Roof & Exterior

Roof restoration for tiles with life left

Repoint, re-bed, replace broken tiles, recoat. For tile roofs that need more than a clean and less than a re-roof.

Roof restoration is the work that sits between a clean and a re-roof. It’s for tile roofs that are structurally sound but cosmetically tired or have failing pointing.

The honest part first: not every tired-looking roof is a restoration candidate. If the battens have rotted, if the tiles have lost their compressive strength, if the underlayment is gone, you’re looking at a re-roof. We’d rather lose the job and tell you the truth than take a deposit on a restoration that fails inside two years.

When a roof IS a candidate, the work breaks into three parts. The structural part: replacing broken or slipped tiles, re-bedding ridge caps where the mortar’s failed. The protection part: flexible re-pointing along the ridges and hips (the old rigid mortar cracks; flexible pointing doesn’t). The optional cosmetic part: soft-wash and a protective membrane in the colour of your choice.

We always quote those parts separately so you can decide what you want. Plenty of customers do the structural and skip the recoat; that’s a perfectly valid call.

What we won’t do: tell you a recoat lasts a lifetime. It doesn’t. The membrane works hardest in the first three to five years, then slowly fades like every coating exposed to UV. We’ll tell you the real product spec and the real expected life, not the marketing number.

When you need this

The reasons people call

Pointing along the ridge caps has gone chalky, cracked, or fallen out
Tiles are cracked, slipped, or broken (often from a tradie walking the wrong line, not from age)
Roof colour is faded but the tiles themselves are still structurally sound
Pre-sale presentation matters and the roof's the first thing buyers see from the street

How we work

What actually happens

Walk the roof, document the condition tile-by-tile and ridge-by-ridge
Send a written scope with photos: what needs replacing, what needs repointing, what's optional
Replace broken or slipped tiles with colour-matched stock where we can
Re-bed the ridge caps where the mortar's failed, then point with flexible pointing
Soft-wash the surface and apply protective membrane if you want the recoat

What's included

In the quoted price

Full roof condition report with photos
Broken/slipped tile replacement (quantity in quote)
Re-bedding and flexible re-pointing of ridge caps as needed
Optional: roof clean and protective recoat
Gutter clean as part of the cleanup

Honest about scope

What can go wrong, what's not included, what we check first

A recent job

"Three roofers said I need a whole new roof — do I really?"

Murwillumbah, NSW · Tile roof restoration, Murwillumbah hinterland

The brief

Tired-looking concrete tile roof. Owner was getting the property valued and the agent flagged the roof in the curb-appeal walkthrough. Three other quotes said the roof needed replacing.

What we found

Tiles were structurally fine — the cracking was confined to the ridge pointing and a handful of cap tiles, not the body of the roof. Underlayment intact where we could inspect. The 'replace it' quotes had been written from the kerb, not from on the roof.

What we did

Replaced eleven slipped or cracked tiles with colour-matched stock. Re-bedded the ridge caps where the mortar had failed. Re-pointed in flexible pointing. Soft-washed the surface and applied a protective membrane in heritage red. Two-coat application over three days, weather window watched.

Result

Roof now reads as restored rather than replaced. Owner saved around twenty-four thousand dollars against the re-roof quote. Agent's photos went up two weeks later.

See more case studies

FAQ

Roof Restoration questions, answered

Three roofers said we need to replace the roof. Do we?

Quite often, no. Most quotes for a full re-roof get written from the kerb, not from on the roof. If the tiles are structurally sound, the cracking is confined to the ridge pointing, and the underlayment is intact, what you actually need is restoration — usually one-quarter the cost of a re-roof and the same visual result. We'll tell you straight after a proper walk-on which one it is.

What's actually in a roof restoration?

Three parts. The structural: replacing slipped or broken tiles, re-bedding ridge caps where the mortar's failed. The protective: flexible re-pointing along ridges and hips (the modern flexible pointing doesn't crack like old rigid mortar does). The optional cosmetic: soft-wash plus a protective membrane in the colour you choose. We always quote those parts separately so you can do all three or just the first two.

How long does the recoat actually last?

The membrane works hardest in the first three to five years, then slowly fades under UV like every coating does. Eight to ten years before it's visibly tired is a realistic call for the Northern Rivers climate. We tell you the actual product spec and the realistic life span, not the marketing 'lifetime' number that's printed on the brochure.

Ready for a real number?

Phone is the fastest. Quote form if you'd rather write. Either way, you'll hear back with a written number, not a starting price.

Call 0401 364 405 Get a written quote