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We build and repair the decks, stairs and timber on Lorne’s steep blocks, replace what the salt and the years have worn out, and look after Lorne’s holiday homes and Airbnb rentals. Lorne has had no real new subdivision since 2018, so the work is all about houses already clinging to the hill.
Lorne wraps around Louttit Bay and climbs straight up into the bush. Steep ground, fire history and salt air decide most of what a carpenter does here.
The Lorne character overlay asks new buildings to step down the slope, and where a block is steeper than 25% it wants a geotechnical report covering erosion and landslip. The council’s own study describes houses on more than two levels stepping down the hill. That means long stair runs, decks on tall posts and footings that have to be right. Getting materials to the work is half the job, and we plan access before we price.
Black Friday in 1939 burnt at least 23 houses, mostly in North Lorne, and Ash Wednesday in 1983 took about 60 more, again mostly in North Lorne. Parts of town now sit in the BAL-12.5 area and parts in the BAL-29 area. When we replace a deck, a balustrade or a window, it gets built to the rating the lot carries today.
At the 2021 census about 69% of Lorne’s homes were holiday homes or short-stay rentals rather than full-time homes, the highest share in the shire. The pier shows how hard the air is on timber: its 2007 decking was already being pulled up and replaced in 2025. We look after holiday and Airbnb homes: the pre-season check-over, soft boards and balustrades replaced before they fail, work fitted around bookings, and photos so owners stay in the loop.
Responsible for a shop on Mountjoy Parade or an accommodation building? The commercial side of our work is on the commercial carpentry page for Lorne.
Door repairs are the job we have done most in Lorne, 5 of our 11 jobs here. The rest follows the hill, the fire rating and the sea air.
Doors that drop, stick and need new closers or hardware.
Tired decks on posts, rebuilt to the current rating.
Soft boards, loose stairs and balustrades on steep sites.
New decks that step down the slope.
Windows replaced to suit the lot’s BAL rating.
Salt-worn cladding on older holiday houses.
Rebuilds and extensions inside the 7.5 m height limit.
Pre-season checks for holiday and Airbnb homes.
A call or a message. Photos and the address let us check the slope and the overlays before we drive down.
How steep the site is, where materials can be dropped and whether a geotech report is needed. On a Lorne block that comes before the price.
Itemised and free, with the bushfire rating written into the materials list.
The same crew from start to finish, photos as we go and a written wrap-up when the job is done.
Michael worked with our budget and we were so impressed by their diligence and workmanship. They did not cut corners but went the extra mile. So impressed we engaged them again at another property.
Prompt, great communication and a terrific job. Have used JF Maintenance for lots of work over the years and would recommend.
Beyond our expectations, and it was great to work with people who could turn our ideas into something better than we imagined. Couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
Lorne takes its name from the Marquis of Lorne, husband of Queen Victoria’s daughter Louise. By 1878 it already had Erskine House, the Pacific Hotel and the Lorne Hotel, and it has been a holiday town ever since. Rudyard Kipling stayed in 1891, and the Great Ocean Road reached the town in 1922.
Council’s character study describes much of the newer housing as light, glassy and dating from the 1980s on, stepped down the hill beside the small 1930s and 1940s timber and fibro cottages of North Lorne. The 2021 census counted 1,327 residents and close to seven in ten homes were holiday homes or short-stay rentals. A built-out town of holiday houses on steep ground is why the work here is repair, rebuild and upkeep.
Lorne borders Benwerrin, Big Hill, Barwon Downs and Separation Creek, with Bass Strait on its eastern side.
Send us the details and a few photos, and we will come back with a straight answer and a free estimate.