Why it pays to look early
Sydney Roofs Repair arranges inspections, repairs and replacements across metropolitan Sydney. The owners who have the easiest time with a roof replacement are usually those who spotted the signs early and planned for it. Those who wait for a storm to decide for them often face rushed decisions, water damage inside and a scramble for contractors at the busiest time of year. This guide lists the signs to look for, grouped by where you can see them.
From the street or garden
Use binoculars if you have them, and look at every slope you can see.
- Broken, cracked or missing tiles, especially if there are many, scattered across the roof.
- Tiles that look washed out, patchy or covered in moss and lichen, which on concrete tiles suggests the surface has worn away.
- Rust, particularly along sheet laps, around screws, at the gutter edge and under trees.
- A sagging or wavy roof line, where ridges or the edges of slopes are no longer straight.
- Ridge capping with gaps, cracks or missing mortar.
- Lifted or patched flashings around chimneys, skylights and walls.
- Patchwork repairs from different eras and materials.
In the gutters
- Granules, grit or crumbled mortar in the gutters.
- Fragments of tile or rusty flakes.
- Water overflowing onto fascias and eaves in normal rain.
In the roof space
Take a torch, step only on the ceiling joists, and look during the day.
- Daylight coming through the roof.
- Water stains on timbers, sarking or the underside of the roof.
- Damp or compressed insulation in patches.
- Rotten, soft or broken battens.
- Sagging timbers or obvious structural issues.
- No sarking under tiles on an older house.
Inside the house
- Ceiling stains, often brown rings, that grow after rain.
- Bubbling or flaking paint on ceilings or high on walls.
- Mould on ceilings, cornices and in built-in cupboards against external walls.
- Musty smells in rooms near the roof line.
After storms
Every big storm is a test. If your roof needs repairs after every significant storm, in different places each time, it is telling you something. Keep a record of repairs, with dates and locations; it helps a contractor see the pattern.
Signs specific to roof types
Concrete tiles
Tiles that crumble when pressed at the edges, absorb water and stay dark long after rain, or crack readily underfoot are near the end.
Terracotta
Terracotta tiles often last, but repeated leaks from valleys, ridges and around chimneys on an older roof without sarking suggest the system around the tiles needs renewal, which may mean re-laying on new battens and sarking.
Slate
Slates slipping across many parts of the roof indicate widespread nail failure.
Steel
Rust holes, flaking along most laps and screws that no longer hold indicate a roof at the end of its life.
Asbestos cement
Cracking, broken sheets, heavy lichen and leaking laps on an asbestos cement roof usually call for replacement. Do not walk on, cut, drill or water-blast it.
Age as a factor
Age alone does not mean replacement, but combined with the signs above, it helps. Many Sydney homes built in the 1960s to 1980s still have their original concrete tile roofs, and many post-war homes still have original galvanised iron or asbestos cement. Our roof lifespan guide gives typical ranges.
A seasonal checklist for Sydney owners
Sydney's weather follows a rough pattern, and a few minutes at the right time of year catches most problems before they become leaks.
- Late winter to early spring: look at the roof from the ground after the windier months. Check for slipped tiles, lifted flashings and debris. Clear gutters before the storm season.
- Spring and summer: after each severe thunderstorm, check for hail damage, broken tiles and dented gutters. Look in the roof space after heavy rain.
- Autumn: clear gutters again as deciduous street trees drop their leaves. Check that downpipes and stormwater pits flow freely before the cooler-season east coast lows.
- Any time: after other trades have been on the roof, check for cracked tiles, swarf and poorly sealed penetrations.
When the roof space tells you more than the roof
Many of the earliest signs of trouble are visible from inside rather than outside. On a dry day, take a torch into the roof space and look for daylight around penetrations, dark stains on timber, damp or compressed insulation, and rust spots on the underside of steel sheets. On a steel roof, droplets forming on the underside of the sheets in cold weather suggest condensation rather than a leak, which may point to missing or damaged blanket. Take photos and compare them year to year; small changes are much easier to spot that way.
What to do if you see these signs
- Write down what you have seen and where, with photos.
- Arrange an inspection by a roofing contractor.
- Ask for photos of the problems they find.
- Ask for both repair and replacement options where both are realistic.
- Read repairs versus replacement and our cost page to help you decide.
General information for Sydney property owners. It does not replace an inspection of your roof, and rules change: check with your council, NSW Fair Trading or SafeWork NSW as relevant before acting.