Roof repairs in the Blue Mountains: finding where the water gets in

What you have probably noticed

Most calls start with one of four things: a brown ring on the ceiling, a drip into a bucket, a tile lying on the lawn, or grey mortar crumbs in the gutter that turn out to be what is left of the ridge pointing. Any of those is worth a look now rather than after the next wet week.

Up here the gap between a small leak and an expensive one is short, because roofs stay wet. A coastal roof dries in an afternoon. A shaded roof at Hazelbrook or Leura under canopy can stay damp for days, so timber that gets wet stays wet, and the fault spreads into battens and ceiling linings.

Ring (02) 4703 5000 and we will come out, get on the roof and tell you what is going on. Inspection and written quote are free, and there is no obligation at the end of it.

Where the water is actually getting in

Ridge and hip pointing

The most common fault in the upper mountains and the one most often misdiagnosed as "a cracked tile". Water soaks into the bedding mortar, freezes overnight, expands, and breaks the mortar apart from the inside out. Do that enough winters and the pointing goes to powder, the caps start to rock, and rain enters at the highest line on the roof and runs the length of the framing before it appears anywhere visible. The fix is to rebed the caps and repoint with a flexible compound that tolerates movement, not a rigid sand-and-cement mix.

Valleys

Valley irons collect every leaf and strip of bark the gums drop. Litter dams the valley, water backs up sideways under the tiles, and the valley board underneath quietly rots. On older homes around Springwood and Woodford the valley iron itself is often corroded through under the debris.

Flashings at chimneys, skylights and wall junctions

The Federation and inter-war stock through Katoomba, Leura and Mount Victoria carries a lot of brick and sandstone chimneys. Once the lead apron has lifted or the old mortar fillet has cracked, driving rain finds the gap. The same applies to skylight upstands and to the step flashings where a lower roof meets a wall.

Broken, slipped and lifted tiles

Branch strike off a mature gum, a foot in the wrong place, or simple age. A single broken tile is cheap. A slipped tile that has been letting water onto a batten for two winters is not.

Gutters that cannot drain

A blocked gutter in heavy rain backs water up over the tile ends and into the eaves. It is a roofing problem presenting as a gutter problem, which is why we look at both. See gutter repair and replacement if that is the main symptom.

How a repair visit runs

We walk the roof rather than looking at it from the ground. That means ridges and hips, valleys, every flashing and penetration, the gutter line, and where there is safe access, the ceiling space from below. Photographs of anything we find go to you with the quote, so you are not taking our word for it.

If the roof is actively leaking we will make it safe on the first visit where we can — temporary sheeting or a tarp over the opening — and book the permanent repair separately. Storm work has its own page: storm and emergency roof repairs.

Then you get a written quote with the scope itemised. Not a lump sum with no detail behind it.

Is it a repair, or is it past that?

Honest answer: a lot of mountains roofs that look terrible are repair or restoration jobs, not replacements. Dark staining, moss on the south pitch and a chalky faded surface look alarming but say nothing about whether the tile is sound.

A repair is the right call when the fault is localised, the battens are dry and the rest of the roof has life in it. If the pointing has gone right across every ridge and the surface coating has broken down, you are probably looking at a roof restoration instead, which does the whole roof once rather than the same ridge three times. If the structure underneath is failing, a roof replacement is the cheaper answer over ten years.

We would rather tell you which of the three it is than sell you the biggest one. If you want it on paper before you decide, a roof inspection and written report does exactly that.

What moves the price

• Pitch. Steep mountain roofs built to shed water and leaf litter need more edge protection and slow the work down.
• Access. Narrow bush blocks, long driveways, retaining walls and steep ground all affect how materials get to the roof.
• How far it has spread. A broken tile is a small job. A broken tile that has been wetting a batten and a valley board for two years is not.
• Material. Terracotta, concrete tile, older corrugated steel and modern Colorbond all behave differently and need different repairs.
• Weather window. Above 900 metres, fog, frost and short winter days genuinely limit when work can be done well.

We do not publish dollar figures, because a number invented before anyone has seen your roof is worthless. The quote follows the inspection.

Booking a look

Call (02) 4703 5000, or send the quote form with the roof type, its rough age and what you have noticed. Work is carried out by established, licensed and insured roofing contractors working to NSW Fair Trading requirements, and completed repairs carry a written workmanship warranty.