What Melbourne's climate and housing mean for paint
Book around the wet spring
At Olympic Park, February is the driest month on average with 26.3 mm, while October (64.2 mm) and November (64.4 mm) are the wettest. Coatings need dry days to go on and cure, so a late-summer booking usually means fewer rain delays than a spring one.
Hotter days wear coatings faster
Days of extreme heat have become more frequent in Melbourne since 2005. Dulux says some fading is expected as roof coatings weather, partly from chalking, where UV breaks down the acrylic binder. BlueScope says a light roof can run up to 35 °C cooler on the surface than a dark one in hot sun, which is worth weighing when you choose a colour.
Federation terracotta rarely needs it
Many Federation homes from about 1890 to 1915 have terracotta tile roofs. Monier says terracotta's colour is fired in and doesn't need respraying, and it doesn't recommend painting terracotta. Unglazed terracotta can be painted, but once it is, it needs recoating from then on.
Salt near the bay and the surf
If a metal roof near Port Phillip or the ocean coast is being overpainted, BlueScope suggests a system with better corrosion resistance, such as a zinc-rich primer, in more corrosive salt marine locations.
Which Melbourne roofs are worth painting
Concrete tiles are the classic candidate. Monier says their colour coat is decorative only and fades over time without affecting performance, so painting is about looks. To keep the look, it needs redoing every five years or so.
Older metal roofs with faded or chalky paint can be repainted after cleaning and treating any rust. Colorbond or ZINCALUME is different: BlueScope says overpainting voids its warranties, so check what's left on yours first.
Painting doesn't fix a roof. Monier is blunt that respraying is cosmetic only, so cracked tiles, crumbling ridges and rust holes need repairing first. If that's most of the roof, look at roof restoration in Melbourne instead.
Roof painting offers that should worry you
- A knock on the door from someone offering to re-coat your roof. Consumer Affairs Victoria says roof re-coating has attracted some unethical operators
- No business name or street address you can check
- A deposit above about 10 per cent, which Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests is generally the limit for this work
- A quote to paint Colorbond that doesn't mention what happens to the warranty
What to ask before a Melbourne roofer paints your roof
- Is my roof concrete, terracotta or metal, and is painting actually the right choice for it?
- Which coating system is it, by brand and product, with what primer and how many coats?
- What does the coating warranty depend on, and is it in writing?
- I collect rainwater from the roof: is this paint suitable for drinking water?
- If I'm under a heritage overlay, does the colour need council approval?
The honest answer
If your roof is terracotta and sound, we'd usually skip the paint and spend the money on cleaning, ridges and any broken tiles. If it's faded concrete tile, painting is reasonable, and we'd book it for February or March and choose a lighter colour if the house gets hot. Our national roof painting page covers products and prep, and the Melbourne hub covers the rest of the local picture.
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.
