Roofing work on Carlton houses
Victorian and Edwardian terraces on the Rathdowne, Drummond and Canning Street grid. Pitched roofs set behind facade parapets, corrugated iron and slate, and a lot of mature street trees dropping into the gutters.
The roofs we see in Carlton
Carlton and Carlton North are among the most intact nineteenth-century streetscapes in Melbourne. The North Carlton heritage overlay describes the stock precisely: one and two-storey Victorian and Edwardian houses with pitched gabled or hipped roofs set mainly behind facade parapets, clad in corrugated iron or slate, with some Marseilles pattern terracotta.
The roofs that turn up in Carlton
Three coverings we work on here, and the way each one usually fails.
Pitched roofs behind facade parapets
The defining Carlton roof form. What the street sees is the parapet; the working roof sits behind it and drains into a concealed box gutter. Nothing about a failing box gutter is visible from the footpath, which is why the first symptom is normally internal.
Iron, slate and some terracotta
Corrugated iron and slate dominate, with pockets of unglazed Marseilles pattern terracotta on the later Edwardian houses. Three coverings, three different failure modes, and three different right answers. It is worth having someone look before deciding which one you are dealing with.
Chimneys with moulded and corbelled caps
The heritage citations single these out: stucco stacks with moulded caps, or face brick with corbelled capping courses. They are a character element and a leak path at the same time. Flashings around them are often original and long past their working life.
Why Carlton roofs fail the way they do
The same roofing faults, shaped by the streets, the trees and the housing stock.
- Street tree leaf load The plane trees along Canning and Drummond drop heavily every autumn. Blocked box gutters and valleys back water up under the covering rather than spilling outside.
- Concealed box gutters Behind the parapet and out of sight. Rust, poor fall or a blocked outlet sends water into the roof space instead of down the downpipe.
- Tenanted and agent-managed A lot of Carlton stock is rented. Roof problems get reported late and quotes go through a manager, so we photograph everything and put it in writing.
- Overlay-sensitive finishes What goes back on a visible plane matters here. Matching an existing profile and colour is usually the right call, and a dark coating rarely suits this stock.
Roof types we work on in Carlton
These are the coverings and details that turn up on this suburb's houses. The list is a guide to what we see, not a claim that every house has every item.
- Corrugated iron on Victorian terraces
- Slate on two-storey and boom-era houses
- Marseilles pattern terracotta on Edwardian stock
- Concealed box gutters behind facade parapets
- Stucco and face brick chimney stacks
- Original valleys and lead flashings
The roofing work we do here
The same services as the rest of Melbourne. What gets quoted depends on the roof in front of us.
Suburbs around Carlton
If your house is in one of these suburbs, tell us. We will confirm we cover you before booking anything.
Suburb not listed? Ask about your area and we will confirm before we book an inspection.
Questions about roofing in Carlton
If the answer you need is not here, call and ask. We would rather explain it than have you guess.
Need the roof in Carlton looked at?
Tell us the street and what you have noticed. We will confirm we cover you, inspect the roof, and send a written quote for the work it needs.