What Belmont roofs are dealing with
Belmont is on a spit. The ocean is on the east, the lake is on the west, and neither is far away. That means salt from two directions and very little shelter from wind off either, and it is the reason metal fails here noticeably faster than it does a few kilometres inland at Cardiff or Charlestown. Fasteners, gutter brackets, valley irons and cut edges are the things we replace most often, and usually well before anything is wrong with the roof surface itself.
The housing stock adds to it. A good part of Belmont started as modest holiday and weekender housing, so there is a lot of fibro and light-framed construction carrying low-pitch metal roofs that were never specified for this level of exposure. Low pitch is unforgiving: water moves slowly, laps and flashings matter far more, and anything that holds debris will eventually hold water.
What we look at first here
Salt from both sides and roofs that were often built for a milder brief than the one they ended up with.
Corrosion from two directions
There is no sheltered side of a Belmont roof in the way there is elsewhere. Both faces get salt, so the usual trick of judging a roof by its protected slope does not work here and the whole roof has to be looked at.
Low-pitch metal roofs
A lot of the older stock is low pitch, where water sits and moves slowly. Laps, flashings and penetrations carry all the risk, and a detail that would be fine on a steep roof will leak on a shallow one.
Fasteners before sheets
On exposed coastal metal the fixings almost always go first. Sheeting that still has years in it can be sitting on fasteners that do not, and replacing those is a far smaller job than replacing the roof they are holding down.
What we do in Belmont
Pressure clean, re-bed and re-point the ridge capping, replace broken tiles, then a coating system. Typically buys another 10 to 15 years out of a sound tile roof.
Learn moreSlipped and cracked tiles, failed pointing, rusted valley irons and flashing. We find what is actually causing the problem rather than patching the wet patch.
Learn moreWhen the battens or sarking have gone, a coating will not save it. We strip the old roof and re-sheet, usually to Colorbond steel.
Learn moreColorbond steel roofing, supplied and installed. Lighter than tile, quick to install, and it holds up well to the salt air along the coast.
Learn moreRoof plumbing is its own licensed trade: metal roofing, guttering, downpipes, flashing and box gutters. If water is meant to move, this is the work that moves it.
Learn moreA stain on the ceiling or a drip during last night's rain. Call us and we will come and look at it, find where the water is actually getting in, and make it safe.
Learn more
Common questions
Does Belmont need coastal-grade steel?
Almost certainly, and it is worth insisting the quote says which grade. The steel manufacturers publish minimum distances from breaking surf and from salt water for each grade, and Belmont is close to both. A quote priced on standard grade for a Belmont roof is priced on the wrong material.
My roof looks fine but it is forty years old. Is it?
On this strip, maybe not. Coastal metal roofs tend to look acceptable from the ground long after the fasteners and cut edges have gone. That is exactly the roof worth having looked at properly, because catching it at the fixings is cheap and catching it at the sheets is not.
Can a low-pitch roof be restored, or does it need replacing?
It depends what is failing. If the sheeting is sound and the problem is at the laps, flashings or penetrations, those are repairs. If the sheeting has corroded through, particularly around the fixings, replacement is the honest answer and we will say so.
Do you cover Belmont North and Marks Point too?
Yes, and everything along that strip down to Swansea. It is the same drive and the same conditions.
Around Belmont
We cover the streets either side of Belmont as well, so if you are just over the boundary it is the same job and the same free inspection.
- Belmont North
- Belmont South
- Marks Point
- Valentine
- Jewells
- Floraville
- Croudace Bay
Roof playing up in Belmont?
Give us a call and we will come and look at it. Free on-site inspection across Lake Macquarie and the wider Hunter, with the quote in writing before anything starts.