Indicative rates
Cost per
square metre
Melbourne rates for supplied and applied work in 2026. Treat these as a starting point — substrate condition and access can move a job either side of the range.
Acrylic render (over existing render)
$40 – $60 / m²
Recoat work on a sound substrate — the cheapest way to change a facade.
Sand & cement render
$45 – $70 / m²
Brick or blockwork, two coats, floated flat. Painting is extra.
Full acrylic system on new build
$55 – $85 / m²
Base coat, mesh where required and pre-coloured finish coat.
Texture coating / stucco
$50 – $80 / m²
Varies with the grade of texture and how much matching is involved.
Hebel / foam cladding render
$60 – $95 / m²
Meshed base coat to manufacturer spec, then finish coat.
Heritage lime render
$90 – $160 / m²
Slow, thin coats, matched mixes and rebuilt detailing.
Render repairs & patching
Priced per job
Depends entirely on how much of the wall has debonded.
Ranges are indicative only and are not a quote. Every Invision Rendering price is itemised after a site visit.
What moves the price
Six things that
change a quote
Substrate condition
A sound wall is quick. Drummy render, salt damp, spalling brick or old flaking paint all add preparation hours before the first coat, and preparation is where render jobs are won or lost.
Access and height
Single storey off trestles is cheap. Two and three storey work, tight side setbacks, sloping ground and anything needing scaffold or a lift adds cost that has nothing to do with the render itself.
System specified
Cement is cheap in materials but labour-heavy and usually needs painting. Acrylic costs more upfront and skips the paint. Lime is the most expensive because it is the slowest.
Detail and complexity
Plain walls run fast. Parapets, mouldings, string courses, window reveals, fine corners and multiple colour breaks all slow the work down.
Area of the job
Small jobs carry the same setup, masking and travel as large ones, so the per-square-metre rate is always higher on a single wall than a whole house.
Weather and timing
Winter cure times stretch a program out. Rushing a coat to hit a date is how you get crazing, so we price the time a wall actually needs.
Cost questions
Rendering cost
questions
How much does it cost to render a house in Melbourne?
For a typical single-storey home with roughly 150–200 m² of wall, most full render jobs land between about $8,000 and $16,000 depending on the system, the substrate condition and access. Two-storey homes and heritage work sit above that. These are indicative ranges — we price every job after a site visit.
Is it cheaper to render or paint brick?
Painting is cheaper upfront. Rendering costs more but changes the surface, hides brickwork you may not want, adds a weather barrier and lasts far longer between maintenance cycles. On a 15-year view the gap narrows a lot.
Why are rendering quotes so different from each other?
Nearly always preparation. A cheap quote usually assumes the wall is sound and skips stripping, keying, patching and jointing. Ask any quote you get what happens to the drummy sections and whether control joints are being reinstated.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. We visit the site, sound the walls, measure up and send a written itemised quote with no obligation.
Can I get a price over the phone?
We can give you a broad range over the phone, but not a quote. Too much of the cost sits in substrate condition and access, and neither can be assessed without seeing the wall.
Does render add value to a Melbourne home?
It changes street presentation more dramatically than almost any other spend of the same size, which is why so much of our work is pre-sale. It also seals and protects the wall, which matters for older brick.
Compare the systems in detail on our rendering services pages, or find your suburb.
Want a real number?
Send a few photos and the address. We will book a site visit and come back with a written itemised quote — free, no obligation.