Roof restoration and repairs in Miller

The ground under Miller is part of the story

Miller was built between 1961 and 1965 as part of the Green Valley estate. During construction the topsoil was stripped and carted away, leaving the clay beneath exposed across much of the suburb.

Clay subsoil on the Cumberland Plain swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries. Over decades that movement works on house footings, and what starts at the footings ends up at the roof. Small amounts of movement open up cracks along ridge lines, pull flashings away from brickwork at the ends of walls, and loosen ridge caps that were already holding on with tired mortar.

It is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to check the ridge lines and the wall flashings rather than only the field of tiles.

What we see on Miller roofs

• Ridge and hip pointing cracked right along the line, not just in patches
• Caps that have shifted out of alignment
• Flashings lifted away from a brick wall where an addition meets the house
• Broken tiles, often several in a row where someone has walked the roof
• Rusted valley trays
• Gutters holding water because the fall has gone

Summer makes it worse

South-west Sydney runs hot. Clay dries hard and shrinks fastest in a long dry spell, and the same heat is baking the mortar on the roof. The two things happen in the same months, which is why a lot of ridge lines look fine in winter and show open cracks by March.

Book a free inspection

Call (02) 4601 3500. We get on the roof, photograph the faults, and give you a written quote with the work itemised.

For most Miller roofs the sensible job is a roof restoration: rebed, repoint with a flexible compound, replace broken tiles and repair the flashings. Where the tiles themselves have broken down, we will price a roof replacement instead.

We also work in Cartwright, Sadleir and Hinchinbrook. The full list is on the service areas page.