What a restoration actually involves
On a tiled roof, a roofer usually cleans the tiles, replaces cracked or broken ones, rebeds and repoints the ridge capping (relaying the mortar that holds the caps along the top), and then often recoats the tiles.
On a metal roof, it's a clean, treating any rust, replacing screws and sheets that are past saving, sealing laps and flashings, then a primer and topcoats made for metal.
It's worth knowing what that coat does and doesn't do. Monier, one of the big tile makers, says the colour coat on concrete tiles is decorative and plays no part in keeping water out, and that a repaint needs redoing every five years or so to keep the look. Terracotta's colour is fired in, so it doesn't need painting at all. Monier also advises against pressure washers on tiles because they can damage them. Coating makers such as Dulux back their roof membranes with warranties, so ask your roofer what the coat is for on your roof, and whether you need it.
Every roofer packages it slightly differently, which is why two restoration quotes can look nothing alike. The checklist further down helps you compare them.
Signs your roof is a good candidate
Faded or patchy colour, moss and lichen, crumbling mortar along the ridge, a handful of cracked tiles, or surface rust that hasn't eaten through. All of that is fixable, and it's what a restoration is for.
It's a poor candidate when tiles are cracking or crumbling right across the roof, when metal sheets have rusted through in many places, or when the roof might be asbestos cement. A coat of paint doesn't fix any of those. Our restore or replace tool gives you a quick lean either way.
What a good restoration quote includes
- The roofer's licence or registration number, so you can check it
- Exactly what's being done: cleaning, how many tiles replaced, how much ridge rebedded and repointed
- The coating system by brand and product name, and how many coats
- Who handles solar panels, gutters and downpipes, if they're in the way
- Workmanship warranty, plus the coating manufacturer's warranty if there is one
- A payment schedule tied to stages of work, and whether prices include GST
- What happens if they find more damage once they're up there
Quotes that should worry you
- A knock on the door from someone who just happened to notice your roof
- A price that's far below other quotes with no clear reason why
- Pressure to sign today, or a big deposit before any work starts
- No licence number, no written scope, or a coating with no product name
- A promise that paint will fix tiles that are cracking all over
What you can do, and what needs a roofer
You can
- Look at the roof from the ground or a window with binoculars and note what you see
- Keep gutters and downpipes clear if you can reach them safely from a ladder
- Trim back branches that rub on the roof or drop leaves into the gutters
- Get two or three quotes for a big restoration and compare them line by line
Leave to a roofer
- Anything on the roof itself, including pressure cleaning
- Replacing tiles, rebedding and repointing
- Applying roof coatings, which need the right primer and conditions
- Any roof that might be asbestos cement
What we'd do
If the tiles or sheets are mostly sound and it's the ridge, the paint and the moss letting you down, we'd restore rather than replace. Ask each roofer to photograph the roof while they're up there, so you can see what they're quoting for. If more than one roofer tells you the tiles themselves are failing, take that seriously and get a replacement price too.
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.
