building that has been repainted over many years, test before anyone sands or strips. Lead safe practice avoids dry sanding, dry grinding and uncontrolled heat, which turn old paint into dust. Where the existing paint is sound and lead free, preparation is ordinary. Where it is not, the method, the clean up and the price change.
How high does the work go?
| Access | Licence needed |
|---|---|
| Scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 4 m | A high risk work licence in scaffolding to erect, alter or dismantle it |
| Boom type elevating work platform, boom 11 m or more | A high risk work licence for boom type platforms |
Boom length is measured the longer of two ways: platform height above the ground at full height, or horizontal reach from the centre of rotation at full reach. A high fascia or pylon sign can tip a job into either licence.
Where the crew or the plant stands on a public footpath or road, the council usually wants a permit as well, and that can set the hours.
Can the store keep trading?
Usually, if the work is done after hours or in sections. The product matters too. APAS, which approves paints for government work, says anti graffiti coatings that contain flammable solvent should not be applied indoors while the building is occupied. Keep solvent borne products out of trading hours and check the data sheet for when the area can be reopened.
What sets the paint system?
AS/NZS 2311 is the Australian guide to painting buildings, and a repaint specification can call up its systems or the maker's equivalent: preparation, primer and finish coats for each surface.
Anti graffiti coatings are separate. The APAS specifications for permanent (1441) and sacrificial (1442) coatings say these products do not meet any AS/NZS 2311 paint system, so they are specified on their own, only where graffiti keeps coming back.
For a fleet, the colour and finish are locked once, so every store is painted to the same system whichever crew does it.
How often should a store be repainted?
We found no Australian standard that sets a repaint interval for a shop. Condition decides: chalking, peeling, faded brand colour, and damage at the trolley and delivery line. A condition survey across the fleet ranks the stores, so the worst go first in the capital cycle.
What moves the price?
- The surface and its condition, and repairs needed before paint
- The area, the number of coats, and whether the colour changes
- Height and access: ladders, scaffold, boom lift, and permits on a public footpath
- Lead paint, where the test finds it
- After hours work, or sections done around trading
- Who owns the surface under the lease, landlord or tenant
Nextage prices repaints per site, scheduled around trading, to one colour and finish specification across the fleet.
