The brief
This single-storey brick home in Kingston had its original concrete tile roof, laid in the 1960s. The family had been dealing with a leak above the main bedroom that would appear during heavy rain, and a previous patch-up had not stopped it. From the street, the roof was dark with lichen and the ridge lines looked uneven.
They asked us whether it was time for a new roof or whether the existing one could be saved.
What we found
Our inspection showed that the tiles themselves were in reasonable condition. Most were intact, the battens were sound and the roof line was straight. The problems were in the parts that wear out:
- cracked and missing mortar under most ridge caps
- two valley irons rusted through where sheets overlapped
- a few dozen tiles with hairline cracks or porous surfaces
- gutters packed with debris from a nearby oak tree.
The bedroom leak lined up with one of the rusted valleys.
The work
We set up edge protection and began with a full pressure clean, which removed decades of lichen and loose surface material. Cracked tiles were replaced with matching profiles from our stock.
Next, the crew lifted the ridge and hip caps, cleared the old bedding and re-laid them on fresh mortar, finishing with a flexible pointing compound. Both rusted valleys were replaced with new Colorbond valley irons.
With repairs complete, the roof was primed and coated in two coats of membrane in a mid-grey the owners chose to sit well with their brick and existing gutters. We finished by cleaning the gutters and flushing every downpipe.
The outcome
The bedroom leak has not returned through the winter that followed. The roof now has sound ridges, new valleys and a protective coating, and the owners avoided the cost and disruption of a full replacement. We provided a maintenance checklist and recommended a gutter clean each autumn because of the overhanging tree.
Residential
Heritage
Commercial