Living on the ridgelines
Towns along a ridge
The towns run in a ribbon along the highway and railway, from Glenbrook, Blaxland and Springwood up through Lawson, Wentworth Falls, Leura, Katoomba and Blackheath. About 70% of the council area is national park and only about 11% is privately owned.
Fire, often
The district averages 140 bush, grass or forest fires a year, with a major wildfire every 5 to 7 years and a season that usually runs September to February. Homes were also lost at Winmalee and Hawkesbury Heights in 1994, and at Warrimoo, Valley Heights and Yellow Rock in the 2001 Black Christmas fires.
Height and weather
Land rises from 160 metres at Lapstone to 1,094 metres at Mount Piddington. The upper mountains get two to three snowfalls a year and about 1,050 mm of rain, with many misty days.
Under the canopy
NSW Government mapping puts Katoomba, Leura, Springwood, Glenbrook, Blaxland and Winmalee in the 40 to 100% canopy range, though most of those figures are estimates.
Houses and heritage
At the 2021 Census, 92.1% of homes were separate houses. The council area has 893 heritage items and 36 heritage conservation areas.
Making a roof harder for embers to get into
The RFS says 85% of houses lost in bushfires go from ember attack, and embers can land more than 100 metres ahead of the fire. Its guidance for homes on bush fire prone land is non-combustible roofing that's properly sealed, non-combustible gutter and valley guards installed to AS 3959, no box gutters where you can avoid them, and leaves cleared from roofs, valleys and gutters before the season.
Both main roof types can be part of a compliant roof. BlueScope says COLORBOND roofing, gutters and downpipes can be used in compliant systems right up to BAL-FZ (the highest bushfire attack level). Monier says non-combustible tiles with ember protection and fire-rated sarking (the membrane under the tiles) can form part of a roof that meets AS 3959.
For a house that's already built, upgrading is strongly recommended by the RFS but not compulsory. Its guide to upgrading existing homes suggests fitting sarking with a flammability index of no more than 5 when roofing is replaced, so a re-roof is the natural time to do it. Ember guards covers gutter options.
Cold, damp and shaded roofs
Mist, shade and leaf litter are a recipe for moss and lichen. Monier says growth on terracotta is only on the surface and doesn't affect the tile itself, but it does hold leaves and water in gutters and valleys. It advises against pressure washers on tiles, so ask a roofer about gentler moss removal.
With canopy this heavy, plan on cleaning gutters at least twice a year; Monier suggests that for tree-lined areas. In a heritage conservation area, check with Blue Mountains City Council before changing roof materials, because the state's exempt development rules for roof repairs don't apply there.
If we lived up the mountain
We'd treat the gutters as fire prevention, not housekeeping: cleared before September, with metal guards fitted properly. If the roof needed replacing, we'd use the job to add sarking and seal the gaps embers get through. Send us the job and your postcode and we'll pass it to one licence-checked roofer covering your part of the mountains, if we have one; if we don't, we'll tell you straight away.
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.