What roof repairs cover in Sydney
Sydney Roofs Repair arranges roof repairs across the Sydney metro area for tiled, slate and steel roofs on houses, terraces, units and small commercial buildings. The work includes tracing leaks, replacing cracked and slipped tiles, re-bedding and re-pointing ridge and hip capping, renewing flashings around chimneys, walls and skylights, replacing rusted sheets, and clearing valleys and gutters that are pushing water into the roof. Independent local roofing contractors carry out every job, and every job starts with an inspection.
Faults by roof type
Concrete and terracotta tile roofs
- Ridge and hip capping that has cracked or come loose after decades of summer heat and winter storms.
- Cracked, chipped or slipped tiles, often after someone has walked the roof to fix an antenna, an air conditioner or solar panels.
- Valleys packed with leaves from street trees, so water spills sideways under the tiles.
- Missing or torn sarking on older homes, which means every small leak lands straight on the ceiling.
Slate roofs
- Slates that have slipped because their nails have rusted through ("nail sickness").
- Cracked slates from foot traffic or falling branches.
- Lead or zinc flashings around chimneys and parapets that have split or lifted.
Steel roofs
- Rust along the laps and at the gutter line, especially on old galvanised iron and on coastal sites.
- Loose or corroded fixings, or old nails that have worked loose and let water in.
- Flashings and cappings pulling away from walls, or sealant that has dried out.
- Corrosion from incompatible metals, such as copper pipe or lead flashing draining onto Zincalume.
How a repair gets diagnosed
Water travels. It can enter at a ridge, run down the sarking or a rafter for a metre or two and appear on a ceiling well away from the fault. That is why the best repairs begin in the roof space as well as on the roof. The contractor looks for daylight, water staining on timbers and sarking, and wet insulation, then matches that to what is visible above.
Expect to be asked a few questions: when the leak appeared, whether it only happens in heavy rain or in wind from a particular direction, and whether anyone has been on the roof recently. A leak that started the week after solar panels or a new air conditioner went in tells its own story.
Making it safe in the meantime
If water is coming through now, move valuables and electrical items away from the drip, put a bucket underneath, and turn the light off if water is near a light fitting. Do not go onto a wet roof yourself. For storm damage, the NSW State Emergency Service can help with temporary covering when the damage is serious; for anything less urgent, our emergency roof work page explains what happens next.
When a repair is not enough
Repairs make sense while the covering itself is sound. When steel has rusted through in many places, concrete tiles have become porous and crumble when walked on, or the battens underneath have rotted, patching one leak only moves the problem along. At that point the contractor should say so plainly and quote re-roofing or roof replacement as a separate option, with photos to back it up. You can then compare the two and decide.
Licences on repair work
Under NSW Fair Trading rules, residential building work over $5,000 needs a licensed contractor, and plenty of smaller repairs are done by licensed roofers anyway. Ask for the licence number and check it on the NSW Government register before work starts, along with proof of public liability insurance.