What Western Sydney roofs deal with
Record heat
Penrith reached 48.9 °C on 4 January 2020, three degrees past the 45.8 °C record at Observatory Hill in the city.
Frost out west
Richmond averages 17 nights a year below 0 °C, while the CBD has never recorded a frost.
Less rain, more hail
Most western suburbs average about 700 to 900 mm of rain a year, with Penrith on 719.2 mm. On 14 October 2021 hail up to 6 cm fell from the Blue Mountains to Blacktown, Mount Druitt and Penrith, and a shopping mall roof collapsed at Mount Druitt.
Housing in waves
Blacktown grew fast in the 1950s and 1960s, Campbelltown became a satellite city in the early 1960s, and the Green Valley estate went up between 1961 and 1965. Abbotsbury, Cecil Hills and Glenmore Park were farms until the 1980s, and newer suburbs such as Kellyville Ridge and Oran Park are mostly larger modern homes.
Mostly houses
Separate houses made up 80.5% of homes in the ABS Blacktown region in 2021 and 82.1% in the Outer West and Blue Mountains, against 46.6% around Parramatta.
The jobs that come up most out west
Hail damage. After a storm, check from the ground for cracked tiles, dented gutters and debris, and photograph everything before repairs start. Hail damage claims covers the insurance side and hail and storm repairs the fix.
Restoring post-war tiled roofs. On the older estates, many tiled roofs are ready for a clean, new ridge mortar and a coating. The NSW EPA says homes built before 1990 probably contain some asbestos, so get that checked before work starts.
A cooler colour on a re-roof. In hot sun, a light roof's surface can be up to 35 °C cooler than a dark one's, according to BlueScope. At Wilton in the south-west, NSW planning rules require light coloured roofs on new homes, and WSROC says choosing one costs nothing extra. Colorbond colours shows the range.
Leave Colorbond unpainted. If a dark steel roof feels too hot, BlueScope says overpainting its steel voids the warranty. Ask a roofer about insulation or other fixes before buying paint.
What we'd do out west
After any hailstorm, we'd photograph the roof and gutters from the ground and call the insurer before anyone starts repairs. On a re-roof, we'd choose the lightest colour we could live with. WSROC says it costs no more, and it takes some of the sting out of a western Sydney summer.
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.