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We repair the weatherboards, doors and trims on Norlane’s 1950s Housing Commission homes and the newer houses built among them. More than half of Norlane’s homes are rented, so some of our work here has been on rentals.
Norlane was built almost from scratch by the Housing Commission after the war, and much of what stands today is that stock, plus the homes of the New Norlane renewal.
The Housing Commission started building in Norlane in 1947, and by 1976 had built 2,464 houses here. The peak years were 1951 to 1957, and more than 1,200 were prefabricated houses imported from Holland and France. Many are now about 70 years old. In our Norlane jobs, at homes and businesses, doors came up in 5 and weatherboards in 2, along with window trims, eaves and skirting.
The New Norlane renewal put 342 new homes on 200 vacant blocks, and its 173 public homes were finished in September 2017. Those houses are now coming up to ten years old, when doors, fences, gutters and decks start needing attention. Small unit developments are still going in, such as six new dwellings applied for on Sparks Road in 2026.
At the 2021 census 54% of Norlane homes were rented, almost twice the Victorian rate. We have done rental property works here, from replacing eaves and a toilet door to a new splashback. For landlords and agents, we can work through an inspection list and fit the work into the gap between tenants.
Running a business at the Fortek precinct, the Bell Post shops or Labuan Square? That side of our work is on our commercial carpentry page for Norlane.
Ordered by the work we have done in Norlane, then what older and newer homes need.
Our most common Norlane job. Doors that swing, catch or have dropped.
Rotten boards and trims replaced and painted.
For the more than half of homes that are rented.
The list after a tenant moves out.
Window trims and frames on older houses.
Gutters cleaned and fixed before winter.
Fences for new units and old boundaries.
A call, a message or the inspection report, with access details.
On older houses we look at the frame and stumps behind the board.
Itemised and free, so a landlord can approve item by item.
We work to your dates and send photos when it is finished.
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.
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.
Norlane is named after Norman Lane, a local serviceman who was captured at Singapore and died working on the Burma–Thailand railway in 1943. The Housing Commission built the suburb from 1947, and its shopping centre, Labuan Square, opened in 1954. The square was upgraded and reopened in 2023.
The 2021 census counted 8,682 residents, with a median age of 37 and an average of 2.6 bedrooms a home. Compact, ageing houses, a renewal program and a big rental market are why the work here is steady repair.
Corio • North Shore • North Geelong • Lovely Banks • Geelong
Norlane borders Corio, North Shore, North Geelong, Bell Park and Lovely Banks.
Owner or agent, tell us what you are dealing with and we will come back with a straight answer and a free estimate.