Leura roofs: shaded gardens, heritage streets, soft mortar

The suburb the trees are the point of

Leura sits at about 985 metres and is known for exactly the thing that is hardest on a roof: canopy. The cool-climate gardens, many of them laid out by Paul Sorensen, the National Trust grounds at Everglades on Everglades Avenue, the flowering cherries down the median of Leura Mall — all of it means mature planting close to houses, and mature planting means shade and litter.

Shade is the issue. A southern pitch under established canopy gets the least sun across the year, dries slowest after rain and frost, and stays damp long enough for moss and lichen to establish thickly. On the northern plane of the same house the tiles can still be reasonably clean.

Free inspection and written quote: (02) 4703 5000.

What we see here most

Moss and lichen with roots working between tile courses, lifting edges and opening water paths. Gutters and valleys loaded with leaf, bark and garden litter rather than just eucalypt drop. And at this altitude, the same freeze-thaw damage to bedding mortar that affects the whole upper mountains.

The tiles themselves are often sound, which is why most Leura roofs we look at are restoration candidates — clean down, biocide, rebed and repoint the ridges, replace broken tiles, recoat — rather than replacement candidates.

Conservation areas and colour

Leura North and Leura South are heritage conservation areas under Blue Mountains LEP 2015, with the detailed controls sitting in Part D of the Development Control Plan. The historic streetscape here has been largely preserved and the planning expectation reflects that, so profile and colour matter on any re-roof. Muted, traditional tones on a short-run corrugated profile are usually both the compliant answer and the better-looking one.

One practical suggestion

If you are already paying a gardener, the cheapest roofing improvement available to you is cutting back the limbs directly over the roof. It does more for a shaded pitch than any product does.

Nearby

Katoomba runs straight into Leura on the western edge, with Wentworth Falls the next town east and Medlow Bath past Katoomba. See roof restoration for what the work involves, or the full service areas list.