Decking in Coolum Beach
A town under a mountain
Coolum Beach is a beachside town with 9,152 residents at the 2021 census. Mount Coolum, to the south, dominates the landscape. The name comes from a word, gulum or kulum, meaning blunt or headless, which describes the mountain's shape. Peregian Beach lies to the north, and Mount Peregian, Toboggan Hill and Eurungunder Hill rise within the suburb, at 71, 80 and 100 metres.
Kabi Kabi country
The Coolum district is the traditional land of the Inabara or Yinneburra clan of the Undanbi tribe, a subset of the Kabi Kabi or Gubbi Gubbi group. The Yandina-Coolum Road enters from the west. Coolum Provisional School opened in 1917 and became Coolum State School in 1930, and the library opened in 1989.
Cane tramway and beach estate
In December 1923, land in the Mt Coolum Beach Estate second section went to auction, a month after the Moreton Central Sugar Mill cane tramway extended to Coolum. Many beachside blocks date from the decades that followed. Ask your builder to look at the age and condition of your house frame before attaching anything new to it, and to tell you what they found.
A surf break and an esplanade
Wikipedia calls the beach one of the best breaks in Queensland. The beach is patrolled, with parks, a boardwalk, esplanade shops and the surf lifesaving club around it. Coolum also hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2002. A deck for entertaining on a lot near the beach should be planned for wind, sun and sand.
Schools
Coolum State School is on School Road, and Coolum State High School on Havana Road East, which opened in 1985. Coolum Beach Christian College is, despite the name, in neighbouring Yandina Creek. With so many families, weekday mornings are busy. Ask a builder to schedule noisy work such as sawing and drilling for times that suit your household and your neighbours.
A raised deck on a slope
Parts of the suburb run up toward the hills, so a back deck can sit well above the ground. A national guide says height is the biggest cost variable, with raised decks of one metre or more commonly pricing at $500 to $1,000 a square metre and beyond. Ask each builder to quote the lowest practical height and explain what higher costs.
Questions to ask each builder
Ask what the frame is made of, how it is fixed to the house, what the footings are, who applies for any approval and who pays. Also ask who will check the work before the boards go on. A small deck can still need approval if a side is longer than 5 metres, so measure first.
Mountains and beaches
Coolum Beach has three named hills, including Mount Peregian, also called Mount Emu, at 71 metres, though Mount Coolum to the south dominates the landscape. The town's name comes from an Indigenous word, gulum or kulum, meaning blunt or headless, describing the shape of Mount Coolum. Peregian Beach extends south along the coast to the main surf beach.
What does Coolum mean?
Wikipedia says it comes from a word meaning blunt or headless, after the shape of Mount Coolum.
How many people live in Coolum Beach?
9,152 at the 2021 census.
When did Coolum State High School open?
On 29 January 1985.
Request a quote
Nearby
Nambour
Buderim