Sandstone cleaning in Chifley

Chifley sits between Matraville, Malabar and Little Bay, bordered by the Long Bay Correctional Centre, Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park and Bunnerong Equestrian Park. Its first house was Bunnerong House, built in 1825. During the Depression, Crown land here was leased to people who built their homes slowly over many years, and in the 1960s a public housing complex of four and five-storey blocks was added. Much of the original housing has since been replaced by larger family homes and townhouses. Dr Walters Park on Mawson Parade, Bob Clarke Memorial Reserve on Anzac Parade and the Women's Athletic Field provide open space, and Chifley Public School and Matraville Sports High serve the area. Stone appears as fences, entries, paths and garden walls.

Chifley sits a little inland from the coast but within reach of onshore wind, so stone here collects some salt as well as fine grit blown from sandy ground and the bay to the west. Newer homes tend to have larger areas of paving and feature walls, which show spills, tyre marks and rust from furniture and fittings. Older fences and garden walls collect traffic film along Anzac Parade and lichen on shaded faces. Garden irrigation and sandy soil leave gritty tide-marks at the base of walls. In townhouse complexes, narrow shaded paths between buildings stay damp and grow algae, and joints fill with moss (inferred from setting and housing type).

Chifley is in Randwick City Council. It has no heritage conservation area of its own on the council's list, so precinct-based heritage rules will not touch most homes. A particular building could still be individually listed, which a quick check with Randwick will settle. If it is, the heritage clause of the local plan usually means applying for consent before works, except for small maintenance the council agrees to in writing. Townhouse complexes and the larger unit buildings are strata schemes, where shared paths, fences and paving are usually common property maintained by the owners corporation, and owners need its approval before arranging work. For freestanding houses, the decision is simply the owner's.

Chifley is about 30 minutes from Double Bay down Anzac Parade, slightly south of our usual patch, so we try to book it alongside other work nearby. Parking is easy, with driveways and wide streets. Lawns and garden beds are covered, hoses are run neatly across paths, and a bund at the lowest point of each area holds the wash water until it is vacuumed into our tank. On newer homes with large paved areas, we stage the work so cars and family can still get in and out. Sealing is done only in calm, dry weather, since grit blown onto wet sealer spoils the finish.