Yarralumla Heritage Cottage

A roof worth keeping

This 1930s cottage in Yarralumla still had its original Marseille-pattern terracotta tiles and a timber dormer window facing the street. The roof had plenty of life left, but water was getting in around the dormer and down the chimney breast during winter rain, staining the plaster in the living room.

The owners were clear from the start: they wanted the leaks fixed without changing the character of the house.

Investigating the leaks

From the roof space we could see two separate water paths. One ran down the inside of the dormer cheek, where old flashings had split and pulled away from the timber. The other came from the chimney, where a cement flashing had cracked away from the brickwork. We also found a number of broken tiles, most likely from foot traffic during earlier antenna work.

Matching the original tiles

New terracotta tiles are made in different profiles and colours, and they would have stood out on a roof of this age. Instead, we sourced salvaged Marseille tiles from a demolition yard and selected those closest in colour and weathering. Each replacement was checked for cracks before going on.

Flashing the dormer and chimney

The old dormer flashings were removed and replaced with soft lead, dressed carefully to the shape of the tiles and timber. The chimney received new lead step and apron flashings, chased into the mortar joints instead of relying on a cement fillet that would crack again.

Finishing touches

Ridge caps were re-bedded where loose and re-pointed in a tone chosen to sit close to the original mortar colour. We cleaned the tiles but did not coat them, as terracotta does not need paint and a coating would have changed its appearance.

Because properties in this part of Canberra can be subject to heritage controls, we recommended the owners confirm requirements with the ACT planning authority before work began. The finished roof looks much as it did before, but the dormer and chimney are now properly sealed.