Roofers in Happy Valley, Adelaide
Happy Valley wraps around the northern and eastern sides of the Happy Valley Reservoir in the southern foothills, with Kenihans Road and Chandlers Hill Road climbing through it. It is a 1970s to 90s family suburb on sloping ground, higher and windier than the flat southern suburbs and with more trees.
What usually goes wrong on Happy Valley roofs
- Concrete tiles from the 1970s and 80s eroded and porous with moss on the southern slopes
- Ridge caps and tiles lifted by wind on exposed hillside streets facing the gulf
- Cracked ridge mortar where the slope and the reactive clay move the frame together
- Gutters and valleys blocked by leaf litter from the reservoir reserve and street gums
- Steep sloping-block access needing scaffold or harness work on the downhill side
Local notes from the roofers
Happy Valley sits higher than the suburbs on the plain, and the extra elevation shows in the roofs. The winter fronts that cross Gulf St Vincent climb the slopes here with nothing to slow them, and ridge caps that have lost their pointing lift on the streets facing the reservoir and the coast. Most homes are 1970s and 80s brick veneer under concrete tiles, so the standard problems apply: worn surface, porous tiles, moss on the southern pitch and cement ridge mortar that has cracked with thirty or forty summers of expansion. The slope adds a twist. Footings on the hillside blocks move with the clay and with the fall of the land, and split-level and two-storey homes develop leaks at the roof-to-wall flashings as the frame shifts. Gums along Kenihans Road and around the reservoir reserve drop leaves that block valleys and gutters, and the downhill side of many houses is a long way from the ground, so scaffold or harness work is planned in from the start. Newer Colorbond homes toward Aberfoyle Park and along the edges mostly need screws and flashings checked after storms.
Housing and roof types in Happy Valley
A 1970s to 1990s suburb of brick veneer homes under concrete tiles on sloping blocks around the Happy Valley Reservoir, with 1980s courtyard homes, some larger blocks on the hillier streets and newer Colorbond rebuilds along the edges toward Aberfoyle Park and O'Halloran Hill.
