If you are reading this page then chances are you have come to the realisation as many Australian home owners do, that your roof may be in need of roof restoration or roof painting. Noticing cracked pointing on the roof top or little ceiling stains around the house may have confirmed your suspicions and now you need to learn a little more about this common service and what to look out for.
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History of concrete tiled roofs in Australia
From the 1950s to the 2000s concrete tiled roofs were installed as the preferred cladding medium for Australian houses in all states. While this material was highly successful and gave many benefits it has left us today with many concrete tiled roofs around the country that can benefit from a roof restoration. The concrete tile roof tends to become porous over time and eventually loose the original glaze coating with which they were made. The overall aesthetic appeal of a roof tends to diminish somewhat after several decades in the elements and a roof restoration can bring the roof back to its former glory and in many cases have it look even better than the day it was new. It also prolongs the life of the roof by ensuring the tile roof sealed for the next decade or two. If the roof is still in reasonable condition, then a roof restoration can make a great alternative to a full roof replacement or re-roofing.
Cost factors for roof restoration
When it comes to roofing work of any kind, be it roof replacement or roof restoration the three biggest factors having the greatest impact on price are roof pitch, roof size or area and the overall height of the roof ie. Is it a single storey home or two storey or even three storey? A roof with a significant pitch not only has more total roof surface area to be covered but also poses many more safety considerations. At a particular pitch point (around 30 degrees) safe access for restoration or re-roofing work becomes exponentially harder and comes with higher risks. When a roof pitch is around or beyond 30 degrees the job almost always must be done with a minimum of safety handrail and in some cases full scaffolding may be needed. Obviously, the roof size makes a difference to the overall price. With size we can expect the cost to be directly proportional with size meaning double the size roof is probably close to double the price. Whether the property Is single double or triple storey also has a big influence on price as again scaffolding will be needed, and the overall job progress will be slowed with workers needing to get all materials to the roof top via a scaffold or large ladder.
In Australia the typical cost to undertake a full roof restoration on a single storey 4 bedroom family home is around the $6000 – $7000 + GST Mark. This will usually get you pressure cleaning, repointing with flexible pointing compound, swapping out of a few broken tiles and a fully sealed and recoated roof. As per the above you can expect to pay more for a large house and probably and additional $3000 – $4000 for a two storey property.
There are some roof restoration companies out there stating that a roof restoration should cost a certain percentage of property value, ie. “A roof Restoration should cost around 2% of a property value) however this is quite ridiculous. This implies that they would charge potentially double the price for a roof restoration on a house in a valuable area and half the cost for the very same house and roof in a lower valued area. In reality these quotes should be the same as the work and details and the same.
Roof Sealing costs from big companies or franchises
In Australia there are several “big players” in the roof restoration market. They often claim their particular product is the best and that’s why it is so highly priced when compared to their competitors. In reality their claims are false and their exorbitant pricing just a big money making scheme. They may have huge budgets for advertising and in most cases send a sales person to your home to give a presentation. The person probably has no real experience with roofing and may have never even walked on a roof. The worker they ultimately engage to do your job is most often a poor franchisee that is working on fixed or controlled rates from the head company and paid very little. This means he will need to rush the job in order to make anything. Not a great outcome for the home owner.
Roof Restoration Door Knockers
These large companies and franchises mentioned above often send out fleets of door knocking sales people to try to create more business. These are also the last people you want to be buying your next roof restoration from. These guys were usually selling TVs at Harvey Norman last week and are fully commissioned based. You can bet they actually know nothing about roofing or roof restoration and are just there to make a sale. They try to push people into signing up in the day and not getting any other quotes. They also very often push people into signing up in finance in order to pay for their rather expensive roof restoration. If you know your in the market for a roof restoration then do your own research and check Google reviews. The reviews of the big companies are often terrible and around 2 stars. Its best to go with a company with at least 50 Google reviews and they should be close to 5 stars if not a full 5 Stars.
Roof Restoration Warranty
Any roof restoration company worth hiring should be using top quality roofing products and materials such as Dulux Acratex. When applied by a certified applicator the Dulux roofing membrane comes with a 15 year warranty. With a warranty like that its worth paying the little bit more it may cost to for a premium product.
When it comes to roof restoration it is worth finding a credible company with good Google reviews and paying a reasonable price for a great job on your home. Any prices seeming extremely high or low are often best avoided as neither may represent good value.
Happy Roof Restoring
