What Brisbane's climate does to roof paint
Strong sun, most days
Brisbane averages about 2,989 hours of sunshine a year. Dulux says roof coatings lose colour as they weather, partly through chalking, where UV breaks down the acrylic binder, and that regular washing helps. Dulux also says its warranty periods depend on correct application, the number of coats and ongoing maintenance, so read the conditions.
Heat that has reached 43.2 °C
Brisbane's record high is 43.2 °C, set on Australia Day 1940. BlueScope says light-coloured roofs can be up to 35 °C cooler on the surface than dark ones in hot sun, so the colour you pick changes how much heat the roof soaks up through a Brisbane summer.
Old iron on timber homes
The corrugated iron on an older Queenslander can be repainted once the rust is treated. BlueScope says water-based acrylic generally suits painted steel, with a zinc-rich primer or similar where salt makes things more corrosive. Rusted-through sheets need replacing, not painting.
Painting Colorbond ends the warranty
If your Colorbond or Zincalume roof is still under a BlueScope warranty, painting it voids that warranty. BlueScope also says air-dried paint weathers differently from its oven-baked finish, so a roof in good condition is usually better left alone.
Tiles: concrete yes, terracotta usually no
Monier says the colour on concrete tiles is decorative and repainting doesn't improve waterproofing, and to keep the look it needs redoing every five years or so. Terracotta's colour is fired in, so Monier doesn't recommend painting it, and once unglazed terracotta is painted, it needs recoating from then on.
If you collect drinking water off the roof, BlueScope says to confirm with the paint supplier that the system suits it.
Older home? No pressure cleaning until you know
A roof on a house built before 1990 could be asbestos cement, and you can't tell by looking. Queensland bans high-pressure water blasting on asbestos cement roofs, with fines of up to $10,000 and the clean-up bill on top. Have it tested before any prep starts.
Check who's licensed for the painting
The QBCC's roof and wall cladding and roof tiling licences both cover maintaining roofs but exclude painting them. So ask which licence covers the painting part of the job, and look the business up on the QBCC register before you sign.
Questions for a Brisbane roof painter
- What is my roof made of: concrete tile, terracotta, Colorbond, old corrugated iron or possibly asbestos?
- Is my roof still under a BlueScope warranty, and would painting void it?
- Which coating system and how many coats, and what's the solar absorptance of the colour I've picked?
- How will you deal with rust and repairs before painting?
- Does the paint suit rainwater I collect for drinking?
Our view
We'd paint a Brisbane roof for a reason: to protect old steel from rust, or to go lighter and cut summer heat. We wouldn't paint terracotta, a Colorbond roof still under warranty, or any roof with repairs still outstanding. The national roof painting page goes further, and the Brisbane hub covers what else is different here.
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