Tile Roof Repairs Sydney

Concrete vs terracotta

Concrete tiles are heavier and become porous as their surface coating weathers away, which is why old concrete roofs hold moss and look permanently dark. They can be cleaned and coated, and individual tiles are easy to source.

Terracotta is fired clay with a glazed face. It lasts a very long time and should not be coated, but it is more brittle underfoot and older profiles can be harder to match. Terracotta roofs typically need pointing and flashing work rather than surface treatment.

Bedding and pointing explained

Ridge capping sits on a bed of mortar (the bedding) and is sealed along its edges with pointing. Traditional rigid cement pointing cracks as the roof moves and as Sydney's temperature swings expand and contract everything. Once it cracks, water gets into the bedding, washes it out and the caps loosen.

Modern flexible pointing compounds accommodate that movement, which is why re-pointing is the single most valuable repair on most older Sydney tile roofs. Where the bedding underneath has already gone, the caps need to be lifted and re-bedded first — pointing over failed bedding is a short-lived fix.

Common tile roof repairs

• Replacing broken tiles, including tiles cracked by foot traffic from other trades
• Re-bedding and re-pointing ridges, hips and gable ends
• Replacing rusted valley irons and re-cutting adjoining tiles
• Re-flashing chimneys, skylights and wall abutments
• Refitting slipped tiles and correcting poor tile laps
• Repairing sarking and battens after long-term water entry