Roof Replacement and Re-Roofing, Liverpool to Fairfield

When a repair stops being the sensible spend

Nobody re-roofs a house for fun. You do it when the patches have stopped holding.

The usual tipping point in this area is a 1950s to 1970s tile roof that has had everything done to it already. The ridge caps have been repointed once. A valley has been replaced. Someone has siliconed the flashings. And it still leaks, in a different spot each time.

At that point the tiles themselves are the problem. Concrete tiles lose their surface and start to absorb water. Terracotta tiles go brittle and crack around the nail holes. Once the material is failing, every repair is buying a few months.

Signs a replacement is the better buy:

• Tiles that flake, crumble or snap when handled
• No sarking under the tiles, with soft or split battens
• Rust through on more than one valley
• Leaks appearing in several unrelated parts of the roof
• A roof that has already been restored once and is failing again

What a full re-roof actually involves

1. Inspection and measure. We get on the roof, photograph the faults, measure the areas and check the frame, the battens and the roof space from inside.
2. Written quote. Itemised, so you can see the cost of the main roof separately from the patio, the carport or the garage.
3. Set-up. Safety rails or scaffold, a skip positioned where it will not block the drive, and protection over gardens and paths.
4. Strip. Old tiles or sheets come off in sections, along with the old sarking.
5. Frame and battens. Any soft timber is replaced. Battens are re-spaced for the new roof material.
6. Sarking. A reflective foil sarking goes over the rafters. This is the layer most old roofs in these suburbs never had, and it does two jobs: it catches wind-driven rain and dust, and it cuts radiant heat into the roof space.
7. New roof. Tiles bedded and pointed, or sheets laid, screwed and flashed.
8. Flashings, ridges and penetrations. Every junction, vent, whirlybird, skylight and chimney re-flashed.
9. Gutters and downpipes. Replaced or re-hung if they are part of the job.
10. Clean up and hand over. Site cleared, gutters flushed, workmanship warranty issued in writing.

Tile or Colorbond

Both work. The choice usually comes down to the shape of your roof and what you want from it.

Stay with tile if you like the look, the roof shape has a lot of hips and valleys, and you want a material that is quiet in rain and replaceable one tile at a time. Modern concrete tiles come pre-coloured through and are a long way ahead of what went on in 1965.

Go to Colorbond if your roof has long simple runs, if you want a lighter roof, if you are adding solar, or if you are tired of mortar work. Sheets also let you go to a lower pitch than tiles allow, which matters when you are re-roofing a flat-ish rear addition.

A practical point for this area: heat. Dark roofs hold heat, and western Sydney runs hotter than the coast through summer. A lighter Colorbond colour and proper roof space ventilation make a real difference to how the back bedrooms feel in February. We will talk through colour at the quote rather than guessing.

The additions have to be in the plan

This is the part that gets missed on quotes, and it is the part that causes callbacks.

Most houses around Liverpool and Fairfield are not one roof. They are a main roof plus a rear extension, plus a patio, plus a carport, and sometimes a separate dwelling at the back. Each one joins the next at a step or a change of pitch.

If you re-roof the main house and leave the additions as they were, the new work is only as good as the old flashings it ties into. We measure and price those junctions as part of the job, and we tell you when an added section is too flat for the material it has on it.

Rules, paperwork and who does the work

Work is carried out by established, licensed and insured roofing contractors working to NSW Fair Trading requirements.

Two things worth knowing as a homeowner in NSW. Residential building work over $5,000 needs a written contract. Work over $20,000 also needs cover under the Home Building Compensation scheme. A re-roof usually sits in that second bracket, so expect paperwork and expect it to be filled in properly.

What moves the price

• Roof area and shape. A plain hip roof costs less per square metre than one with six valleys.
• Pitch and storeys. Steeper and higher means more access gear.
• Material. Tile, Colorbond, and the gauge and profile of the sheet.
• Condition of the frame. Battens and timber repairs found after strip.
• The extras. Gutters, downpipes, whirlybirds, skylights, insulation.
• Asbestos. Older garages and patios in these suburbs sometimes still carry bonded cement sheeting, which has to be removed under the SafeWork NSW rules.

The inspection and the written quote are free. You will get a figure for the whole job and separate figures for the optional parts, so you can stage the work if you need to.

Booking a re-roof

We re-roof across Lurnea, Green Valley, Prestons, Bonnyrigg and the rest of the service areas.

Not sure yet whether you need a full replacement? A roof restoration is the cheaper answer when the tiles are still sound, and a roof inspection and report will tell you which camp your roof is in.

Call (02) 4601 3500 or ask for a quote.