What the Illawarra throws at a roof
Rain off the escarpment
The escarpment lifts moist easterly air, so Wollongong's rain is often driven by orographic lift, and the wettest high ground gets over 1300 mm a year. Gutters and downpipes here have to move a lot of water in a short time.
Landslips in big rain
In April 1988 about 600 mm fell over five days. At about 3.23am on 30 April the Coledale railway embankment collapsed, sweeping away a house and killing two people, and hours later a house at Otford was pushed off its foundations. On steep blocks, make sure roof water ends up in the stormwater system, not on the slope.
Westerly gales in winter
July and August are the windiest months, with dry foehn westerlies off the range that can gust over 100 km/h. Loose ridge caps, lifted flashings and tired screws are what let go first.
A tornado in Kiama
A tornado hit Kiama on 24 February 2013, damaging about 75 homes. The Illawarra Mercury reported that early recovery work stopped because many of the damaged homes contained asbestos.
Surf most of the way
Wollongong alone has 17 patrolled beaches from Stanwell Park to Windang, and Kiama adds Surf Beach, Mystics and Boyds. Steel roofing near breaking surf needs the right product for its distance from the water.
Kiama's timber terraces
The Collins Street terraces, built for quarry workers and dated by Kiama Library to 1886, are on the NSW State Heritage Register. NSW's exempt pathway for roof work doesn't apply on State Heritage Register land.
North, middle or south: where you live changes the job
The northern suburbs. The coastal plain is narrow here, with small valleys at Coalcliff and Stanwell Park, so many homes sit on steep ground below the escarpment. Access, drainage and storm debris are the usual issues. The December 2015 storm cut power to thousands of homes in Bulli, Thirroul and Woonona.
Wollongong and Lake Illawarra. This is the densest stretch: 18.5% of Wollongong's occupied homes were flats or apartments at the 2021 Census. BlueScope names Lake Illawarra as calm salt water, so standard Colorbond can sit at any distance from the shore, though unpainted Zincalume needs more than 100 m. See roof repairs in Wollongong.
Shellharbour and Kiama. The plain widens in the south. In the Kiama council area, 1,699 of 10,766 dwellings were empty on census night, so a storm can easily hit a house with nobody home to notice the damage. Our Shellharbour page covers its new estates.
Storm damage on an older house
If your house was built before 1990 and a storm has broken roof sheets or eaves, treat the debris as possible asbestos. Don't sweep, cut or hose it, and keep people away. Call the SES on 132 500 if it's an emergency, and have a licensed removalist deal with anything that might be asbestos.
Where we'd start in the Illawarra
We'd match the job to the setting: the steel grade on the coast, drainage and access under the escarpment, and heritage approval in old Kiama. And before the winter westerlies arrive, we'd have any loose ridge caps and flashings fixed, because they're usually the first things to lift.
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.