Deck prep
Cordless pressure washer
Runs from a bucket, so you can clean a deck or a driveway without dragging a hose around the house.
Check price on Amazon AUSix jobs worth doing around an Australian house before summer
Summer is when a small maintenance problem becomes an expensive one. UV cooks timber, heat opens gaps, and the first big storm finds every blocked gutter. These six jobs are the ones that actually pay you back, in the order that matters.
By Good Trades AU | Published 24 October 2026 | 6 minute read
None of this is glamorous. All of it is cheaper than the repair it prevents, and three of the six are jobs you can legally do yourself with gear you probably already own.
The short version
- Deck: oil or stain before the UV opens the grain. $1,200 to $3,500 to have it done.
- Exterior trim and doors: paint fails in summer, not winter. $120 to $320 per door.
- Shower and wet areas: new silicone and grout now, not a $22,000 renovation later.
- Gutters and flashings: clear them before the first big storm.
- Air conditioning: service it in October, not on a 40 degree Friday in January.
- Safety switches: test them, and get a licensed electrician to look at anything that trips.
The three trades in that list, waterproofing, refrigeration and electrical, are licensed work in NSW. The rest you can do yourself. More on that below.
1. Oil or stain the deck before the UV gets to it
Timber does not fail because it gets wet. It fails because the oil or stain film breaks down under UV, water gets into the grain, and then the boards cup, split and go grey. Once the surface is that far gone, no coat of oil brings it back, you are sanding back to bare timber or replacing boards.
The work is cleaning, sanding the rough patches, and two coats of oil or stain with a day between them. Our painting cost guide puts a deck oil or stain at $1,200 to $3,500, with larger and weathered decks at the top of that range because the prep is the job, not the coating.
Compare that to replacing the deck. Our deck cost guide has a 25 square metre treated pine deck, ground level with easy access, at $9,000 to $16,000 supplied and built. Hardwood is $14,000 to $24,000. One is maintenance. The other is a project with a council approval in some cases.
Do it yourself if the boards are sound and you can give it a dry 48 hours. Hire it in if the deck is large, the timber is weathered, or you cannot get two clear days without rain.
2. Repaint the exterior trim and doors while it is still mild
Exterior paint fails from the top and the edges. Trim, window reveals and doors take the most sun and the most movement, and once water gets behind a bubbling edge it works its way into the timber. A door is a small job. A door frame that has rotted is not.
From the same guide: $120 to $320 per door to have it removed, sanded, primed and finished. A full single storey exterior is $3,500 to $7,500. A two storey is $6,000 to $12,000, mostly because of access and scaffolding.
Do it yourself if it is trim, a door or two, and the timber underneath is sound. Exterior painting is slow, forgiving work and the paint itself is a small part of the cost. Hire it in if the house is rendered, two storey, or the existing coating is lead based. Homes built before 1970 need a lead test before anyone sands, and that is not a DIY call.
3. Reseal the shower before it becomes a bathroom renovation
This is the cheapest job on the list and the one with the biggest downside if you skip it. Failed silicone and cracked grout let water past the tile bed. It does not show up as a leak, it shows up months later as a soft patch of skirting in the next room or a stain on the ceiling below.
Replacing silicone and regrouting is a weekend job with a scraper, new silicone and a grout float. The alternative, from our bathroom renovation cost guide: a cosmetic refresh with no plumbing moved is $6,000 to $15,000, and a standard full renovation is $22,000 to $40,000. Budget $1,800 to $4,000 per square metre for the renovated area if you want a sanity check on a quote.
Where the line sits: renewing silicone is maintenance. Waterproofing a wet area is licensed trade work in NSW. If the tiles are moving, the screed is drummy, or water has already got behind the bed, stop treating it as a cleaning job and get a waterproofer in.
4. Clear the gutters and check the flashings before storm season
Every summer storm story starts the same way: water came in at the ceiling, and the gutter above it was full of leaves. A blocked gutter does not just overflow, it holds water against the fascia, and the weight pulls the run out of alignment over time.
Get on the roof or get someone who does, clear the gutters, check the downpipes run freely, and look at the flashings where the roof meets a wall or a chimney. Loose or lifted flashing is a five minute fix while you are up there and a ceiling repair if it is not. If you are not confident on a roof, do not go on it. A ladder fall costs more than every job on this page combined.
5. Service the air conditioner in October
Air conditioning and refrigeration work is licensed in NSW regardless of the cost of the job, because handling refrigerant is regulated. That means the annual service is not a DIY job, and it is also the reason to book it now. In October you are competing with nobody. In the first week of a January heatwave you are competing with everyone, and paying emergency call out rates for it.
The service is filters, coils, drainage and a refrigerant check. A blocked condensate drain is the most common summer failure and it shows up as water staining on a wall, usually the day you need the cooling most.
6. Test the safety switches, then leave the rest to an electrician
Every modern switchboard has a safety switch with a test button. Press it. If the power does not drop, the switch is not protecting anything and it needs replacing before summer, when the load on your circuits is at its highest.
Everything else electrical is licensed work in NSW, always, regardless of value. That includes new power points, outdoor lighting, and anything involving the switchboard itself. Our guide to the trades that need a licence in NSW explains which trades fall in that bucket and how to check a licence on the register in about two minutes.
What the three priced jobs actually cost
Only three of the six have a published range in our cost guides. The other three depend too much on the house to put a number on, so we have not.
| Job | Typical cost if hired | Do it yourself? |
|---|---|---|
| Deck oil or stain | $1,200 to $3,500 | Yes, if the timber is sound |
| Doors and exterior trim, per door | $120 to $320 | Yes |
| Single storey exterior repaint | $3,500 to $7,500 | Only if access is simple |
| Shower silicone and regrout | Materials only | Yes |
| Bathroom cosmetic refresh | $6,000 to $15,000 | No |
| Air conditioning service | Call out plus parts | No, licensed work |
| Safety switch replacement | Electrician call out | No, licensed work |
When the law says hire it in
In NSW, electrical, plumbing, draining, gasfitting and air conditioning work is licensed no matter what the job costs. Residential building and trade work needs a contractor licence once it passes $5,000 in labour and materials, and that threshold is what catches people out on a renovation.
Before you pay a deposit, check the licence on the NSW register, confirm the class of work covers your job, and check the expiry date. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between having statutory warranty and having nothing. The full walkthrough is in our NSW licence guide.
Two tools that make the DIY half easier
Everyday
Cordless drill driver
Two batteries and a charger. The tool that covers the trim, the gutter brackets and the flat pack.
Check price on Amazon AUThe full list is on our power tools page.
Common questions
Is it better to oil a deck before or after summer?
Before. Oil and stain protect the timber from UV, and UV does the damage. Doing it in spring means the film is intact through the worst of the sun. Doing it in February means the damage has already happened.
Can I regrout my own shower?
Yes, renewing grout and silicone is maintenance and you can do it yourself. Waterproofing a wet area is licensed trade work in NSW. If the tiles are drummy or water has got behind the tile bed, that is a waterproofer's job, not a cleaning job.
Do I need a licence to paint my own house?
No. You can paint your own home. A painter needs a contractor licence for residential work over $5,000. If the house was built before 1970, test for lead paint before sanding.
Why are some jobs not priced on this page?
Because the honest answer depends on the house. Gutter clearing, an air conditioning service and a switchboard repair vary too much by access and condition to publish a range, and a made up number is worse than no number.
Related reading
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