Lilyfield sits between Iron Cove and the Rozelle ridge, close enough to the water that we find corrosion here you would not expect this far from the ocean. Harbour air carries salt, and on a shutter that has been in place twenty years it shows up first in the guide rails.
We cover the whole of Lilyfield within the 2040 postcode, from the Balmain Road side across to the Callan Park frontage and the streets running down toward Iron Cove. Rozelle, Leichhardt and Annandale sit either side of us.
The housing is mostly Victorian and Federation cottages and terraces, with a scattering of converted industrial buildings and newer townhouses. Shutters are retrofitted onto openings that were never designed with them in mind.
Shutters within a few streets of the water want looking at more often than the manufacturer's schedule suggests. The corrosion is slow and quiet, and by the time a rail looks obviously pitted the process has been running for years. A rinse with fresh water and a proper lubricant on the moving parts once or twice a year does more good in Lilyfield than any amount of the same effort would inland. If a rail has already pitted through, that section can usually be replaced on its own without disturbing the curtain, which is a much smaller job than most owners expect when they first see the corrosion.
