Exterior Spray Painting in Hemsworth

What the age of the housing means for the walls

Of the 5,580 properties the Valuation Office Agency records around Hemsworth centre, only 16.3% were built before 1919, against an average of 21%, so most walls here are twentieth-century or later cavity construction: render or brick over blockwork, which suits a sprayed masonry finish once loose or chalky paint is dealt with. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, pre-1919 housing averages 26.2%, 9.9 points higher than here, so cavity walls are more typical here than elsewhere in the county.

A further 45.5% were built between 1919 and 1972 (14.0% between the wars and 31.5% from 1945 to 1972, close to the 42% average for that period), and postwar estates of the 1950s and 1960s often mixed brick with rendered or dashed panels; a few system-built houses of that time have concrete panels that need a survey before any coating. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, 1919 to 1972 housing averages 38.9%, 6.6 points lower than here, so dashed and painted render is likely to be more of the work here than in neighbouring parts of the county.

The 23.5% built since 2000 (above the 17% average) include many homes with through-coloured renders such as silicone or K-Rend type systems, which need compatible coatings and are sometimes designed to need only cleaning for years.

House type, access and what gets sprayed

Detached and semi-detached houses together make up 70.7% of homes here (50.3% semi-detached, 20.4% detached), and a semi usually has three elevations to spray: front, side and rear. The rest of the stock includes 23.1% terraced and 6.3% flats. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, the detached share averages 23.8%, 3.4 points higher than here, so most jobs here involve fewer elevations than in the rest of the county.

Owners, landlords and timing

Social renting accounts for 23.9% of households; if your home belongs to a council or housing association, external decoration is normally the landlord's responsibility and you will need their written permission before changing colours. Owner-occupiers account for 59.7% of households and private renters for 15.7%. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, owner-occupation averages 70.6%, 10.9 points higher than here, so landlords make more of the exterior decisions here than in the rest of the county.

How Hemsworth compares with nearby towns

The share of pre-1919 housing is broadly similar in the nearest towns (10.8% in Brierley, 17.5% in South Elmsall and 26.5% in Cudworth). The biggest contrast in house type is with Brierley, where 28.7% of homes are detached, a higher share than here, so a typical job in Hemsworth is more likely to be a semi or terrace with fewer elevations to spray. Renting also differs: 39.6% of households here rent, against 31.1% in Cudworth, and on a rented home the colour of the outside walls is normally the landlord's decision.

For housing built from 1919 to 1972, the main pebbledash and roughcast era, the three range from 27.9% in Cudworth to 47.0% in South Elmsall, and Hemsworth sits within that range. Building since 2000 is at a similar level nearby, with Brierley highest of the three at 27.6%. Owner-occupation is lower here than in Cudworth, where 68.5% of households own their home, so more of the exterior decisions in Hemsworth rest with landlords.

What the figures suggest about a quote

The most common home around Hemsworth centre is a semi-detached house: roughly 2,610 of the 5,197 households live in semi-detached houses. Our starting figure of around £1,200 is for a front elevation, so on a typical semi the side and rear, plus any garage or render repairs, are what the survey adds. Next come terraced houses, roughly 1,200 households, where the front and rear are usually the whole job. The largest group of properties was built between 1945 and 1972 (the 42nd highest share for that period of the 203 towns we cover), so chalky old masonry paint and patched render are the likeliest extras.