Exterior Spray Painting in Huddersfield

What the age of the housing means for the walls

Of the 10,950 properties the Valuation Office Agency records around Huddersfield centre, 37.9% were built before 1919, well above the 21% average, and houses of that age normally have solid stone or brick walls with no cavity that stay healthy by drying outwards. On them we use only breathable masonry coatings, and where sound stone has never been painted we will often suggest leaving it that way. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, pre-1919 housing averages 25.9%, 12.0 points lower than here, so solid walls that need breathable coatings are more of a feature here than elsewhere in the county.

The interwar and postwar decades account for just 25.6% of homes here, against 42% on average, so heavy pebbledash and roughcast are less common than in many Yorkshire towns. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, 1919 to 1972 housing averages 39.2%, 13.6 points higher than here, so dashed render is likely to be less of the work here than in neighbouring parts of the county.

The 27.3% built since 2000 (well 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. If a wash is all a newer render needs, we will tell you that rather than sell you a respray.

House type, access and what gets sprayed

Detached and semi-detached houses are 28.9% of homes here (well below the 58% average), so many jobs have fewer elevations than in suburban towns. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, the detached share averages 24.0%, 16.5 points higher than here, so most jobs here involve fewer elevations than in the rest of the county.

Terraced homes are 37.9% of the total (above the 27% average), and on a mid-terrace we normally spray the front and rear only, with an end terrace adding its gable. We agree a clean finishing line where your wall meets the neighbour's, sheet adjoining walls, windows and cars against overspray, and check rear access at the survey because it often decides the programme.

With 33.2% of homes in flats (well above the 15% average), many outside walls here belong to blocks, which are normally the freeholder's or managing agent's responsibility. Exterior work on a block generally needs their instruction or written consent, and we are happy to quote to their specification and colour reference. Only 3 of the 203 towns we cover have a higher share of flats.

Owners, landlords and timing

Private renting is 39.6%, well above the 19% average for the towns we cover, and because exterior spraying needs no access inside, landlords can have it done with tenants in place. A fixed quote also makes it easy to budget across several properties. Only one of the 203 towns we cover has a higher share of private renting. Owner-occupiers account for 38.1% of households and social renters for 21.7%. Across the other 83 West Yorkshire towns we cover, owner-occupation averages 70.9%, 32.8 points higher than here, so landlords make more of the exterior decisions here than in the rest of the county.

How Huddersfield compares with nearby towns

The nearest towns have less pre-1919 housing (31.7% in Honley, 37.8% in Golcar and 18.2% in Rastrick), so old solid walls are a bigger part of the work in Huddersfield than around it. The biggest contrast in house type is with Rastrick, where 27.5% of homes are detached, a higher share than here, so a typical job in Huddersfield is more likely to be a semi or terrace with fewer elevations to spray. Renting also differs: 61.3% of households here rent, against 26.2% in Rastrick, 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 27.2% in Golcar to 48.2% in Rastrick, and Huddersfield sits below that range. Huddersfield has more homes built since 2000 than any of the three, the highest of which is Golcar at 16.4%, so newer through-coloured renders come up more often here than nearby. Owner-occupation is lower here than in Rastrick, where 73.4% of households own their home, so more of the exterior decisions in Huddersfield rest with landlords.

What the figures suggest about a quote

The most common home around Huddersfield centre is a terraced house: roughly 3,240 of the 8,549 households live in terraced houses. With only the front and rear to do on most terraces, the front-elevation starting figure of around £1,200 is a closer guide here than on bigger houses, though rear access can affect the quote as much as wall area. Next come flats, roughly 2,840 households, where a block normally needs the freeholder's or managing agent's instruction. The largest group of properties was built before 1919, so the survey also decides whether a wall should be coated at all, and with what.

With this much pre-1919 housing, listed buildings and conservation areas are more likely here than in most of the towns we cover, so if yours may be one, check with Kirklees Council before booking any change of colour or painting of bare masonry.