Bulimba, by the river
Built in waves since the 1880s
Residential subdivision began in the 1880s land boom, and many estates were auctioned between 1884 and 1923. So plenty of houses were built long before anyone planned for an outdoor unit.
Heritage-listed homes
Listed homes include a Queenslander and a California Bungalow on Bulimba Street, interwar houses, Crouch Cottage on Oxford Street and timber ANZAC cottages built after World War I. Brisbane City Council says renovating a local heritage place is allowed, but generally needs its approval.
Apartments, old and new
Flats and apartments were 39.5% of homes and townhouses 14.7%. Defence announced the sale of the former Bulimba Barracks in March 2015, and City Plan has since been amended to support housing there.
A third of homes rented
36.8% of homes were rented, 34.2% mortgaged and 27.2% owned outright. Tenants need the owner's written approval before a unit goes on the wall.
On the Brisbane River
Bulimba sits on the southern bank at the Bulimba Reach, about 4 km north-east of the CBD, postcode 4171. The February 2022 flood touched all but 11 of Brisbane's 188 suburbs.
In an old Bulimba house
Start by checking whether your house is a listed local heritage place. Council's Local Heritage Places search shows it, and if it is, talk to council before you book. For everyone else, the practical goal is the same: outdoor units at the side or back, pipe runs hidden under the floor, nothing new on the street face.
Old timber houses often suit separate splits or a multi-head system, which runs several indoor units from one outdoor unit. If your street went under in 2022, Get Ready Queensland suggests raising air conditioner units above the flood level, so ask the installer to mount it high rather than on a slab at ground level.
In a Bulimba apartment
The Good Guys says body corporate approval is required before any work in a multi-storey apartment block, and Queensland Government guidance lists installing air conditioning as an improvement that needs approval when it touches common property. Ask the building manager where outdoor units are allowed and whether there's a by-law on them.
Our page on apartments and strata goes through where the outdoor unit can go and how noise reaches the neighbours.
What we'd do
Where we'd start in Bulimba
We'd sort the approval first: council for a listed house, the body corporate for a unit, the owner in writing if we rented. Then we'd want an installer who's done plenty of character houses or apartment jobs, depending on which you've got, and a quote that names exactly where every unit and pipe will go. Once the approval's in hand, send us the job. Licence-checked installers who know character houses or apartment buildings can see it, and your details go only to the installer who takes it. Should no one near Bulimba take it within 48 hours, installers in other parts of Queensland may get to see it.
