Painting is the last stage of a restoration, not a substitute for one
This is the honest version of this page. Most people searching for roof painting are looking at a roof that has gone chalky, faded or patchy, and what that roof usually needs is a restoration, of which painting is the final stage. Spraying a coating over unrepaired pointing and cracked tiles hides the problem for a year or two and then fails, taking your money with it.
There is a genuine version of the job. A roof that has already been repaired and cleaned, or one that was restored a while back and has simply faded, can be recoated. So can a Colorbond roof you want in a different colour. That is real work with a real result, and the difference between it and the false version is entirely about what happens before the spray gun comes out.
How we do it
Assess the existing surface
How many coats it has had already, and whether it is sound enough to hold another. Some roofs are not.
Repair the faults first
Broken tiles, pointing and flashing sorted before anything is sprayed. Coating over a fault seals the fault in.
Clean it and let it dry
Pressure clean, then let it dry properly. Coating onto a damp or dusty roof is the most common reason one peels.
Prime or seal the surface
A sealer or primer suited to the surface. On a porous tile roof this is the coat doing most of the actual work.
Two full membrane coats
Colour coats sprayed and back-rolled where needed, with proper cure time between. Not one heavy coat.
A recoat makes sense when
- The roof has already been repaired and cleaned and only the colour is tired
- A previous restoration has faded and the surface underneath is still sound
- You want a colour change on a Colorbond or metal roof in good condition
- You are preparing to sell and the roof presents badly but tests sound
- The roof has been coated once before, not repeatedly
When painting is money down the drain
- Ridge capping pointing is cracked and has not been re-bedded or re-pointed
- Tiles are cracked, slipped or delaminating
- The roof is leaking anywhere
- It has already been coated two or more times
- Battens or sarking have rotted underneath
The first three are a restoration, which ends in a coat anyway, so you get the paint job as part of it. The last two mean the roof is at replacement, and a coat will not change that.
What does roof painting cost in Newcastle?
A straight recoat on a roof that has already been cleaned and repaired is the cheapest version of this work, and on a standard single-storey home it generally sits in the low thousands. The number moves with roof area, pitch, access and how many coats the surface needs.
In practice most quotes people receive for roof painting are actually restoration quotes, because the roof needs the clean and the repairs first. That is why a painting quote and a restoration quote for the same roof often land close together, and why a painting quote that comes in dramatically cheaper than the rest is usually skipping the preparation rather than being better value.
The question worth asking any quote: what preparation is included, and is the pointing being re-bedded or re-pointed before the coating goes on. The answer to that explains most of the price difference between quotes.
Coatings near the water
Coastal exposure shortens the life of any roof coating, and it does not do it evenly. The windward face of a roof at Merewether, Redhead or Stockton chalks and fades noticeably faster than the sheltered side of the same roof, which is why coastal roofs often look patchy well before they are actually due. Salt also sits on the surface and has to come off properly at the cleaning stage or the coating goes on over it. It is worth asking what coating system is being used and whether it is specified for coastal exposure, because not all of them are.
Common questions
Is roof painting actually worth it?
On a sound, prepared roof, yes: it protects a porous surface and it changes how the house presents. On an unrepaired roof, no. It hides problems rather than fixing them and it fails early. The honest answer depends entirely on the condition of the roof underneath, which is what the inspection is for.
How long does a roof coating last?
It varies with the system used, the preparation, the pitch and how exposed the roof is, and coastal roofs go sooner than inland ones. We are not going to put a single number on it here, because the figure would be meaningless without knowing your roof. What we can tell you is that preparation affects it more than the product does.
Can I paint my roof myself?
It is legal, and it is a genuinely bad idea for most people. It is height work on a slippery surface, the preparation is most of the job, and spray equipment on a roof takes practice. The failures we see from do it yourself coatings are almost always preparation rather than technique.
Can you paint a Colorbond roof?
Yes. A metal roof in sound condition can be recoated, and it is the usual way to change colour without replacing the sheets. Corroded sheeting is a different matter and is generally replaced rather than painted over.
How many times can a tile roof be coated?
Realistically once or twice. By the third time the coating is thick enough to be part of the problem, and it tends to flake in sheets rather than fade. A roof that has been coated twice is usually at the point where replacement is the better spend.
Related services
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 morePressure cleaning to strip moss, lichen and years of grime. Often the first step of a restoration, and sometimes all a roof actually needs.
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 more
Thinking about roof painting?
We will come and look at the roof, photograph what we find and put a price in writing. Free, across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter.