Mentone's roofs in context
Land-boom beginnings
Mentone was laid out as the Mentone Township Estate by land-boom entrepreneurs who built large houses. Its post office opened in 1884, and the RSL still uses a building from 1884 to 1886.
1950s subdivisions
Victorian Places says the market gardens and farms on Mentone's edge were subdivided for housing in the 1950s.
Shared walls
At the 2021 Census, 37.2% of occupied dwellings were semi-detached, row or townhouses and 18.2% were flats or apartments, against 44.0% separate houses.
The foreshore
Mentone's beach runs along Beaumaris Bay from the Beaumaris cliffs to Warrigal Road, and most of the suburb's open space is along the foreshore.
Exposed salt water
BlueScope lists Port Phillip Bay from Altona to Portsea as exposed marine, so the same distance rules apply here as on more open coasts.
When the roof isn't only yours
On a row of townhouses or a block of units, one roof often covers several homes. A leak in your ceiling can start above a neighbour's, run along a valley or box gutter, and drip out somewhere else entirely. Fixing only the bit above your unit can mean paying twice.
So get the whole roof looked at, not just your section. See roof inspections in Melbourne.
Near the beach, check what the gutters and flashings are made of. BlueScope recommends standard COLORBOND or ZINCALUME steel more than 200 m from exposed water and COLORBOND Ultra more than 100 m. Closer than that, ask the roofer what they'd use and why.
Questions for a roofer in Mentone
- Does the quote cover only my unit, or the whole roof?
- Where do you think the water is actually getting in?
- Which steel are the new gutters or flashings, and does it suit my distance from the beach?
- Can you send photos of what you find?
If it were our townhouse
We'd talk to the neighbours or the owners corporation before booking anyone, then have one roofer inspect the whole roof and send photos. We'd pay to fix the cause, not just the drip. And if the gutters are within a couple of hundred metres of the water, we'd want marine-rated steel named on the quote.
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.
