What's behind Avondale's roofs
Railway and brickworks
The station opened in 1880 and brought rapid growth. William Hunt's brickworks beside the line at St Georges Road made clay goods until 1969.
A character pocket
The Unitary Plan's Isthmus A special character area covers early housing around Avondale's town centre, and names Avondale among the suburbs dating from the 1880s to 1910s. Its statement says villa roofs are mostly corrugated iron, with some clay and concrete tile.
From suburb to infill
Avondale became steadily more suburban from the mid-1920s. Since the 2010s, medium and high-density housing has become common, including the Highbury Triangle Kāinga Ora complex. There were 7,335 dwellings at the 2023 Census.
Heavy rain
In the 12 March 2017 cloudburst, Fire Service figures counted 20 flooded homes in Avondale.
The jobs most likely on an Avondale roof
Villa iron at the end of its life. On older houses, rust at the laps, popped nails and leaking chimney flashings are the usual calls. If the sheets are sound, a repaint may do. If not, see re-roofing a villa or bungalow.
Spouting under pressure. A downpour like 2017's finds every blocked outlet and undersized downpipe. Leaking spouting and downpipes explains what to look for from the ground.
Newer housing. Within 12 months of the work being finished, you can give the builder written notice of a defect, and the Building Act presumes it's their responsibility unless they prove otherwise. Beyond that, the law's implied warranties still apply. Check your paperwork before calling anyone else.
Before you change anything about an older Avondale roof
- Check the Unitary Plan map to see whether your property is in the special character overlay
- If it is, ask Auckland Council whether a new material or shape needs resource consent
- Ask the roofer whether the job is like-for-like under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, or needs a building consent
- If the house was built before 2000, have suspect sheeting tested for asbestos before work
- If you're right on the Whau River's edge, ask whether your address falls in exposure zone D, which includes land within 100 m of tidal estuaries
Our take on Avondale roofs
For a villa in the character pocket, we'd stick with corrugated iron and keep the roof's shape, which keeps the council side simple. For a newer home, we'd go back to the builder first. Either way, we'd have the spouting checked before winter.
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.