“Roof restoration” means something different on a tile roof than on a metal one. On a tile roof it is a real trade: cleaning, re-bedding and re-pointing the ridge caps, swapping broken tiles and sealing the lot. On a metal roof it usually means a pressure clean and a coat of paint.
That difference decides whether a roof restoration is worth it. Here is how to tell, and what to do instead when it isn’t.
The short answer: A roof restoration is worth it on a tile roof when the tiles are sound and the problems are bedding, pointing and a few breakages. On a metal roof, a restoration is a repaint. It will not fix rust, leaks or lifted sheets, and painting over Colorbond or Zincalume voids the BlueScope warranty. A metal roof with problems needs a repair or a re-roof. IM Metal Roofing does not restore, clean or paint roofs. We repair metal roofs and replace them, tin to tin or tile to metal.
What a roof restoration actually is
A roof restoration keeps the roof you have and brings the surface back to working order. What that involves depends on the material.
On a tile roof
On a tile roof, a restoration is the maintenance the roof needs as it ages. The bedding mortar that holds the ridge caps cracks, the pointing on top of it crumbles, tiles break, and moss gets into everything. A restoration cleans the roof, re-beds and re-points the ridges, replaces the broken tiles and finishes with a sealer or a coloured coating. Done well, it stops leaks at the ridges, and a good tiler will replace tired valley irons at the same time.
On a metal roof
On a metal roof, a metal roof restoration is a pressure clean, a rust treatment and two coats of roof paint. It changes the colour and it looks tidy from the street. It does not change the sheets underneath, so the paint is cosmetic.
When a roof restoration is worth it
A restoration pays off when the roof underneath still has years in it and the problem is only on the surface. That means a tile roof with sound tiles and failing bedding or pointing, or a metal roof with no rust where all you want is a colour change, for example before you sell. In both cases the roof is doing its job and you are tidying it up, not rescuing it.
When a roof restoration is not worth it
If your metal roof has rust coming through, leaks in more than one place or sheets that have lifted, a restoration is money spent on the wrong thing, for three reasons.
Paint does not fix rust
Paint over rust seals in the rust and the moisture with it, so the sheet keeps corroding underneath and you find out when it leaks. Rust on a metal roof starts where water sits: along the laps, around the fixings and up from the gutter line, and once it has eaten through the factory coating, nothing applied on top will stop it. Callan Allsop from IM Metal Roofing puts it simply: nine times out of ten, the fix is to get rid of whatever is causing the problem and replace it.
Painting voids the Colorbond warranty
BlueScope’s technical bulletin on repainting is blunt: overpainting Colorbond steel, Zincalume steel or zinc-coated steel voids any warranty BlueScope has issued. If your roof is still inside its material warranty, a Colorbond roof restoration throws that away.
Most leaks come from fixings, laps and flashings
Apart from rust holes, metal roof leaks come from where the sheet is fastened, overlapped and flashed, and a coating never reaches those spots. A roof plumber fixes them as a repair.
What a metal roof needs instead: repair or re-roof
A metal roof with problems has two options, repair or re-roof, and a tile roof past restoring has a third.
Repair or re-roof
One failure is a repair: a leak, a sheet lifted in a storm, a flashing that has let go. IM Metal Roofing replaces the failed sheet, re-seals the flashing or refits the fixings, and the rest of the roof carries on. A roof failing everywhere is a re-roof: the old sheets, flashings and ridge capping come off, the battens and framing get checked while they can be seen, and new Australian made Colorbond goes on with an insulation blanket underneath. Our guide to the signs it is time to repair or replace walks through the line between the two.
Tile to metal, when a tile roof is past restoring
If your tile roof has been restored before, or tiles are cracking faster than a tiler can swap them, a tile to metal conversion replaces the lot with Colorbond: lighter, no bedding or pointing to fail again, and nothing for hail to crack.
Not sure which one you are looking at? Send us your address and IM Metal Roofing will come back with a ballpark re-roof figure, usually the same day.
How to tell which one your roof needs
Three things decide it, and none of them can be seen from the driveway: whether rust has started along the laps and around the fixings, whether the steel is still inside its BlueScope warranty, and on a tile roof, whether the tiles themselves are sound or only the bedding has gone. IM Metal Roofing checks all of that on a metal roof and writes it up as the IM Metal Roof Report, with photos, measurements and a quote for a repair or a re-roof, whichever the roof needs. If the roof is sound and you only want a new colour, we will tell you that too, and point you to a painter.
Get a Straight Answer on Your Roof
Rust, leaks or just an old roof you are unsure about? IM Metal Roofing will tell you whether it is a repair or a re-roof, backed by a 7-year workmanship warranty.
Request a quote or call Aaren on 0432 175 102 to book an inspection.
FAQs
Q: Can you restore a Colorbond roof?
A: You can clean and repaint one, but BlueScope treats that as overpainting and voids its warranty, and if the steel is already rusting, the sheets need replacing, not covering.
Q: Is a roof restoration cheaper than replacing the roof?
A: Usually, upfront, which is the appeal. The catch is what it leaves in place. On a rusting metal roof you pay for the restoration now and the re-roof later, so the cheaper job ends up costing more.
Q: Will a roof restoration fix a leaking roof?
A: On a tile roof, often, because most tile leaks start at the ridges that re-bedding and re-pointing address. On a metal roof, no. Those leaks need a roof plumber.
Q: Does IM Metal Roofing do roof restorations?
A: No. We repair metal roofs and replace roofs, tin to tin or tile to metal, across Coffs Harbour and the Mid North Coast.
