Roof painting
Roof painting in Melbourne
Cleaned, repaired, then recoated. A roof restoration costs a fraction of re-roofing and changes how the whole house reads from the street, but only if the roof is sound enough to take a coating. Here's how to tell.
Can your roof be recoated, or does it need replacing?
We check the roof condition before discussing a new coating.
A roof is a good candidate for restoration when the structure is sound and the problem is cosmetic or superficial: faded and chalky colour, moss and lichen, a handful of cracked tiles, ridge capping where the pointing has crumbled. All of that is fixable on the roof it already has.
Replacement is needed when the roof line sags, when tiles have gone brittle enough that walking on them breaks them, when metal sheets have rusted right through, not just on the surface, or when a leak is coming from the structure, not a gutter or a flashing. Paint is a coating, not a repair, and it won't seal a roof that's letting water in. If that's what we find, we'll tell you rather than take the job.
Tile roofs and metal roofs are different jobs
Concrete tiles are the main candidate for painting. The colour is a factory-applied coating over a porous grey tile, and after twenty-odd Melbourne summers it erodes away. The tile underneath starts drinking water, which is why old concrete roofs grow moss. Sealing and recoating gives it a surface again.
Terracotta tiles are usually the opposite call. The colour is in the fired tile, not on it, and a coating struggles to hold on a glazed surface. A tired terracotta roof normally wants cleaning and repointing, not paint.
Metal roofs (Colorbond, Zincalume, old galvanised iron) can be recoated once the factory finish has chalked. The work is different: wash, treat and prime any rust back to sound metal, replace perished fixings, then a metal-specific coating system. Sheets rusted through at the laps get replaced first.
Old fibro or asbestos-cement roofs must never be high-pressure cleaned, because that puts fibres into the air. If that's what you have, it needs someone licensed for it, and we'll say so instead of getting the water blaster out.
What the work involves
- A roof inspection to assess damaged tiles and the ridge capping repairs needed
- Repairs first: cracked and slipped tiles replaced, ridge caps rebedded where the mortar has failed, then flexible pointing over the top
- A high-pressure clean to take off moss, lichen and the chalked-out old coating, with the gutters and valleys cleared of the debris that washes down
- Drying time, then a sealer or primer. A bare concrete tile is thirsty and often takes more than one pass
- Two topcoats, sprayed, with the walls, windows, paths and any solar panels masked and the overspray controlled
A roof job is working at height, on a pitch, often two storeys up. Edge protection takes time to set up and that time is in the price. The quote includes the access and protection needed for the work.
What affects the price
Roof area is only the starting point. Pitch matters, because a steep roof can't be walked and needs more rigging. So does height, and whether a truck can get near the place. Then condition: tiles to replace, metres of ridge capping needing rebedding instead of just repointing, how much moss has to come off. Adding gutters, fascia and downpipes changes it again.
What to ask any roof painter
Ask whether a sealer coat is included, or whether they're going straight to topcoat over a porous tile. Ask how many metres of pointing are in the price, and what happens if there's more. Ask where the runoff and moss debris end up, and who clears the gutters afterwards. Ask how they're protecting solar panels, skylights and the neighbour's car from overspray. Those answers belong in the written quote, before anyone climbs up.
If the weatherboards also need painting, ask us to quote both jobs together. See exterior painting. We also do interiors, and rental and pre-sale work for property managers.
Preparation and aftercare
Read our painting preparation and aftercare guide for arranging access, protecting belongings and checking when the painted surface is ready to use or clean.
Want a price on your roof?
We'll get up there and look at it properly before quoting. Get a free written quote and an agreed start date.
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