Sandstone care in Forestville

Forestville's European history begins in 1856, when James French settled and began felling timber, later building a small wharf on Bantry Bay. After the First World War the area became soldier settlement farms, and the post office that opened in 1920 as French's Forest Settlement was renamed Forestville in 1947. Much of the land toward Killarney Heights was developed for housing in the early 1960s. Today the suburb is bounded east and west by Garigal National Park, with the Forestville village shops on Darley and Starkey Streets and Warringah Road as the main route. Housing is low density, and many of the timber Soldiers Cottages have been replaced by project homes and townhouse villas, while some are being renovated.

Forestville stone tends to reflect the age of each property. Older cottages may have sandstone garden walls, front steps and paths that have weathered for decades, often with patches of cement or paint and the scars of earlier pressure cleaning. Newer homes and villas use sandstone or other natural stone in paving, steps and feature walls. Both sit under a heavy tree canopy near the bushland, so leaf litter and bark build up, tannin stains the paving, and shaded surfaces grow black mould, algae and moss. Retaining walls on sloping blocks near the national park edge often show damp patches. Hazard-reduction burns nearby can leave a light film of ash on exposed stone.

Heritage in Forestville is a matter for the Warringah LEP 2011, the instrument that applied here before the 2016 merger and that Northern Beaches Council now administers. Our searches did not show a conservation area or any listed houses in the suburb. That is not proof there are none, so anyone restoring an original cottage should look at Schedule 5 or ask the council. The townhouse villas raise strata questions instead. Their shared paths, entry steps and garden walls are normally common property, which the owners corporation has to maintain (section 106 of the strata legislation), and section 111 stops an individual owner from working on it without authorisation. Cleaning run-off is kept out of stormwater, which here drains toward the creeks of the national park.

Forestville is around 30 to 40 minutes from Double Bay, depending on traffic over the bridges and along Warringah Road. Most houses have driveways and side access, which keeps setup straightforward. Townhouse complexes are planned with the strata manager, including where we park, which paths are closed when, and how residents are notified. Our technicians protect timber, render and garden beds before applying any product, and use bunding and wet vacuums so wash water does not reach the gutter. Where an older cottage has fragile stone or old pointing, we use the lightest effective method and discuss any restoration separately. Sealing is booked once the stone is properly dry, which in shaded gardens can take a few days.