What Werribee roofs live with
Two building booms
The township grew to over 12,000 people by 1971, and the shire went from 30,246 people in 1976 to 72,230 in 1991. Since the 1990s, estates have spread into the surrounding greenfield land, and in 2013 the state announced a 700 hectare east Werribee suburb planned for 7000 homes.
Inland from the bay
The Werribee River runs through town to Werribee South, where it meets Port Phillip, and Werribee South is 11 km away. Unless you live out there, bay salt isn't the main threat to your roof.
A dry, open plain
The Chirnsides' Werribee Park, finished by 1878, sat in a rain shadow and relied on wind-pump wells. Bureau figures put Laverton at 540.9 mm of rain a year, against 736.7 mm at Mornington, so roofs out here spend less of the year wet than those down the peninsula.
The March 2010 storm
On 6 March 2010 the storm reached Werribee at 2:25 pm and cancelled trains on the Werribee line. Across Melbourne about 2,000 homes were damaged that day, mostly because overloaded gutters led to leaks and collapses.
If your roof or eaves might be asbestos
Asbestos Victoria lists corrugated roof sheets, ridge capping, guttering, downpipes and eaves among the places asbestos turns up, and only a lab test of a sample confirms it. Don't drill, cut, sand or walk on suspect sheeting. It's illegal in every state to use high pressure water on asbestos materials, so a roof like that must never be pressure cleaned.
What Werribee roofs tend to need
Older homes: find out what it's made of. Before collecting quotes on a 1960s or 70s house, read is my roof asbestos?. It changes who can do the work and how it has to be done.
See roof replacement in Melbourne.
Gutters and downpipes for storm season. Clear, well-sized gutters are cheap protection against a cloudburst. See roof plumbing in Melbourne.
Renting? A third of Werribee homes (33.3% in 2021) are rented. Report a leak to your agent in writing, with photos.
Where we'd start in Werribee
For a 1960s or 70s house, we'd find out what the roof and eaves are made of before collecting quotes, because that decides who's allowed to do the job. For anything newer, we'd get gutters and flashings checked before the summer storms.
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.
