Heritage Victoria: What house is that?

Each home is different – what works well in somebody’s Post-war house may be inappropriate in your Victorian home. Understand your home – what are the specific qualities that make up its style or character? Make sure any alterations work with these features, rather than replacing them.

Alteration Principles

Here are some general principles to keep in mind:

> do as little as possible but as much as is necessary

> ensure that you maintain key heritage features, and as much of the original fabric as is possible in its original location

> where you must make a replacement, replace like with like – if your house has wooden window frames, don’t replace with aluminium

> allow the heritage significance of your home to continue to be expressed in its physical form and materials

Please seek further advice from an architect or builder before altering your home.

Health & Safety

Asbestos was widely used as a building material from 1919 until the early 1980s and exposure can cause permanent damage to your health. Do not allow anyone to start work on your renovation until you have established whether there is any present in the existing building.

For information about asbestos, speak to your local council, architect or Registered Building Practitioner.

Lead paints were also commonly used up to the 1980s, and can be toxic and harmful. There are many products and techniques to prepare finishes; ask your hardware supplier about the safest methods for your home.

Always use a Registered Building Practitioner if your renovation project is valued at $5000 or more. Planning laws apply throughout Victoria and you may have to apply for a permit – for more information, contact your local council.

Paint Schemes

We suggest that you refer to the appropriate code numbers when buying paints for your heritage paint scheme.

Name	AS 2700	Housing Styles
Biscuit	X42	EV, LV, ED
Black	N61	MD
Brown	X54	EV, LV
Buff	X41	ED, BG
Canary Yellow	Y11	PW
Cream	Y34	BG, MD
Dark Brown	X65	QA, BG, IW
Dark Earth	X62	EV
Dark Green	G61	BG
Deep Indian Red	R64	EV, MV, LV, BG, IW
Fern Green	G24	IW, MD
Golden Tan	X53	PW
Manilla	Y45	FD
Off White	Y35	IW, PW
Pale Blue	B35	PW
Pale Ochre	X21	IW, MD
Parchment	X43	PW
Red Oxide	R63	FD, ED
Rose Pink	R25	IW, PW
Royal Blue	B12	PW
Salmon Pink	R42	MV, LV, MD
Signal Red	R13	PW, MD
Terracotta	R52	EV, IW
Venetian Red	R62	MV, ED
White	N14	BG, IW, MD
Name	BS 3881 or 2660	Housing Styles
Brilliant Green	381:221	FD
Deep Brunswick Green	381:227	EV, MV, LV
Fawn	2660:3035	MV
Light Buff	381:358	MV
Light Cream	2660:3033	EV, LV FD, MD
Light Stone	381:361	EV, MV, LV, BG
Light Straw	381:384	LV, FD, ED
Mid Brunswick Green	381:226	ED
Olive Green	381:220	FD
Pale Cream	381:352	FD, ED
Pale Green	2660:6070	FD, ED, BG
Pink Beige	2660:3034	MV

EV – Early Victorian MV – Mid Victorian LV – Late Victorian FD – Federation ED – Edwardian
BG – Bungalow IW – Inter-war PW – Post-war MD – Modern

Further Information:

For direction and ideas about building and renovating, please visit the following websites:

www.buildingcommission.com.au

www.archicentre.com.au

www.consumer.vic.gov.au

If your home is registered by the Heritage Council and you are considering renovation, see our Information Leaflet:
Works and Alterations to Registered Heritage Places and Objects.

For anyone with an older home, see our Technical Information series, for practical information about restoration and conservation of older houses.

Please go to the Links and Resources tab at the bottom of this page for a more complete list of resources.

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