What sets Ponsonby roofs apart
One of Auckland's first suburbs
Land here was first subdivided in 1845, and the Unitary Plan counts Ponsonby among the walking suburbs laid out from around the 1860s. Expect small lots, narrow streets and houses packed close together.
Corrugated iron and brick chimneys
The council's Isthmus A statement says villa roofs here are gabled and hipped, most commonly in corrugated iron, and that brick chimneys still mark many rooflines. Workers cottages and modest Victorian villas sit alongside later Edwardian villas and bungalows.
A street on the heritage list
Renall Street, on Ponsonby's northern slopes, is a Heritage New Zealand historic area of houses built from the late 1860s to about 1900. Its listing records weatherboard houses with corrugated iron roofs, one with a hipped iron roof and brick chimneys.
Close to the footpath
In the earliest subdivisions, houses sit just one metre to three metres from the road boundary. Scaffolding often has to go on a narrow strip of land, and sometimes needs a neighbour's agreement.
The roof jobs Ponsonby homeowners ask about
Re-roofing an old villa. Iron that's rusting through at the laps and nail holes is common on houses this age. Under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, replacing roofing with a comparable product in the same position can be done without a building consent, but the work still has to meet the Building Code. Our guide to re-roofing a villa covers what to keep and what to upgrade.
Repainting iron that's still sound. If the sheets are solid and the rust is only on the surface, a repaint buys years. Painting an iron roof explains the prep that makes it last.
Chimneys and flashings. Old brick chimneys leak where the flashing meets the iron, and some are past saving. Removing one changes how the house looks from the street, so in a character area ask Auckland Council about resource consent first. See chimney removal.
Which rules apply to a Ponsonby roof?
Special character. In the Unitary Plan's special character overlay, repair and restoration are permitted, but external alterations or additions need resource consent. In areas such as Isthmus A, demolishing 30% or more of a building's wall and roof area also needs resource consent. Plan Change 120 may change these rules, so check the current position with the council.
Scheduled heritage buildings. If your house is in the Historic Heritage Overlay, repairs are only permitted with the original materials or the closest match, keeping the same design and form, with no sand or water-blasting and no scaffolding fixed to the building.
Pre-1900 houses. A cottage from the 1800s can count as an archaeological site. Under Heritage New Zealand's rules, works that may modify or destroy a pre-1900 structure need an archaeological authority first, so ask them whether your roof job is caught before anyone starts.
What we'd do with a Ponsonby villa
We'd put corrugated iron back on, in a profile and colour that matches the street, and ask the roofer to price the chimney flashings and any rotten spouting at the same time while the scaffold is up. If anything about the roof's shape or material will change, we'd talk to Auckland Council before signing a quote, not after.
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.