Roof Restoration in Liverpool and Fairfield

What a restoration is, and what it is not

A roof restoration is a set of repairs plus a surface treatment, done on a tile roof that still has good tiles. It is not a replacement, and it is not a paint job.

A real restoration includes:

• Replacing every broken, slipped or cracked tile
• Removing the old ridge and hip pointing
• Re-bedding any caps that have moved
• Re-pointing the full run of ridges and hips with a flexible compound
• Cleaning the roof of moss, lichen and grime
• Repairing or replacing failed valleys and flashings
• Priming and coating the tiles
• Clearing the gutters and downpipes afterwards

If a quote does not list the repairs, the bedding and the pointing separately, it is a wash and a spray, not a restoration.

Is your roof a candidate?

The estates built around Liverpool and Fairfield from the 1950s to the 1970s went up quickly and together, which means their roofs are reaching the same point at the same time. Many of them are good candidates. Some are past it.

Restoration makes sense when:

• The tiles ring solid and do not flake at the edges
• The problem is the mortar, the moss and a handful of broken tiles
• You want another decade out of the roof before you spend big
• You are getting the house ready to sell or to rent

Restoration is the wrong spend when:

• Tiles crumble, delaminate or snap when you pick them up
• There is no sarking and the battens are soft
• Leaks are appearing in several unrelated places
• The roof has already been restored once and has failed again

In that second case you are better off looking at a roof replacement. We would rather tell you that at the inspection than take the money.

How the work runs

1. Inspect and photograph. Every ridge line, valley, flashing and broken tile recorded before anything starts.
2. Replace broken tiles. Matching second-hand tiles in the common Sydney profiles.
3. Repairs first. Valleys, flashings and any junction where an addition meets the main roof. There is no point coating a roof that is still letting water in.
4. Strip the old pointing. Cut out and clean off the failed mortar.
5. Re-bed caps that have dropped or moved out of line.
6. Re-point the ridges and hips with a flexible pointing compound in a colour chosen to suit the roof.
7. Clean. Pressure clean the tile surface to remove moss, lichen and built-up grime.
8. Prime and coat. A sealer followed by coats of roof membrane, applied to the manufacturer's spread rate.
9. Flush out. Gutters, valleys and downpipes cleared of the debris the clean brings down.
10. Hand over with photos and a written workmanship warranty.

Terracotta and concrete are not the same job

Both are common around here, and they fail differently.

Concrete tiles were used heavily through the 1960s, 70s and 80s. They are porous once the factory surface wears off. They soak up water, grow moss on the shaded side, and get heavy. Coating a concrete tile roof genuinely helps, because it puts a water-shedding surface back on.

Terracotta tiles are fired clay. The glaze on a good terracotta tile usually outlasts the mortar holding the caps on. They do not normally need coating, and coating them badly can trap moisture. On terracotta roofs the valuable work is the rebed and repoint plus broken tile replacement, not the paint.

We tell you which you have and quote accordingly, rather than selling the same package to both.

What a restoration will not fix

• A roof pitch that is too flat for the tile profile
• Structural sag in the frame
• A rear addition that was never flashed in properly
• Undersized gutters or blocked stormwater
• Missing sarking

Some of those can be addressed alongside the restoration. A flashing at a patio join, for example, is a normal part of the work. Others mean the honest answer is a different job entirely.

What moves the cost

• Roof size and pitch
• Total metres of ridge and hip to re-bed and re-point
• How many tiles need replacing
• Terracotta or concrete, and whether coating is included
• Access, storeys and set-up for safe work at height
• Any repairs found at the inspection

The inspection and the written quote are free. The quote itemises the repairs, the pointing and the coating separately so you can see what each part costs.

Call (02) 4601 3500 to book a look at your roof.

Areas we restore roofs in

Most of our restoration work sits in the older estates: Ashcroft, Busby, Sadleir, Miller, Canley Heights and Mount Pritchard, along with every other suburb on the service areas page.

If what you actually have is one leak rather than a tired roof, start with roof repairs instead. Ask us for a quote and we will tell you which one you need.