Painting: What You Need to Know
Painting is one of the most common sources of disagreement between homeowners and builders. By the time a home reaches PCI stage, expectations are high, emotions are often running stronger than earlier stages, and paintwork is one of the most visible finishes in the entire house. Small imperfections that may have gone unnoticed earlier can suddenly feel unacceptable.
These issues usually arise during the PCI inspection. This is the point where the homeowner is given the opportunity to walk through the property and identify defects or incomplete items. In relation to paintwork, builders will often provide stickers or tape and ask homeowners to mark areas they want reviewed or touched up.
It’s not unusual for homeowners to mark a large number of spots throughout the house. On the surface, the process seems simple. The homeowner identifies issues, and the builder fixes them. The difficulty begins when the builder and homeowner do not agree on whether something is actually a defect.
Many homeowners naturally assess paint finishes using what is known as critical or glancing light, which is looking sideways along the length of a wall, often with strong light coming through a window or a light fitting, which can exaggerate minor surface variations, roller marks, or joint lines.
In Victoria, paintwork is commonly assessed by reference to the Guide to Standards and Tolerances ('Guide') published by the Victorian Building Authority (‘VBA’) - now known as the Building and Plumbing Commission (‘BPC’). The guide is widely used across the industry and sets out minimum acceptable standards for building work, including painting. Importantly, it does not just describe what constitutes a defect, but also how inspections are meant to be carried out.
The guide introduces the concept of a ‘normal viewing position’. This means standing approximately 1.5 metres away from the surface and viewing it straight on, rather than at an angle or under harsh glancing light. Under the guide, paintwork is not generally assessed by looking along walls or ceilings in critical light conditions.
Many homeowners find this frustrating. From their perspective, if a mark, ripple, or uneven finish is visible, it feels irrelevant how it is viewed. If it can be seen, it feels like it should be fixed. That reaction is understandable, particularly when homeowners are about to move into what they expect to be a finished home.
From the builder’s perspective, however, residential construction is a hand-built and hand-finished process. Walls and ceilings are not manufactured products, and absolute perfection under all lighting conditions is not considered realistic, hence the standards and tolerances. Standards and tolerances acknowledging both homeowner expectations and construction realities.
If paintwork falls within the accepted tolerances set out in the guide, builders will generally take the position that the work is compliant and does not require rectification. That does not mean homeowners cannot raise concerns, but it does mean that not every visible imperfection will be treated as a defect that must be fixed.
Understanding how paintwork is assessed, and why builders refer to normal viewing positions, can make the PCI Inspection process far less stressful for homeowners. It helps distinguish between genuine defects that should be addressed and issues that, while noticeable, fall within accepted construction tolerances.