What Merewether roofs are dealing with
Merewether is as exposed as it gets in this region. Salt spray off breaking surf carries well inland on a southerly, and the roofs closest to the beach live in it. What that does is entirely predictable and almost always missed: it attacks the metal first and the fixings before the sheets. Valley irons, flashings, gutter brackets, fasteners and cut edges are what we replace here, on roofs whose owners were told the roof itself was fine.
The housing runs from Federation and interwar cottages with original terracotta through to substantial modern rebuilds, and the two have opposite problems. The old roofs are about mortar, discontinued tile profiles and rusted valleys. The new ones are about whether the steel grade was specified correctly for a beachfront address, which is a question that only shows up as a problem several years after the builder has gone.
What we look at first here
Salt, and then the age of the roof it is working on. Those two together explain nearly everything we find here.
The windward face
The face pointing at the weather is always further gone than the sheltered one, and on a Merewether roof the difference is stark. Judging the whole roof from the protected side is how a restoration quote comes up short halfway through.
Metal before tile
On a tiled Merewether roof the tiles usually outlast everything metal on it. Valley irons rust out under the tiles either side, flashings split and gutter brackets fail, all while the roof still looks fine from the footpath.
Whether the grade was right
On newer builds and re-roofs, the question is whether the steel specified suits a beachfront location. The manufacturers publish minimum distances from breaking surf for each grade, and getting it wrong shows up at the fasteners and cut edges years before the sheets look tired.
What we do in Merewether
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
How close to the beach do you have to be for it to matter?
Closer than most people assume, and it is a gradient rather than a line. The steel manufacturers publish minimum distances from breaking surf for each of their grades, which is the practical way to answer it for your address. Ask any quote which grade it has allowed and how far from the water it thinks you are.
My Merewether house is 1920s with the original terracotta. Can it be saved?
Very often yes. Terracotta of that age is usually still sound and the problems are the mortar and the metalwork around it. Matching a discontinued profile means sourcing second-hand tiles, which takes a little longer and is worth it on a roof that faces the street.
Why do my gutters go before my roof?
Because they are thinner metal, they hold moisture, and they are often fixed with brackets and fasteners that are not matched to them. On the coast that combination is the first thing to fail, and it is why we look at brackets and fixings rather than just the gutter.
Do you cover Bar Beach and The Junction?
Yes, and Merewether Heights. Same exposure and the same approach to specifying for it.
Around Merewether
We cover the streets either side of Merewether as well, so if you are just over the boundary it is the same job and the same free inspection.
- The Junction
- Bar Beach
- Merewether Heights
- Adamstown
- Hamilton South
- Kahibah
- Charlestown
Roof playing up in Merewether?
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.