PaintingInterior & ExteriorResidential & Commercial
House painters and commercial painting specialists working across Harare since 2018. We prepare properly, specify the right system for the substrate, and finish to a line you can actually inspect up close.
Service overview
Most people think of painting as choosing a colour. In practice, the colour is the last and least important decision. What determines whether a finish still looks good in five years is the condition of the surface underneath it, the primer bonding to that surface, and whether the topcoat was applied at the right thickness in the right conditions.
Tawaka Contracting started in finishing trades, and painting is where the company built its reputation. We work on everything from single rooms to full commercial repaints of occupied multi-storey buildings. The scale changes; the method does not.
As a painting contractor in Harare we handle interior painting, exterior painting, roof and steelwork coatings, and specialist decorative finishes. Every job begins with a site visit, because you cannot quote a wall you have not touched. Render that sounds hollow, paint that flakes at a scrape, or damp at skirting level all change the specification and the price — and it is better to know that before work starts than halfway through.
We work for homeowners, landlords, estate agents, body corporates, offices, schools and industrial clients throughout Harare and surrounding suburbs.
Why Tawaka
Painting is the easiest trade to enter and the easiest to do badly. These are the things that separate a finish that lasts from one that looks acceptable on handover day.
Our process
Six stages. We do not start one until the previous one is signed off, because every stage depends on the one before it.
We attend the property, measure elevations and rooms, and test the existing coating. We check for damp, efflorescence, hollow render, previous incompatible coatings and rust on steelwork — all things that change the specification.
A written quotation broken down by preparation, materials and labour, with the product system named. If we think a cheaper approach will fail, we say so in writing rather than quietly quoting it.
Furniture moved or centred and sheeted, floors covered, glazing and ironmongery masked, landscaping protected. Access equipment erected and inspected before anyone works at height.
Wash down or pressure wash, scrape back loose material, treat mould and algae, cut out and fill cracks, make good damaged render, sand level, then prime. This is the stage that decides how long the finish lasts.
Primer, then topcoats applied by brush, roller or spray as appropriate, at the manufacturer's spreading rate and with the correct drying time between coats. Cut-lines and trim finished by hand.
We walk the works with you in daylight, list every defect you can find, close them out, remove all protection and equipment, and leave the site swept.
Applications
The preparation standard is identical. What changes is access, programme and how we work around the people using the building.
Homes, cottages, townhouse complexes and rental properties across Harare. Most residential work is completed with the family still living in the house.
Offices, retail, schools, clinics, warehouses and factories. We phase the work so the building keeps operating and programme disruptive stages out of hours.
Materials & systems
We are not tied to a single manufacturer. We specify from the established ranges available in Zimbabwe and choose on exposure and substrate, not on what happens to be in the store.
| System | Where it is used |
|---|---|
| PVA / acrylic emulsion | General interior walls and ceilings. Matt finish, easy to touch up, low odour for occupied rooms. |
| Washable acrylic | Kitchens, corridors, schools and clinics where walls are wiped down regularly. |
| Exterior UV-grade acrylic | External render and plaster. Formulated for high UV and driving rain in the Harare rainy season. |
| Enamel / polyurethane gloss | Timber joinery, doors, frames and trim where a hard, wipeable surface is needed. |
| Bonding liquid and plaster primer | Chalky, powdery or previously distempered substrates that would otherwise reject a topcoat. |
| Rust-inhibiting metal primer | Burglar bars, gates, balustrades and structural steel after wire-brushing back to sound metal. |
| Roof coating | Cement tile, IBR and corrugated sheeting, with sealing of fixings and laps where required. |
| Textured / granite-effect spray | Feature walls, washrooms, corridors and reception areas. Hard-wearing, hides minor substrate imperfection and cleans easily. |
| Damp-resistant sealer | Localised rising or penetrating damp, applied after the source has been addressed — never as a cover-up. |
Benefits
Project gallery
Photographed on our own sites. See more in our project portfolio.
Recent related projects
Completed
Commercial · Harare
Multi-storey exterior repaint delivered from scaffold and elevating platform with the building fully occupied throughout. Programmed in elevations so entrances stayed open.
Completed
Residential · Borrowdale, Harare
Complete interior and exterior redecoration. Substrates washed, filled and primed before topcoats, producing even colour and clean cut-lines throughout the property.
Completed
Commercial · Borrowdale, Harare
Specialist textured granite-effect coating applied to washroom and corridor walls, chosen for durability and ease of cleaning in a high-traffic public building.
Questions answered
Practical answers from our team in Harare. Still unsure? Ask us directly.
There is no honest flat rate. Price is driven by three things: the area to be covered, the condition of the substrate, and the system specified. A sound wall needing a wash and two coats is a fraction of the cost of one that needs stripping, filling, stabilising and priming first.
We measure on site and issue an itemised quotation separating preparation, materials and labour, so you can see exactly where the money goes and compare quotes fairly.
A typical three to four bedroom home in Harare takes one to three weeks for a full interior and exterior repaint. Preparation usually accounts for more than half of that time.
Weather matters for exterior work. We do not apply topcoats onto damp substrates or late in the day during the rainy season, because trapped moisture is the most common cause of early peeling.
Yes, and most of our work is in occupied buildings. We phase the works room by room, sheet and mask furniture and floors, contain dust, and clean the working area at the end of each day.
For offices and retail we can programme noisy or disruptive stages outside trading hours so your operation keeps running.
High pressure wash or wash down, scrape back all loose and flaking material, treat any mould or algae, fill and make good cracks and holes, sand back level, then spot-prime or fully prime depending on the substrate.
Preparation is where a paint job is won or lost. A cheap quote almost always means preparation has been cut, and that shows within a season or two.
We work with the established brands available in Zimbabwe — Dulux, Plascon, Astra and similar — and specify the product to the exposure rather than the price list.
Where you have a preferred brand or an existing colour to match, we will work to it. We will tell you plainly if a chosen product is wrong for the substrate.
Yes. We can match from a physical sample, an existing painted surface, or a brand colour reference. Bring us a chip, an offcut or even a cupboard door.
Where an exact match is not achievable in the available product range, we will show you the closest options before committing to a full order.
Yes. We apply specialist decorative and textured spray coatings including granite-effect and speckled finishes for feature walls, commercial washrooms, corridors and reception areas.
These systems are hard-wearing and easy to clean, which is why they perform well in high-traffic public buildings.
Yes. Roof sheeting, fascias, gutters, burglar bars, gates and structural steel are all part of a normal external contract. Ferrous metal is wire-brushed and treated with an appropriate primer before topcoats.
Painting steel without correcting existing rust simply hides the problem for a season.
Not if the system is specified and applied correctly. UV exposure in Harare is high, so we specify exterior-grade products with proper UV resistance and apply them at the correct spreading rate.
Most premature failure we are called to fix comes from thinned paint, missing primer, or application over a damp or dusty substrate — not from the climate itself.
Yes. We stand behind our workmanship and will return to correct defects attributable to our application. The applicable period depends on the system specified and is stated in your quotation.
Manufacturer product warranties, where they apply, are passed on to you.
We normally quote supply and fit as one package, which means we control the specification and the quantity. If you prefer to supply your own materials we will quote labour only.
In that case we will advise in writing where a product choice may affect durability, because we cannot guarantee a system we did not specify.
We work across Harare from our base in Greendale, including Borrowdale, Highlands, Avondale, Mount Pleasant, Marlborough, Belgravia, Chisipite, Newlands and Glen Lorne.
Commercial and industrial work extends to Msasa, Pomona, Westgate and the surrounding industrial areas.
Where we work
We work from 33 Western Road, Greendale, and cover Harare and the surrounding suburbs. Travel time matters on a project like this — being local means we can get back to site quickly if something needs attention after handover.
Outside these areas? Tell us where the property is and we will let you know honestly whether we can deliver our standard there.
Related services
Most projects need more than one trade. We run them under a single contract so the sequencing is our problem, not yours — see all services or browse our completed projects.
Tell us the property, the suburb and roughly what needs doing. We will visit, measure properly and send an itemised quotation — no obligation.