Darling Point is a narrow point between Rushcutters Bay and Double Bay, and it holds two very different kinds of building. Residential towers and apartment blocks line much of the point, while heritage houses and older mansions sit on the quieter streets and along the water, several of them inside heritage conservation areas.
A maintenance calendar here has to serve both: the owners corporation planning a façade program and the homeowner looking after a single house.
The weather behind the timing
Sydney’s long-term weather record from the Bureau of Meteorology shows mean annual rainfall of about 1,213 mm, with March and June the wettest months and September the driest. Morning humidity sits at 74 percent from February to June.
For apartment buildings that means the wet months are when balcony drainage problems appear, and spring is when external works are easiest to schedule. For houses it is the familiar pattern: build up of growth through autumn, cleaning in spring.
Spring: September to November
For strata buildings: façade washing and external window cleaning programs, planned for dry, calm weather. Abseil and elevated work needs low wind. Notices to residents go out ahead. More: strata tower façades in Darling Point.
For houses: house wash, glass, gutters, and paving and sandstone cleaning in dry weather.
Summer: December to February
Balconies get used. Check balcony drains and outlets before storm season, because a blocked balcony drain in a summer storm floods the apartment, or the one below. More: balcony drainage in Darling Point apartments.
Harbour-facing glass and stainless benefit from fresh-water rinsing.
Autumn: March to May
The wettest stretch. Watch for water stains on balcony soffits and ceilings below, which signal waterproofing or drainage failure. Shaded walls and paths around houses go green. Second gutter clean of the year in late autumn.
Winter: June to August
Roof work on houses in dry spells. Strata committees plan the next year’s maintenance and budgets, often at or ahead of the AGM. A good time to get façade and window cleaning quotes in hand.
Heritage houses
Darling Point has four neighbourhood heritage conservation areas under Woollahra Council’s controls: Etham Avenue, Darling Point Road, Mona Road, and Loftus Road and Mona Road. Face brick must not be painted, bagged or rendered, and original materials are to be maintained. More: heritage houses in Darling Point.
A realistic schedule
Strata: external window cleaning once or twice a year depending on exposure, façade washing every two to five years depending on cladding and orientation, balcony drain checks before summer. Houses: gutters twice a year, house wash every one to two years, glass twice a year, roof inspected annually.
See also our Double Bay and Darling Point strata guide and the strata exterior cleaning guide.
