Sandstone and travertine care in Maroubra

Maroubra is a large suburb with two centres. Maroubra Junction, on Anzac Parade, holds the Pacific Square shopping centre across Maroubra Road from the Maroubra Junction Hotel. To the east, Maroubra Beach runs for about a kilometre, with two surf clubs behind it and Arthur Byrne Reserve along the foreshore, and Marine Parade's cafes and surf shops facing the sand. Mahon Pool sits in the rocks to the north near Mistral Point, and Magic Point's cliffs and heath lie to the south. Housing is mixed: about 49 per cent flats, 30 per cent separate houses and 21 per cent semis and townhouses. Sandstone and travertine show up at unit block fences, steps and pools, and on the terraces and paving of houses close to the sand.

Distance from the sand sets the problems here. Within a few streets of Marine Parade, salt spray settles on everything; stone develops a dull crust, edges begin to fret, and travertine around pools pits along the waterline. Sand blown and walked off the beach grinds at steps and fills joints, and outdoor showers on some properties keep paving damp and green. Up toward the Junction, the issues are the usual ones for busy apartment areas: grime and spills on entries, algae on shaded side paths and soot on frontages near Anzac Parade. Many unit blocks have pool areas whose coping is regularly splashed with chlorinated or salt water (all inferred from setting and housing mix).

Maroubra is in Randwick City Council. Randwick's twenty-one conservation areas do not include one named for Maroubra, although the Malabar Headland area lies just south of the beach. Individual sites can still be on the council's heritage schedule, so check your address with the council before restoration work. For heritage items, clause 5.10 generally requires consent, with the council able to confirm minor maintenance in writing instead. With roughly half the homes in strata, the more common question here is approval from the owners corporation, which maintains common property under section 106. A single lot owner cannot arrange work on shared fences, entries or pool areas without that authorisation.

Maroubra is about 25 minutes from Double Bay, toward the southern end of the coast we cover most often. Beachfront parking is tight in summer and on weekends, so we book early weekday starts and confirm a driveway or loading spot ahead of time. Unit block pool areas are scheduled with the strata manager when the pool can close for a day. On houses near the beach, sloping blocks are bunded along the lowest boundary to trap rinse water, and every pool is sheeted before work starts. We watch the forecast for strong onshore winds, which can push mist and run-off where they should not go. Wash water is recovered and removed every time.