Residential

Residential roofing & plumbing

Most of the roofs in Melbourne sit on houses that were built for a different climate expectation than the one we have now, with insulation standards that have moved twice since, and drainage sized for a roof that has since gained an extension. Residential work is largely about correcting that while people are living underneath it.

New metal sheeting being laid over timber battens

Buildings we work on

Houses, townhouses and units
Extensions and renovations
New builds and knock-down rebuilds
Period and heritage-overlay homes
Garages, carports, verandahs and sheds
Owner-builder projects

What changes on this work

Occupied throughout: staged, weathertight daily
Pre-1990 buildings: asbestos identified before strip
Biggest upgrade: sarking, blanket, thermal break
Common hidden fault: drainage never resized after extension

Working on an occupied house

The building is someone's home and it does not stop being one because there is scaffolding on it. That shapes how the work runs: staged so only a section of roof is ever open, made weathertight before the crew leaves each day, and scheduled against the forecast rather than against optimism.

It also means the practical things matter more than they sound. Where the skip goes. Whether the driveway is usable. Keeping the site clear enough that children and dogs are not walking through offcuts. Magnet-sweeping for screws at the end of each day rather than only at the end of the job.

Period homes and heritage

Older Melbourne housing brings specific issues. Pre-1990 buildings may have asbestos in roof sheeting, eaves lining or flues, which has to be identified before anything is cut rather than discovered mid-strip. Original box gutters behind parapets on Victorian and Edwardian terraces are a common and expensive failure point, because they discharge inside the building envelope when they overflow.

Heritage overlays can also constrain what the roof is allowed to become. Converting a tiled roof to metal changes the roof line noticeably, from a chunky shadowed profile to a crisp flat one, and in an overlay that is a conversation to have before the sheets are ordered.

Extensions, and the drainage nobody resized

A very common residential pattern: the house gets an extension, a verandah or a carport, all of which now drain into guttering that was sized for the original roof. Nothing was done wrong at the time, and the system has simply been over its capacity ever since.

The symptom is a gutter that overflows in heavy rain while being perfectly clean. The fix is arithmetic rather than replacement of everything, usually additional downpipes, a higher-capacity profile, or both.

Insulation and condensation

The single biggest performance gain in a residential re-roof is not the sheeting, it is what goes under it. Sarking, anticon blanket and a proper thermal break change how the house holds temperature and how much noise the roof makes in rain.

It also addresses condensation, which is a genuine and under-recognised problem in Australian homes. Warm moist internal air meeting a cold metal roof condenses, and if it has nowhere to go it soaks insulation and damages framing and ceilings over years, while everybody looks for a leak that is not there.

Services

What we take on for residential clients

New metal roofs

Colorbond and Zincalume roofing on new builds, extensions, warehouses and rebuilds.

Full re-roofs

Stripping tired tiles or rusted metal and replacing the whole system, including tile-to-metal conversions.

Guttering, downpipes & stormwater

Eaves gutters, box gutters, fascia cover, downpipes and stormwater sized to carry what Melbourne actually delivers.

Roof repairs & maintenance

Leak tracing, rust treatment, flashing and capping repairs, storm make-safe and scheduled maintenance.

General plumbing

Burst pipes, blocked drains, hot water, fixtures, gas fitting and compliance for homes and commercial premises.

Common questions

Do I need to move out during a re-roof?

No. Work is staged so only a section of the roof is open at a time and it is made weathertight before the crew leaves each day. There is noise and there are trucks, but the house stays livable throughout.

Will a metal roof make my house hotter?

Not if it is built properly. An uninsulated metal roof will radiate heat, but a roof with blanket and sarking under it performs better than the tiled roof it replaced. Colour matters as well, and the thermal-technology range is worth it on dark roofs facing west.

Can you work with my builder?

Yes, and on new builds and extensions that is normally how it goes, with the roof sequenced against the frame and the lock-up date.

Next step

Talk to us about
your building

0427 809 652