Roof maintenance and roof repair

Tips on roof maintenance and roof repair

When it rains outside you’d like to be dry and warm inside your home. Having a well maintained roof, without leaks, will help you achieve this :-). Below a few tips on how to maintain your tiled roof.

 

Cracked roof tiles

One of the most common causes of a leaky roof is a faulty tile. Old roof tiles may have small cracks in them which are only visible when you look at them closely.  You might have a few spare tiles lying around and replace the tiles yourself, but if you lack the time or working on a roof is not your thing, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Banks Building can source and replace tiles on your roof. 

 

Roofing cement or mortar

Roofing cement or mortar is the material which holds the tiles which sit on the top edges of your roof (the ridge and hip) securely in their place. With our windy climate it is important that the roofing mortar is well maintained; you don’t want tiles blown off the roof during a good storm. The mortar sits on the most exposed part of a tiled roof, and therefor it is subjected to the worst of our weather. You should regularly check the roofing cement or mortar for cracks and leaks.

Small cracks in the mortar are fairly easy to repair, using mortar. This process is called re-mortar and repointing tiles. Not only will your roof look much better, the repair will also make your tile roof more secure and watertight. The cement can be coloured to match the colour of your tiles. There is a great product called Flexipoint, a trowelable, custom coloured, permanently flexible adhesive which is suitable for this job. However, since the repair involves climbing around on your roof you might want to leave this one to the professionals. If the mortar is too far gone, the roof mortar should be completely removed, re-bedded and repaired. 

 

Roof maintenance

A damaged roof not only affects the look of your property, but can cause major problems further down the track. The damage from water leaks or rot caused by leaks, can end up costing thousands of dollars in the future. Banks Building can look after all your roof repair and maintenance needs: 

• repair or replace broken & damaged tiles; 
• re-mortar & repoint hips & ridge tiles; 
• repaint your roof

Be careful when you climb into your roof space to check tiles. 

Cheers, Andre