Defend your home against bushfire and ember attack
The catastrophic cost of bushfire is an all-too-familiar reality in Australia. Australian Standards have been designed to increase the ability of our properties to withstand attack from bushfires, but it's up to us to understand and comply with the requirements, make informed decisions and take action to make our properties safe.
Why are gutters so important in preventing fires?
Gutters are important because they tend to collect leaves and other debris that can ignite easily providing fuel for bushfires to spread and attack your property.
Gutters also present a point of entry for embers into your property's roof cavity. Research has shown that over 85% of fires that destroy properties during bushfires begin from ember attack, where burning parts of trees (e.g. twigs, branches, leaves) are carried by winds and lodge in gutters, under doorways, roof spaces or windows and start internal fires.
For a property to survive the widespread risk of sustained ember attack, it must be designed and maintained so that fire cannot spread by flaming embers. This means that gutters need to be free from leaves and debris, and any gaps which would allow an ember to enter the roof cavity need to be covered with an ember guard.
Choosing the right gutter protection is an important consideration in reducing the risk of ember attack and spread of bushfires.
Understanding bushfire compliance
Australian Standard AS3959:2018 mandates different construction requirements for new buildings based on your property's Bushfire Attack Level (BAL).
A BAL is a means of measuring the severity of a building's potential exposure to ember attack, radiant heat and direct flame contact.
There are six bushfire attack levels that are used to determine the appropriate construction to be applied to a development.
BAL-LOW
BAL-12.5
BAL-19
BAL-29
BAL-40
Flame Zone
The categories of attack are determined by:
The type of vegetation
How close your building is to the vegetation
What the effective slope is (i.e. fire runs more readily and with greater intensity uphill).
The Fire Danger index applicable to the region.
AS3959:2018 is designed to improve the ability of new buildings to withstand bushfire and ember attack; it affects your choice of construction materials for a number of features, including gutter guards such as gutter mesh.
Gutter guard and ember guard compliance
Gutter guard compliance
According to AS3959:2018, gutter guards are optional for anyone building a new property in an area with a BAL of 12.5, 19, 29, 40 or FZ. However, if you choose to use them, the standard states: "if installed, gutter guards shall be non-combustible". All Blue Mountain Gutter Mesh is non-combustible and complies to the Australian standards.
Most gutter guards are NOT ember guards, but our 2mm steel and 2mm aluminium mesh are both ember and gutter guards. They are compliant with both requirements.
Ember guard compliance
Ember guards stop burning embers getting into your property through gaps greater than 3mm. They can be made from a non-combustible mesh with an aperture (hole size) of 2mm or smaller. Mandatory for all new properties built in a bushfire-prone area with a BAL of 12.5 or higher, they're used to "seal" any gaps greater than 3mm, such as gaps around your roof sheeting.
For properties in areas with a BAL of 12.5, 19 or 29, ember guards can be manufactured from corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium. For properties in areas with a BAL of 40 or higher, only corrosion-resistant steel or bronze ember guards are allowed.
Ember guard vs gutter guard
While all Blue Mountain Gutter Mesh is "gutter guard" compliant, our 2mm steel and 2mm aluminium gutter mesh are also "ember guard" compliant as per Australian Standard AS3959:2018.
This means that, in addition to fulfilling its primary purpose of keeping leaves out of your gutters, our 2mm mesh are also able to prevent embers from entering your building through gaps between your gutters and roof, offering greater defence for your building and greater peace of mind for you.
The reality is that not all "bushfire compliant" gutter mesh products are actually "ember guard compliant".
At Blue Mountain Gutter Mesh, we know you must protect yourself against the risk of fires igniting in any area of your property, including your gutters, roof cavities and wall spaces. This means using the correctly specified products.
Only "ember guard compliant" mesh will keep both leaves and embers out of your gutters, providing maximum defence against ember attack.
That's why we recommend our 2mm steel gutter mesh for all properties in bushfire-prone areas.
For superior bushfire and ember guard protection, our 2mm steel mesh is ember guard compliant for all BALs (12.5, 19, 29, 40 and FZ). Our 2mm aluminium mesh features a woven edge for extra durability and is compliant for BAL 12.5, 19 and 29.
But it's not just the mesh, it's how it's fixed
Compliance is about the whole installed system, not only the mesh. Every part of the install must be non-combustible.
Our screw-down kits use all-metal components, so screw-down is the system to use in a bushfire-prone area. Screw-free kits use adhesives and clips that aren't non-combustible, so a screw-free installation isn't compliant in a BAL zone.
The mesh used in our solar panel kits is non-combustible, but the mesh attaches to the solar panels with plastic clips that aren't, so if your property is bushfire-rated, talk to us before ordering.
Our domed valley mesh is compliant as gutter guard, though not as an ember guard as there may be gaps that are not sealed.
For bushfire-prone homes, that means 2mm steel mesh, screw-down.
What happens next
Whether you'd like to install it yourself or have a professional do it, we're here to help you take the next step.
Do it yourself
Everything you need to install it yourself
Our gutter mesh kits come with everything you need, and our Brisbane-based product team is here to help with any questions along the way.
Get it installed
We'll connect you with an experienced installer
Start with a free roof measure and we'll connect you with an experienced installer from our Partner Program in your area.
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