Box Hill's homes, then and now
Apartments lead
At the 2021 Census, 53.1% of occupied dwellings were flats or apartments, 24.7% semi-detached or townhouses and only 22.0% separate houses.
Built up, literally
A 21st-century building boom produced high-rises including Sky One, which at 36 storeys is described as the tallest building outside central Melbourne.
Older houses from three waves
The railway arrived in 1882. eMelbourne records land-boom subdivisions with new houses and some mansions, more building in the Edwardian era, and a peak in new housing between 1923 and 1926.
Heritage across Whitehorse
Whitehorse City Council says 790 heritage places are protected by Heritage Overlays, and that permission may be needed to alter or extend buildings in an overlay.
Leak in an apartment or townhouse? Do this
Contain it
Bucket under the drip, towels down, and keep clear of wet light fittings. If water is near electrics, turn the power off at the switchboard.
Photograph it
Take photos of the stain or drip, note the date and the weather, and check whether neighbours above or beside you have the same problem.
Report it in writing
Email your owners corporation or strata manager with the photos. If you rent, tell your agent or landlord the same day.
Follow up
Ask who the roofer is and when they're coming. Box gutters and membrane roofs on bigger buildings need someone who works on them regularly.
The older houses
The Edwardian and 1920s houses still standing are old enough to need a proper look rather than a quick patch. The usual work is ridge rebedding, valley replacement and gutters. Roof repairs in Melbourne and rebedding and repointing explain the fixes.
If your house is under a Heritage Overlay, talk to Whitehorse before changing the roof material. Keeping the same material and profile is usually the simpler path.
Post-war houses and townhouses from the medium-density years often have box gutters where two roofs meet. Our page on box gutters explains why they need regular clearing.
If it were our place
In an apartment, we'd report a leak in writing on the day, with photos, then follow up until a roofer has actually found the source. In an older house, we'd book a roof inspection before the wet months rather than wait for a stain. Tell us the job and your postcode, and we'll pass it to one licence-checked roofer for your area where we have one, or tell you plainly 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.
