The salt question on the esplanade
The Galvanizers Association's guide to AS 4312 puts the first 200 m back from a surf beach in band C5, its harshest, and rates the immediate vicinity of calm salt water, like a harbour foreshore, as C4. Esplanade apartments and the river marinas sit in those bands.
Coatings help, but they don't decide who pays. Daikin says its outdoor coils carry a Blue Fin anti-corrosion treatment, yet its warranty card makes the owner responsible for extra corrosion protection in sea air. Mitsubishi Electric's card excludes salt damage to paintwork, metalwork and trims.
Mooloolaba, close up
Apartments facing the beach
The esplanade faces Mooloolaba Beach, lined with apartments. Flats were 47.6% of occupied homes, houses 38.5% and townhouses 11.6%.
Cottages on the spit
The first lots sold on 1 January 1921, and holiday cottages went up along the river and the narrow spit through the 1920s.
A harbour town
Two marinas sit on the northern bank of the Mooloolah River, beside the State Boat Harbour.
Renters and empty units
41.5% of homes were rented, and 19.8% of private dwellings were unoccupied on Census night.
In the coastal hazard spotlight
Sunshine Coast Council lists Mooloolaba among the areas first in line for coastal hazard investigations.
What a beachfront quote should show
- The brand, the model and the warranty clause that deals with sea air
- Whether the outdoor coil has a factory anti-corrosion treatment
- Where the outdoor unit goes, with open air around it and room to service it
- How the unit and bracket are fixed down for storm season
- Body corporate approval, in writing, before work starts
- The QBCC licence number and the technician's ARC licence
What we'd do
Our take for Mooloolaba
We'd pick the outdoor spot first: the most sheltered side of the balcony or building that still has open air. Then we'd choose the model whose warranty we're comfortable with for sea air, and book the yearly service Mitsubishi Electric recommends, with the coil and fixings checked every time. Tell us the job and your 4557 postcode. Where we have licence-checked installers near Mooloolaba who work on beachfront buildings, they'll see it, and only the one who takes it gets your contact details. Installers elsewhere in Queensland may see it too if nobody near Mooloolaba takes it within 48 hours.
