Carpenter in The Entrance

Salt air from two directions

Most Central Coast suburbs get salt exposure from one side. The Entrance sits on a narrow strip between the Tasman Sea and Tuggerah Lake, so a lot of properties are exposed either way. The practical difference is in the fixings and the finishes, not the visible timber. Galvanised screws that would last decades in Wyong will bleed rust stains down a beachfront deck within a couple of years. We spec stainless in exposed positions as standard — it costs more up front, and it's the difference between a deck that lasts ten years and one that lasts thirty.

The lake is flood prone, and that affects how we build

This is the part most builders gloss over. Central Coast Council is direct about it: the foreshores of Tuggerah Lakes will always be flood prone, regardless of what's done to The Entrance channel. The catchment is roughly 700km² of land funnelling into an estuary of about 80km², and the lake normally sits at only 0.2–0.4m above sea level. Around 200mm of rain can lift it to minor flood level over three or four days, and foreshore land can stay under water for up to four days.

Council's flood records go back more than 90 years. The February 2020 event peaked at 1.67m AHD, the sixth highest on record; the highest was 2.1m in 1949; the estimated 1-in-100-year level is 2.2m. For new work in low-lying areas, Council applies a minimum habitable floor level of 2.7m AHD — set half a metre above the 1-in-100 level. Non-habitable areas like garages can sit lower.

What that means for a carpentry job on a low-lying block near the lake:

• Substructure timber selection matters. Anything that may sit in water needs to be specified accordingly — H4 or H5 treated in ground-contact positions, not H3.
• Deck heights interact with council controls. Lifting a deck to keep it clear of flood levels can push it past the 1-metre exempt development limit, which changes your approval pathway.
• Detailing for drainage and drying. Board gaps, ventilation under the deck and keeping bearers off the ground all determine whether a structure recovers from inundation or rots from it.

If your block is on the foreshore side, we'll check the flood mapping for your address before we design anything. Read our guide to council approval for decks and pergolas on the Central Coast.