Why guards matter more here than people think
In 1994 the fire reached the suburbs
By 9 January 1994, Gosford, Kariong, Somersby, Woy Woy, Umina, Ettalong and Brisbane Waters had been wholly or partly evacuated, and by 15 January about 450 square km had burned in the Gosford area. Those are town streets, not remote bush blocks.
Black Summer came close again
The 2019 to 2020 Gospers Mountain fire burnt about 512,000 hectares across the Lithgow, Hawkesbury and Central Coast areas before it was contained on 12 January 2020. The Three Mile fire, in the Central Coast council area, is also on the list of NSW Black Summer fires.
Embers travel a long way
Embers, not flames, take most of the houses lost to bushfire: 85% of them, by the RFS's count. They can land more than 100 metres ahead of the fire front, and a gutter full of dry leaves is exactly where they catch.
Heavy rain too
February is the wettest month at Gosford, at 189.9 mm. A guarded gutter that stays clear can carry a downpour away. A choked one tips it into the eaves.
Which guard suits a Central Coast home?
On bush fire prone land, the RFS says gutter and valley leaf guards should be non-combustible and installed to AS 3959, the bushfire construction standard. Its older guide to upgrading homes suggests sealing gaps wider than 3 mm, or covering them with mesh no coarser than 2 mm in corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium. Plastic guards don't meet that.
Nobody can force you to bring an existing Central Coast house up to that standard, though the RFS strongly urges it. Check whether your block is mapped with the RFS online tool, or on the Section 10.7 planning certificate from Central Coast Council.
Think about the metal, too. BlueScope says stainless steel shouldn't be used in contact with COLORBOND or ZINCALUME gutters, which matters if you're offered stainless mesh. Ask the installer how the mesh is fixed and what it actually touches.
What to ask the installer
- Is this mesh non-combustible, and will it be installed to AS 3959?
- What's the aperture size, and what metal is it made from?
- How is it fixed, and could it react with my gutter metal?
- Does the quote cover valleys and ridge gaps, or only the gutters?
- How often will the gutters still need a clean with the guards on?
- Have you checked my address on the bush fire prone land map?
Our pick
On a mapped bush fire prone block anywhere from Kariong to Ettalong, we'd only fit metal mesh that's non-combustible and installed to AS 3959, even though the upgrade isn't mandatory. Off the map and well away from bush, a cheaper leaf guard is fine. Either way, guards cut down the cleaning. They don't end it.
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.