After a hailstorm in Salisbury
Stay off the roof
Insurers told homeowners after the 2021 storms not to climb on damaged roofs. Look from the ground or through a window, and keep out of any room where the ceiling is bulging.
Ring your insurer first
In 2021 insurers said they could arrange emergency tarping. Ask before paying anyone, so the work fits your claim.
Photograph everything
Hailstones on the lawn, dented gutters, cracked tiles you can see, and any water marks inside. Date the photos.
Get a written roofer's report
A licensed roofer can list damaged tiles, sheets and flashings. Our guide to a hail damage roof claim covers what the report should say.
Why Salisbury roofs are the way they are
A town that grew in bursts
Allotments went on sale along the Little Para River in 1848. During World War II the Salisbury Explosives Factory at Penfield more than doubled the district's population to over 4,000, and 300 prefabricated 'cabin homes' were built for munitions workers.
The Housing Trust estate
A South Australian Housing Trust estate at Salisbury North began in 1949 to house about 1,000 employees of a rocket testing project. Trust homes of that era were roofed with cement or terracotta tiles, or with corrugated galvanised iron or asbestos cement sheets.
Hail and flash floods
Downpipes and stormwater connections earn their keep here.
Houses, units and townhouses
In 2021, 61.3% of Salisbury's homes were separate houses, 23.9% semi-detached or townhouses and 14.6% flats. On a semi or a unit, one half's leak can start on the neighbour's side of the roof.
Bushfire on the edge
RAA's 2023 list of Adelaide locations a bushfire could reach includes Salisbury East, up towards the hills.
What usually needs doing on a Salisbury roof?
Hail repairs. Cracked tiles and dented sheets are the obvious part. The hidden part is broken ridge mortar and split flashings that leak a season later.
Asbestos checks on older roofs and sheds. SafeWork SA says a home built or renovated before the mid-1980s is highly likely to contain asbestos, including in the roof and eaves. Have it identified before anyone cuts, drills or cleans. Is my roof asbestos? helps you weigh it up.
Restoration once the tiles are tired. Where cement tiles are sound but the ridges and coating have gone, see roof restoration in Adelaide.
Where we'd start in Salisbury
If your roof went through the 2021 hail and never had a proper look, we'd book an inspection before winter. Hail damage that was missed tends to turn up later as ceiling stains. If the house is postwar and has sheet roofing or eaves you can't identify, we'd treat it as asbestos until a test says otherwise.
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.