Hornsby Heights roofs sit on the edge of Berowra Valley

Follow Galston Road west out of Hornsby and the blocks get bigger, the canopy closes over and the land starts falling away. Hornsby Heights backs onto Berowra Valley National Park, which runs through the valley between here, Thornleigh, Pennant Hills, Cherrybrook and Galston, and reaches Berowra Creek. Crosslands Reserve, at the end of Somerville Road, is where the suburb hands over to the bush entirely.

Beautiful place to live. Hard place to keep a roof clear.

The litter problem is not seasonal here

Under mature eucalypts the shedding never really stops. Long stringybark ribbons bridge across a gutter mouth and then catch everything behind them, and the fine leaf that follows packs into a mat that stays wet for weeks because the canopy blocks the drying sun.

The result is predictable: valleys dam, gutters rust from the inside, and water finds the lap in the sarking. Twice a year is the realistic minimum for clearing on most of these blocks, and three times is not excessive where gums sit directly over the ridge. A properly specified leaf guard reduces that, it does not abolish it.

Steep blocks change the job

A lot of houses here are split-level or two-storey at the back, dropping away into a gully. That affects everything: how the roof is accessed safely, where a tarp can be anchored in an emergency, whether a truck can get near the house, and how stormwater gets away from the footings.

We work that out at the inspection and it goes in the quote, rather than appearing later as an extra.

Bushfire-prone land

Much of the suburb sits on land mapped as bushfire prone on Hornsby Shire mapping certified by the NSW Rural Fire Service. Where new roof work falls on that land, AS 3959 drives the detail: full sarking, sealed roof-to-wall junctions, non-combustible gutter and valley guards instead of plastic, and fine-aperture ember mesh. We raise it at the quote, not afterwards.

Call (02) 9000 1127 for a free inspection, or ask for a quote.

Nearby we cover Hornsby, Asquith and Westleigh. See every suburb on the service areas page, or read about roof restoration for ageing tile roofs.