Where we work · Climate Zone 5
Cellulose insulation in South Burnett.
Kingaroy and Nanango sit on an elevated inland tableland with genuinely cold, heavily frost-prone winters plus hot summers. This is Zone 5 country where insulation has to work hard both ways, and we bring factory-direct cellulose to it from Tiaro.
Where we work
13+ South Burnetthomes — and what your neighbours say.
Every red dot on the map is a home near here we’ve quoted, advised or insulated (de-identified) — recent records only, a fraction of what we’ve done since 1986.
The local picture
What South Burnett homes actually need.
The South Burnett is peanut and grazing country up on an elevated tableland, and it gets genuinely cold: regular sub-zero frosty mornings (Nanango's July nights average under 3°C, with records near −7°C) on top of hot summers that still push toward 40°C. This is the place where insulation has to work hardest both ways. Ceiling insulation holds winter warmth in, and a separate underfloor story matters for the many older timber homes on stumps that bleed heat through the floor on frosty nights. Make no mistake: out here it's a Zone 5 cold-winter job, not a coastal beat-the-heat-only one.
South Burnett in brief
Founded
Kingaroy began in 1886 as 'Kingaroy Paddock' (the name from the Aboriginal word 'kingerroy', meaning red ant) and was proclaimed a shire in 1912; nearby Nanango is far older, with Goode's Inn established in July 1848.
People
Kingaroy locality 10,266 and Nanango locality 3,679 (2021 ABS Census); the broader South Burnett Regional Council area is home to roughly 33,000-34,000 people.
Industry
Peanuts (Australia's largest peanut processing plant and the iconic Kingaroy silos), wine (the South Burnett, registered in 2000 as Queensland's first official wine region), beef and dairy cattle, grain, navy beans, timber and sawmilling, and tourism centred on the Bunya Mountains and Bjelke-Petersen Dam.
Setting
Inland South Burnett on the elevated Burnett tableland in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, about 190-210 km north-west of Brisbane. Humid subtropical (Koppen Cfa) but lifted by elevation, so it bakes in summer and frosts hard on clear winter nights. Sits in NCC 2022 Climate Zone 5.
Why Comfort Zone
Cellulose insulation, by the family that makes it.
The only cellulose insulation maker still operating in Queensland.
We manufacture every bag ourselves in our own factory at Tiaro. The other Queensland cellulose makers have closed down over the years — these days our competitors buy theircellulose from us. Choose Comfort Zone and you’re dealing with the family who actually makes the product, start to finish.
We make our own cellulose
Most cellulose insulation sold in Australia is manufactured interstate — in Victoria, South Australia or WA. Ours is made right here in our own Tiaro factory, so you deal with the family who makes it, not a sales rep reselling someone else's product.
Three generations, since 1986
Peter learned the trade from his father, Lyle, and runs the business today with his sons. A real family business that's been insulating Queensland homes for nearly 40 years — not a franchise call-centre.
QR-code batch-tracked bags
Every bag we pump into your roof is QR-coded and tracked back to its production batch and your job — full traceability that even the big national brands can't offer.
Don’t take our word for it
Here’s what Gene, a Comfort Zone customer, reckons about us.
A real Comfort Zone customer — filmed on the job, not a paid actor.
Read the transcript
G'day Peter here from Comfort Zone, installation team on Facebook. Need to see if we're just packing up the truck now. I'm just here with Gene and we've insulated his garage and topped over all his house. How'd we go Gene? Do a fantastic job. A lot of care, a lot of attention to detail. Looked over the house and just didn't need to be done but it was much appreciated. Thank you. Yeah, alright. Well thanks very much for that mate and we'll catch you on the next one. Fantastic.
South Burnett climate
The weather your insulation has to handle.
- Hot days over 30C a year
- 79.8 days/yr reach 30C or hotter and 11.6 days/yr hit 35C-plus at Kingaroy Airport (BoM station 040922, 25-yr record 2001-2026). January alone averages 18.0 days at or above 30C and 3.1 days at or above 35C. That is real, sustained summer heat loading the roof cavity from November to March.
- Hottest on record
- 41.6C on 12 February 2017 at Kingaroy Airport (BoM station 040922) is the district's all-time high. The older Kingaroy Prince Street town site (BoM station 040112, 1957-2001) peaked at 41.0C on 6 January 1994. On a 41C day an uninsulated roof space turns into an oven sitting directly over your ceiling.
- Mean January maximum
- 30.9C mean January maximum at Kingaroy Airport (BoM station 040922, 2001-2026); the longer Prince Street town record (BoM station 040112, 1947-2001) reads 29.5C. Individual summer days regularly push into the low-to-mid 30s on top of that average.
- Frost mornings a year
- 37.6 mornings/yr at or below 2C and 18.3 genuine frosts/yr at or below 0C at Kingaroy Airport (BoM station 040922, 2001-2026). July is the worst month, averaging 12.0 mornings at or below 2C and 7.0 at or below 0C. This is Zone-5 highland cold most Queensland towns never see.
- Coldest on record + cold winters
- -6.7C on 18 July 1961 at Kingaroy Prince Street (BoM station 040112) is the district's all-time low; the modern Kingaroy Airport site (BoM station 040922) bottomed at -6.0C on 2 July 2002. July mean minimum is just 3.9C at the Airport (station 040922) - the big day-to-night swing is why insulation earns its keep at both ends of the year.
- Annual rainfall (summer-dominant)
- Long-term mean 776.2 mm over 1905-2001 at Kingaroy Prince Street (BoM station 040112); the shorter modern Kingaroy Airport record (BoM station 040922, 2001-2026) averages 670.6 mm/yr. Rain is summer-dominant - December is the wettest month (Airport 102.7 mm; Prince Street 110.7 mm) - so the hottest months are also the most humid.
Across the Bureau of Meteorology's two Kingaroy stations the heat load is climbing: the older Prince Street town site (station 040112) recorded a mean January maximum of 29.5C, while the modern Kingaroy Airport site (station 040922, 2001-2026) now averages 30.9C - and the district's all-time high of 41.6C was set as recently as 12 February 2017. Hotter, longer summers mean the ceiling cavity bakes harder for more of the year, so seamless, gap-free ceiling coverage matters more now than it did a generation ago. The cold end has not gone away though - the South Burnett still averages 37.6 frost mornings a year, so up here you are insulating against both ends, not just summer.
Climate outlook reviewed 2026-06-11; local job counts updated 2026-06-26. Sources: BoM: Kingaroy climate · BoM: Nanango climate · ABCB climate-zone map (QLD).
South Burnett at a glance
- Climate zone
- Climate Zone 5 — what R-value that needs
- Postcodes
- 4610, 4615
- Local picture
- Kingaroy (≈10,300) is the South Burnett's main town and Nanango (≈3,700) one of Queensland's oldest, both full of older timber homes on stumps that feel every frost.
The South Burnett tableland is NCC Climate Zone 5 (cool winters, warm summers), NOT coastal Zone 2. This is decisively a cold-winter insulation job: ceiling to hold the warmth in, and underfloor for the many stumped homes that bleed heat on frosty nights.
What Zone 5 actually needs — straight from the NCC
The South Burnett sits up in NCC Climate Zone 5, where the code asks for about R3.0 of added ceiling insulation (NCC 2022 Housing Provisions, Part 13.2.3, Table 13.2.3f, p.336) — and a deep, dense R3.0 cellulose blanket is exactly what we install as standard. Up here the cold winters matter as much as the hot summers, which is why a gap-free ceiling AND underfloor insulation on a high-set home both earn their keep. Watch for quotes citing “R5.5+” as the ceiling figure — that's the whole-of-home total-system / NatHERS number, not the insulation an installer actually fits.
Read it yourself: NCC 2022 Housing Provisions, Part 13.2.3, Table 13.2.3f (p.336) — free from the ABCBThe season ahead — and why it matters for your insulation
Mid-2026 trending toward El Niño, warmer, drier and, importantly, clearer nights that can deepen the frost on the tableland. Reviewed each season.
Colder than you think
It’s colder around South Burnett than in it.
The South Burnett is genuine highlands - the Kingaroy plateau and surrounding tablelands sit around 310-440 m above sea level, which is why it behaves like the Darling Downs rather than the coast: cold, frosty winter mornings and hot summer afternoons, both loading the home. The Bureau of Meteorology's long-term record for Kingaroy (Prince Street, station 040112, and Kingaroy Airport, 040922) is the closest official benchmark for the district. Nanango and Wondai sit a little lower and read marginally milder overnight, but share the same frost-and-heat double load. Figures below are anchored to the Kingaroy BoM record.
| Town | Height | Avg July night | Frosts / year | Avg summer day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingaroy | ~440 m (Airport 434 m, Prince St ~442 m; locality rising to 562 m) | 3.9C mean July minimum (Airport, station 040922) | 37.6 mornings/yr at or below 2C and 18.3 at or below 0C (BoM station 040922) | 30.9C mean January maximum (Airport); individual days push into the low-to-mid 30s |
| Nanango | ~360-368 m | ~5-6C July overnight low (a touch milder than Kingaroy, lower elevation) | Regular winter frosts on still, clear mornings | ~31C peak summer daytime |
| Wondai | ~310 m | ~5-6C July overnight low | Frost-prone in winter, slightly fewer than the higher Kingaroy plateau | ~31-32C peak summer daytime |
- South Burnett is a tableland, not coast: Kingaroy Airport (BoM station 040922) sits at 434 m and the older Prince Street site (040112) at about 442 m - high enough to give the region a true cold season unlike Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast.
- Cold winters are real here. Kingaroy's mean July minimum is just 3.9C at the Airport station, and the town averages 37.6 frost mornings (at or below 2C) and 18.3 genuine frosts (at or below 0C) each year - a heating load most Queensland towns never see.
- Hot summers load the home too. Kingaroy's mean January maximum is 30.9C at the Airport station, and individual summer days regularly push into the low-to-mid 30s - so ceilings and walls work hard against heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter alike.
- This is NCC 2022 Climate Zone 5 (warm-temperate tablelands), the same zone as Toowoomba and the Darling Downs - the zone where insulation has to handle both ends of the year, not just summer cooling.
- Nanango (~365 m) and Wondai (~310 m) sit below the Kingaroy plateau, so they read a degree or two milder overnight, but both still get regular winter frosts and hot summer afternoons - the same double load on the home.
Source: Bureau of Meteorology - Climate statistics for Australian locations: Kingaroy Airport (station 040922, elevation 434 m; mean Jan max 30.9C, mean July min 3.9C, 37.6 mornings/yr at or below 2C) and Kingaroy Prince Street (station 040112, long-term means; mean Jan max 29.5C). https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040922_All.shtml and https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_040112.shtml . NCC 2022 Climate Zone 5 per the ABCB Queensland climate-zone map. Nanango (~360-368 m) and Wondai (~310 m) elevations and overnight lows are topographic estimates anchored to the Kingaroy BoM record.
A bit about South Burnett
We know this patch.
- Kingaroy is the 'Peanut Capital of Australia' - home to Australia's largest peanut processing plant, with the towering 42-metre Kingaroy Peanut Silos (built 1938-1951, Queensland Heritage listed in 2010) dominating the town skyline (Kingaroy Peanut Silos, Wikipedia; Queensland Heritage Register).
- The South Burnett is Queensland's original wine country: registered on 8 December 2000 as the state's first official wine region, with vineyards running from Goomeri through Murgon to Kingaroy and Nanango - known for Verdelho, Shiraz and Chardonnay (Wine Australia GI register).
- Nanango is one of the oldest towns in Queensland - Jacob Goode's inn was established here in July 1848, with the town claiming to be the fourth-oldest in the state after Ipswich, Drayton and Maryborough (Nanango, Wikipedia).
- Kingaroy was the home of long-serving Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who farmed at 'Bethany' near town; the nearby Bjelke-Petersen Dam, 10 km east of Wondai at Moffatdale, is named after him (Kingaroy, Wikipedia).
- Sitting up on the Burnett tableland, the South Burnett has a humid-subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) lifted by elevation, so it bakes in summer yet drops to hard frosts on clear winter nights - the locality at Kingaroy rises to about 562 m at its high point (Kingaroy, Wikipedia; Bureau of Meteorology).
Local links: Bureau of Meteorology - Kingaroy climate & forecast · South Burnett Regional Council · Wine Australia - South Burnett wine region · Bunya Mountains National Park - Queensland Government Parks · Queensland Heritage Register - Kingaroy Peanut Silos
What we’d recommend in South Burnett
The insulation that suits South Burnett homes, and why.
Kingaroy and Nanango sit high on a cold tableland with regular sub-zero frosts, and the older homes are on stumps, so underfloor insulation stops the heat bleeding out through the floor on frosty nights.
With cold nights and hot summers, a deep cellulose ceiling retains winter warmth and slows summer heat gain, earning its keep on both the heater and the air-con.
That’s what we see most in South Burnett, but every home is different. Browse all our insulation services or ask for a quoteand we’ll tell you what yours needs.
Underfloor, done right
Underfloor insulation in the South Burnett: brilliant on a high-set timber home, pointless on a slab
If you are in one of the high-set timber homes this district is full of - a Queenslander or a post-war hardwood home up on stumps with open, airy space underneath - your floor is the one nobody thinks about until a South Burnett winter morning makes them think about it. The Australian Government's YourHome guide is plain on this: a suspended timber floor over an open subfloor benefits from underfloor insulation, because in winter the cold air washing through underneath pulls heat straight down out of the house through the floorboards, and an uninsulated timber floor offers only about R0.25 of resistance on its own. That is why your feet hit cold boards at six in the morning and the heater feels like it is fighting the room. We fix it by fitting custom polyester floor batts up tight between the joists from below, snug to the boards, so that warmth stays where you want it - in the room, not draining away into the frost under the house.
The same floor that costs you in winter costs you again in summer, just running the other way. When you have paid good money to run the aircon, the cool air you have made is the heavy air in the room, and over an open subfloor it quietly falls out through the floorboards into the breeze underneath - so the unit runs longer and you are paying to cool air that is literally dropping out the bottom of the house. A full, gap-free layer between the joists keeps that cool air sitting in your living room where it belongs. This is where coverage really earns its keep: the ICANZ 2024 figures show that around 6% of gaps roughly halves the effective R-value - a rated R5 falls away to about R2.4 - so a floor done in a hurry with batts shoved in loose is barely doing half the job you paid for. We fit it tight and complete, and the NCC is clear that insulation only performs if it is installed and held firmly in position, no sagging.
Now the honest part, because I would rather lose the sale than sell you something that will not pay. Underfloor only stacks up where you have got that open, ventilated subfloor under a timber floor - the high-set homes up here in Zone 5. If you are in one of the newer brick-veneer-on-slab estate homes around Kingaroy or Nanango, there is no subfloor to insulate and nothing I can fit under a concrete slab poured on the dirt, so I will not try to sell you underfloor at all. YourHome backs that up: in warmer climates, insulating a floor over an enclosed subfloor or a slab can actually add to your summer cooling load rather than help it. So it comes down to your house - timber up on stumps with air moving underneath, underfloor is a genuine winter and summer win up here; slab-on-ground, it is a no, and I will tell you so. You can get the whole thing priced straight off the website without anyone having to come out.
Watch: real jobs
See the work for yourself
A few from our own channel: does cellulose really settle, the flame test, and why we pump it in instead of laying batts.
Filmed on real jobs over the years — our methods, safety standards and products have moved on since. Subscribe to the channel for more.
The difference
On a South Burnett roof: what we run into, and how we do it.
Where we’ve helped — suburb by suburb
15+ South Burnett homes, and the postcode for yours.
Find your suburb below — the number is how many homes near you we’ve helped with advice or work. These are only the last few years we’ve kept digital records for, a fraction of what we’ve done since 1986, so if there’s no count next to your suburb yet, be the first on your street.
South Burnett & surrounds
15+ homes helped here
- 4615Nanango7 homes
- 4606Wondai3 homes
- 4610Kingaroy2 homes
- 4615Maidenwell2 homes
- 4614Yarraman1 home
- Murgonbe the first
- Blackbuttbe the first
- Prostonbe the first
- Tingoorabe the first
- Memerambibe the first
- Booiebe the first
- Coolabuniabe the first
- Crawfordbe the first
- Kumbiabe the first
- Goomeribe the first
- Taabingabe the first
Counts are de-identified contacts from our records — homeowners we’ve helped with advice or work, not just completed jobs. See the customer map.
Your local team
South Burnett is looked after directly by Comfort Zone HQ — for now.
Right now South Burnettis served straight out of our family HQ and Tiaro factory, the same people who make the cellulose. Every job is done to one standard, photographed, and the photos checked before you’re invoiced.
Want to run South Burnett as your own business?
We’re looking for the right local owner-operator for this patch. If you’re passionate about the building trade — or you already run a business that fits, like air-conditioning, pest control, roofing or solar, and you want a high-margin add-on product to take to the customers you already have — we’ll train you from the ground up. You don’t need insulation experience; you need the right attitude and a patch you want to own. We make the product, we teach you to install and sell it, and you build a family business of your own — backed by the factory.
South Burnett questions
Insulation in South Burnett — your questions, answered.
It frosts hard up here in winter - does the South Burnett actually need ceiling insulation, or is that just a coastal sales pitch?
You need it more than the coast does, not less. Kingaroy averages 37.6 frost mornings a year and a July mean minimum of just 3.9C, so on a clear winter night the heat you have paid to make rises and bleeds straight out through an open or poorly-covered ceiling. A sealed, gap-free ceiling holds that warmth in overnight. Then in summer the same ceiling stops a roof cavity that bakes over a 30.9C average January day from radiating down into your living rooms. Up here you are insulating against both ends, which is exactly what Zone 5 is about.
What R-value do I actually need for my Kingaroy or Nanango ceiling?
The South Burnett is NCC 2022 Climate Zone 5, the same as Toowoomba, and the ceiling target there is about R3.0 added insulation (NCC 2022 Housing Provisions Part 13.2.3, Table 13.2.3f). That is the number that does the job. More is not always better - past the right R-value for your zone and roof, piling on extra does nothing useful, like putting a second coat of sunscreen on. We quote you to the zone, not to an inflated number.
I already have old batts in the roof - do they have to come out first?
Usually not. If the old batts are dry and not full of vermin, we can pump cellulose straight over the top - roughly 100mm adds about R3.0 over whatever is already there, fills all the gaps the batts left, covers the timber joists, and saves you the mess, the skip bin and the dump fees of ripping the old stuff out. If they are soaked, mouldy or a rat nest, that is a different conversation and we will tell you straight.
My place is a high-set Queenslander - is underfloor insulation worth it?
On a high-set timber home up on stumps with open air underneath, yes - it is one of the best-value jobs you can do up here. A bare timber floor is only about R0.25, so on a frosty South Burnett morning the cold air under the house pulls warmth straight down through the boards, and in summer your aircon's cool air falls out the bottom. We fit custom polyester floor batts tight between the joists from below. But if you are on a concrete slab, there is nothing to insulate under there and I will not sell it to you.
Why cellulose instead of batts in a climate like ours?
Because coverage is the whole game, and a tableland home cops it from both ends. Cellulose is pumped in to a set density and fills every gap, corner and penetration - the ICANZ 2024 figures show that around 6% of gaps roughly halves the effective R-value, so a batt job with gaps round the pipes and joists is barely doing half what you paid for. Cellulose also holds a roof leak in one spot instead of letting it run across the whole ceiling, and the borax treatment means it never becomes a home for vermin. It is what I would put in my own roof, and have.
Do I have to wait around for someone to come out and quote, or can I just get a price?
You get the whole thing priced straight off the website - a fixed price, no waiting on a salesman, and we do not bump it on arrival. Punch in your details and you will have a real quote. If anything about your roof is unusual, that just means a quick chat, but the quote itself is done online. And if we ever need to follow up, that is our job to call you, not yours to chase us.
Do you actually work out my way, or just around Kingaroy?
We are South Burnett locals - the Comfort Zone team is based at Wondai and Nanango, so we are insulating the same tableland climate we live in. We cover Kingaroy, Nanango, Wondai, Yarraman, Murgon, Blackbutt, Proston and the smaller spots in between. If you are in the district, we are almost certainly already working near you.
Had your South Burnett home done? A review helps your neighbours choose well.
A quick honest review genuinely helps a small family business, and helps the next person decide. Thank you.
Get a quote for your South Burnett home.
Tell us your address and a few details and we’ll measure online and send a detailed, fixed-price quote. Phone 0414 586 315.