Three northside patterns
Along Kedron Brook
The brook rises at Upper Kedron and runs east through Enoggera, Stafford, Grange, Lutwyche, Wooloowin, Kalinga Park, Toombul and Hendra to Nudgee Beach. It took 893 mm of rain in the 2022 event, more than in 1974 or 2011, and the floodway broke its weir in several places. Toombul Shopping Centre flooded and never reopened.
By the bay
Sandgate, Shorncliffe and Nudgee Beach face Moreton Bay. BlueScope classes the bay at Redcliffe, just across the water, as exposed, and in the October 2020 storms gusts topped 100 km/h around the bay. During ex-Cyclone Alfred, Brisbane Airport recorded 93 km/h.
Postwar higher ground
Parts of the northside were subdivided after World War Two. In Stafford Heights, for example, the Somerset Hills Estate of 243 lots was drawn up in 1950.
The 2008 storm edge
The November 2008 storm hit the north-west fringe hardest, at The Gap, Arana Hills and Albany Creek, with winds up to 130 km/h.
Houses, units and renters
In the ABS 'Brisbane - North' area at the 2021 Census, 69.2% of homes were separate houses, 13.7% townhouses or similar and 16.6% flats, and 34.8% were rented.
Which jobs to expect where
Creek suburbs: gutters and downpipes sized to clear water fast, and a check of ceilings, flashings and valleys after big rain. Start with gutter replacement in Brisbane.
Bayside suburbs: corroded screws, flashings and gutter undersides, and steel chosen for the distance from the water. Our Colorbond roofing in Brisbane page explains BlueScope's distance rules.
Postwar streets: a test for asbestos before any work on pre-1990 sheeting, then often a re-roof. See roof replacement in Brisbane.
Where we'd start on the northside
If you're near Kedron Brook or one of its creeks, we'd get the gutters and downpipes sorted before November. By the bay, we'd want the steel grade written on any metal roof quote. On an older house, we'd test for asbestos before anything else. Give us your suburb and the job, and we'll pass it to one licence-checked roofer for that part of the northside if we have one, or tell you straight away that we don't.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.