What Stockton roofs are dealing with
Stockton is a narrow peninsula with breaking surf on the eastern side and the harbour on the western one, and the wind comes across it with nothing in the way. Every generalisation about coastal roofing applies here in its strongest form. Metal corrodes at the fixings and cut edges first, coatings chalk fast on the seaward faces, and a roof that would be middle-aged elsewhere in the region is genuinely old here.
The housing is mostly older and modest: single-storey cottages, weatherboard and fibro, low-pitch metal roofs, and a lot of it built well before anyone was specifying steel by distance from surf. Combine that with the exposure and you get the pattern we see over and over on this peninsula, which is a roof whose owner has been told for years that it is fine because the sheets still look acceptable from the street, sitting on fixings that gave up some time ago.
What we look at first here
Exposure from both sides, on housing that mostly predates anyone specifying for it. The inspection here is about the fixings, not the finish.
Fixings long before sheets
This is the defining Stockton finding. Sheeting that still looks presentable held down by fasteners that have corroded away. Caught at that stage refixing can buy real time; left longer it takes the sheeting with it.
No sheltered face
With surf on one side and the harbour on the other there is no protected slope to judge the roof by. The whole roof has to be assessed, and quoting from the easier side will always understate it.
Old low-pitch metal
Much of the original stock is shallow-pitch, where water moves slowly and laps, flashings and penetrations carry the risk. Add wind-driven rain from either direction and details that never leak in ordinary weather will find a way through.
What we do in Stockton
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
Is Stockton really worse than the rest of Newcastle for roofs?
For exposure, yes. Being on a narrow peninsula with surf on one side and the harbour on the other means salt from two directions and no shelter. It does not make roofs unfixable, it means the specification and the maintenance interval both matter more than they would three suburbs inland.
What grade of steel should go on a Stockton roof?
One specified for the exposure, and the manufacturers publish minimum distances from breaking surf for each grade to work that out. We are not going to name a grade on a web page without seeing where your house sits on the peninsula, but any quote you get should be able to name one and explain the reasoning.
My sheets look okay. Do I still need someone on the roof?
Especially here. The whole point about coastal corrosion is that it starts where you cannot see it: fasteners, cut edges and laps. A roof that looks fine from the street is exactly the one worth checking properly, because catching it at the fixings is a fraction of the cost of catching it at the sheets.
Do you actually come over to Stockton?
Yes. It is a longer trip around than the map suggests, and the inspection and written quote are still free.
Around Stockton
We cover the streets either side of Stockton as well, so if you are just over the boundary it is the same job and the same free inspection.
- Fern Bay
- Fullerton Cove
- Williamtown
- Salt Ash
- Carrington
Roof playing up in Stockton?
Give us a call and we will come and look at it. Free on-site inspection across Newcastle and the wider Hunter, with the quote in writing before anything starts.