Soft washing and pressure cleaning in Bar Beach

What does salt air off the surf mean for Bar Beach homes and units?

The Australian Agricultural Company once held this ground under Crown grants and put Bar Beach lots up for housing in 1924. The beach runs along the suburb's eastern edge, and several blocks of Art Deco units have been heritage listed. At the 2021 count, flats were 38.0% of homes, separate houses 40.2% and semi-detached or terrace dwellings 20.7%.

Walls this close to the surf carry salt. COLORBOND's guidance is that steel the rain misses, beneath eaves, along garage door heads and under eave gutters, gets hosed down no less than twice a year, and more often where marine spray is heavy; a soft wash of the walls deals with that. In a strata block the owners corporation is responsible for common property, so heritage unit facades and shared stairs are cleaned when it asks, with pressure cleaning set to suit each surface.

Key figures

1924

first residential lots released

40.2%

of homes were separate houses in 2021

38.0%

of homes were flats or apartments

Sources

• Wikipedia, Bar Beach, New South Wales
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Bar Beach
• BlueScope TB-4, maintenance of exterior coated steel (January 2021)
• NSW Government, Strata repairs and maintenance
• NSW Spatial Services, Administrative Boundaries (postcode, council, distance, neighbours)