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Roofing in KewSlate, heritage streets and some very old trees.

Kew's heritage streets mix early mansions with 1880s Victorian houses, and some still sit under slate. Kloa in Pakington Street, built in 1898, still wears red-brown slate. Slate lasts a long time when it's looked after, but repairs need a roofer who knows it, and in a heritage precinct a change of material needs a permit.

Find a specialist roofer in Kew

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Roof restoration

Had the guys come and do a restoration of my 25 year old roof. It looked tired and was missing mortar and required some real attention. …

Jason, Jul 2026 · Full review

Google review of a roofer in Melbourne's north we pass jobs to (4.9 from 72 reviews). Not a review of Find My Roofer.

Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by the Find My Roofer team · How we check our facts

What's distinctive about Kew roofs

Heritage precincts

The Glenferrie Road Precinct (HO150) has early Kew mansions at its western end and, at its eastern end, one of Kew's few concentrations of small to medium Victorian housing, built on the 1880s Edgevale and Doona Hill estates.

Slate still in service

Kloa (formerly Castleman), a weatherboard villa of 1898 at 57 Pakington Street, has a complex hipped and gabled roof in red-brown slate. NSW Government heritage guidance gives slate a life expectancy of 50 or more years and suggests an inspection every 7 years.

Fewer flats, but still plenty

Kew lost fewer fine house blocks to flats than Caulfield or Hawthorn did. Even so, at the 2021 Census, 25.6% of its occupied homes were flats or apartments and 50.5% separate houses.

River and bush

Kew borders the Yarra River to the west and north-west, and Yarra Bend Park and Studley Park keep much of their original bushland.

Looking after a slate roof

Slipped, cracked, broken or porous slates are what a heritage inspection looks for. A good slater replaces individual slates rather than the whole roof, so ask how they'll match the colour and size of yours.

Not every grey roof is slate. Asbestos cement 'slates' about 4 mm thick were made in Australia from the late 1800s to the 1980s, often to replace real slate while keeping the look. If you're not sure which you have, get a sample tested before anyone cuts or breaks one.

Walking on brittle slate cracks it, which is one more reason to stay off the roof and leave it to someone with the right gear.

Our take on Kew roofs

Keep the slate if you can. Have a roofer with slate experience replace the broken pieces, check the flashings and photograph the lot. If you're in a heritage precinct and thinking about another material, talk to Boroondara before getting quotes. Then send us your job, and we'll pass it to one licence-checked roofer for Kew where we have one, or tell you plainly where we can't.

Want a roofer to take a look?

Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.

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From roofers we pass jobs to

What Melbourne homeowners say about roofers we pass jobs to

Real Google reviews of roofers in our network, written by their own customers before Find My Roofer existed. We hide the business names, which is what the [square brackets] are. Every other word is theirs.

Balcony leak

If you ask me they are the best in the business for roofing. They did my balcony rework and the leak is finally gone. I was double minded about who to hire but glad I went with them. They are very transparent about the costs and the timeline. A 10 year warranty gives me peace of mind.

Henry, Aug 2026

Google review of a roofer in Melbourne's inner north we pass jobs to. This roofer: 4.2 from 58 Google reviews, checked 28 Oct 2026. Not a review of Find My Roofer.

Box gutter replacement

I was very happy with the work. I engaged [the roofer] to replace a box gutter. This is quite a big job involving taking off part of the roof. As often happens with an old house, addressing one problem revealed others. In the end a large section of roof and the wooden frame underneath had to be replaced. This was all done quickly and efficiently and to a high standard. The cost was very reasonable given the scale of the job. [The roofer] kept me informed at all times with photos showing the work.

Elisabeth, Oct 2025

Google review of a roofer in Melbourne's inner north we pass jobs to. This roofer: 4.2 from 58 Google reviews, checked 28 Oct 2026. Not a review of Find My Roofer.

Finished corrugated metal roof
Finished corrugated metal roof. By a Melbourne roofer we pass jobs to.
Red corrugated roof, freshly finished
Red corrugated roof, freshly finished. By a Melbourne roofer we pass jobs to.
New corrugated roof on a period home with brick chimneys
New corrugated roof on a period home with brick chimneys. Oct 2024. By a Melbourne roofer we pass jobs to.

How we chose these reviews · More job photos

Questions

Straight answers.

Can I replace my slate roof with tiles or Colorbond in Kew?
If the house is in a Heritage Overlay, changing the material needs a planning permit, and Boroondara weighs the property's heritage grading when it assesses it. Outside an overlay, a change of material can still need a building permit, because only like-for-like repairs are exempt. Ask council before you commit.
How do I know if my roof is real slate or asbestos?
You often can't by looking. Asbestos cement slates were made to imitate the real thing and sold under names like Fibrolite and Durabestos. Only a NATA accredited lab test can confirm it.
Do I need a permit to prune a big tree near my roof?
Boroondara requires a permit to remove a canopy tree, one with a trunk 110 cm or more around at 1.4 m high, even if it's dead. For pruning or work near a tree, check with council and use a qualified arborist.

Ready for a roofer to look at it in Kew?

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Every fact and rule on this page comes from the sources above, checked on the dates shown. How we write and check these pages.

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