Preparing the house for bushfire season

Spring is the working window for bushfire preparation. The weather is mild enough to do the physical work, restrictions have generally not started, and trades still have capacity. By the time a warning is issued, everything below is too late to begin.

This is a guide to the building maintenance side of preparation — the physical condition of the house. It is not a bushfire survival plan. Your survival plan, whether to leave and when, and your local risk rating come from your state fire authority: the CFA in Victoria, the NSW RFS, QFES in Queensland, CFS in South Australia, DFES in Western Australia, and the TFS in Tasmania. Write that plan first; this work supports it.

Embers, not flames

The single most important thing to understand is that most homes lost in bushfires are not lost to a wall of flame arriving at the door. They are lost to ember attack — burning material carried ahead of and after the fire front, landing on and around the house, and finding somewhere to lodge and smoulder.

Embers find gaps. That reframes the whole job: you are looking for every opening an ember could enter and every place fine fuel can collect.

The roof and gutters

The roof is the most exposed surface and the most common failure point.

• Clear gutters and valleys of leaves and debris. Dry leaf litter in a gutter is ideal ember fuel, sitting directly against the fascia and roof edge. Clear again close to the season if you are under trees — once in September does not last until January.
• Check for gaps at the roof edge and under ridge capping. Embers can enter the roof cavity through surprisingly small openings.
• Replace broken or slipped tiles and check that sarking is intact where visible.
• Consider gutter guard and ember guards for roof and eave vents. In designated bushfire-prone areas, materials and installation may need to meet specific standards — check the requirements for your BAL rating rather than fitting whatever is available.

The building envelope

• Seal gaps. Under eaves, around vents, at the base of external walls, where services penetrate. Fine mesh screening is standard practice.
• Windows and screens. Radiant heat can break glass and let embers in. Metal flyscreens and shutters offer meaningful protection. Check existing screens for holes.
• Underfloor. An open subfloor on a sloping site is a genuine vulnerability. Enclosing or screening it is worth advice specific to your BAL rating.
• Decks and verandahs. Clear the space beneath them of stored material and accumulated leaf litter. This is one of the most commonly overlooked spots.
• External doors. Check weather seals — gaps at the threshold admit embers.

The ground around the house

• Move firewood, timber offcuts and stored fuel well away from the building.
• Clear leaf litter from garden beds against the house, and from the base of fences.
• Check that flammable material is not stored under the house or against walls.
• Trim vegetation overhanging the roof.
• Locate and test taps, hoses and any pump. Metal fittings survive radiant heat; plastic ones fail.

Vegetation management and clearing rules vary by council and by overlay, and some clearing requires approval. Check locally before removing established trees.

If you are building or renovating in a bushfire-prone area

Your Bushfire Attack Level determines construction requirements — materials, glazing, screening, decking and subfloor treatment. It is assessed for your specific site and it materially affects cost. If you are planning work, establish your BAL before design rather than after, because retrofitting to a higher BAL is considerably more expensive than building to it.

What to do this month

1. Write or review your survival plan with your state fire authority's guidance.
2. Clear gutters, valleys and the roof.
3. Walk the perimeter looking for gaps an ember could enter.
4. Clear under decks and remove stored fuel from against the house.
5. Book any trade work now — roofers and screen installers get busy as the season approaches.

Where to go next

Much of this overlaps with routine seasonal work. Read next: the end-of-winter roof and gutter check.