Metal roofing, for when patching has stopped working
Roof replacement, re-pitching and skylights across Canberra, by an A-Class licensed builder.
- ACT A-Class licence 2012B14A
- $20M public liability
- QBE Home Warranty
- MBA ACT member
- Building in Canberra since 2012
The same spot, every winter
You get up there, or you pay someone to, and you seal it again. It holds for a season. Then the first real downpour comes through and there's a stain on the ceiling in the same place as last year.
When a roof keeps leaking in the same spot after it has been patched properly, the patch was never going to be the answer. The water is getting in because of the way the roof is built, and no amount of sealant changes how a roof is built.
Four things that cause most of it
Not enough fall
A lot of Canberra houses were built with roofs pitched just enough to shed water and no more. Add a few decades of settlement and there are now sections where water sits rather than runs. Sitting water finds every seam it is given time to find.
Ponding on the flat sections
The same problem with the volume turned up. Once there is a low spot it holds a puddle after every storm, and that puddle works on the joints for as long as it takes to evaporate.
Fasteners at the end of their life
Screws and their rubber washers perish. There are hundreds of them up there and they were all installed on the same day, so they reach the end together. Replacing the dozen you can see achieves very little.
Flashings and penetrations
Most leaks start where the roof meets something else: a wall, a vent, a flue, a skylight. Very few of them start out in the middle of a sheet.
The work Dale takes on
Re-pitching a low or flat roof
The fix for a roof that has never had enough fall. The framing is built up to create a proper pitch, then the whole thing is re-sheeted to suit. It turns a roof you have been managing for years into one you stop thinking about.
It is a bigger job than a re-sheet and it is usually the right one. Putting new metal on a roof that could never drain properly buys you time, not a solution.
Full roof replacement
Old sheeting off, framing checked and made good, new Colorbond on, with the flashings, capping and penetrations redone rather than reused. Insulation and sarking get sorted while the roof is open, because that is the only sensible time to do it.
Skylights
Fitted as part of a roof replacement or a re-pitch, where the flashing can be done properly into new sheeting instead of cut into old.
Tile to metal conversions
A job of its own, and a common one on Canberra's older housing. More on that here.
What Dale doesn't do
No gutter cleaning, no gutter replacement on its own, no one-off leak patches, no maintenance call-outs. Dale takes on roof replacements, re-pitching and conversions.
If a patch is genuinely what you need, a roof plumber is the right trade for it and will do it faster and cheaper than a builder will. No hard feelings either way.
From the first call to the last sheet
- You callTell him what the roof is doing and how long it has been doing it. That usually narrows it down before anyone climbs anything.
- He gets up on the roofPitch, fall, the state of the framing underneath, the fasteners, the flashings. You cannot quote a roof from the ground.
- A written quoteRe-sheet or re-pitch, what it includes, and what happens if the framing under the old roof turns out to be worse than it looked.
- The workSequenced so the house is never left open to weather overnight.
- HandoverWith your warranty paperwork and the product warranty on the sheeting.
Roofing in Canberra, answered
How do I know if I need a new roof or just a repair?
If the same area has leaked more than once after being patched, or if you can see water sitting up there after rain, it is a build problem rather than a hole. Dale will tell you which one you have, and he will say so if the answer is that you do not need him.
What is re-pitching?
Building up the roof framing so the roof has enough fall to drain properly, then re-sheeting it. It is the fix for a low-pitch or flat roof that has never shed water the way it should, as opposed to one that has simply worn out.
What does a roof replacement cost?
Dale won't quote a range on a roof, and it's worth knowing why rather than just being told no. The price moves on the size and pitch of the roof, how hard it is to get gear up there, whether it is a straight re-sheet or a re-pitch, and what the framing underneath turns out to be like once the old roof is off. Those last two can double a job.
A number given over the phone before anyone has been up there is a guess, and it is usually a low one. He will get on the roof and put a real figure in writing instead.
How long does it take?
PLACEHOLDER. Awaiting Dale's real timeframes.
Do you do gutters or small repairs?
No. Roof replacement, re-pitching, conversions and skylights as part of those. For a repair or a gutter job you want a roof plumber.
Will I need approval for a new roof?
A straight replacement in the same profile usually does not. Re-pitching changes the roof form, so it often does. Dale works out which applies to your place and handles it either way.
What areas do you cover?
Canberra only. Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong, Woden Valley, Weston Creek, Molonglo and the inner suburbs.
Had enough of patching it?
Get Dale up on the roof and find out whether you are looking at a re-sheet or a re-pitch.
Tell Dale about the job
He'll come and look at it, and you'll get a real figure in writing. If it's not a job he should be doing, he'll say so.
Upright Building Services
0468 050 266Extensions, renovations, metal roofing, granny flats and outbuildings. Substantial building work across Canberra.
ACT A-Class builder's licence 2012B14A
NSW builder's licence 314125C
$20M public liability · QBE Home Warranty
Master Builders Association ACT member
What we build
Where we work
- Belconnen
- Gungahlin
- Tuggeranong
- Woden Valley
- Weston Creek
- Molonglo
- Inner Canberra