Sandringham, from a roofer's point of view
Sand belt and the Red Bluff
eMelbourne calls Sandringham a southern sand belt suburb, made a beach resort by its foreshore and cliffs, especially at the Red Bluff. Novelist Martin Boyd remembered 'red ti-tree-covered cliffs'.
Homes for returned servicemen
The municipality grew quickly in the 1920s and 1930s, and the War Service Homes Commission built many of the houses for ex-servicemen.
A 1950s Housing Commission estate
In the 1950s the Housing Commission of Victoria built a large estate of houses for sale here, one of the first to include its own shopping centre.
The foreshore, rebuilt
Many of the humbler houses facing the foreshore have since been replaced by luxury houses and apartments.
Half houses, half not
At the 2021 Census, 50.0% of occupied dwellings were separate houses, 22.4% semi-detached or townhouses and 26.8% flats or apartments.
Two kinds of house, two first questions
Older homes: is there asbestos? EPA Victoria says houses built before 1990 are likely to have some asbestos, and roofing tiles are among the products that can contain it. Before anyone drills, cuts or water-blasts an old roof, eaves or gutters, get it tested. The Victorian Asbestos Hub notes your builder or plumber generally isn't licensed to remove asbestos. Our guide is my roof asbestos? explains the signs.
Newer homes: is it still under warranty? From 1 July 2026, Home Warranty insurance in Victoria covers structural faults for 6 years and non-structural faults for 2 years on work over $20,000. If a newer roof leaks, go back to the builder first. BlueScope also lets owners register a COLORBOND warranty up to 12 months after installation, so keep the paperwork.
Both: salt on the metal. BlueScope recommends standard COLORBOND and ZINCALUME gutters, downpipes and fascia more than 200 m from salt water, and COLORBOND Ultra more than 100 m. The bay here counts as exposed, so ask which product you're getting. See roof plumbing in Melbourne.
What you can do, and what needs a professional
You can
- Look for rust streaks on gutters and fascia from the ground
- Keep the builder's paperwork and any roofing warranty certificates together
- Hose salt off the eaves and the sheltered undersides of gutters you can reach from the ground
- Ask the seller or owners corporation when the roof was last replaced
Leave to a roofer
- Anything on the roof or at gutter height
- Arranging an asbestos test before any work starts
- Replacing corroded flashings and gutters
- Warranty inspections on a newer roof
Where we'd start in Sandringham
In an older home, we'd answer the asbestos question before any quote is signed. In a newer one, we'd find the build date and the builder before paying anyone, because a warranty claim costs you nothing. And whichever it is, if the gutters are steel and you're close to the beach, we'd want the product name 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.
