Overview
A restoration sits between repairing and replacing. If the roof is structurally sound but looks tired and the pointing is failing, a thorough clean, repointing and re-coat adds years to its life and lifts the whole appearance of the house — without the cost of a full re-roof. Roof painting and re-coating are the same job — a sprayed membrane coat that seals and recolours the roof. Repointing and rebedding can also be done on their own: when the tiles are fine but the ridge-cap mortar has cracked, the caps are rebedded and repointed without a full restoration.
When you need it
- The roof is sound but faded, dirty or growing moss and lichen
- The mortar bedding the ridge caps is cracked or crumbling
- You're selling and want the house to present at its best
- You want to protect a roof that still has good years left in it
How Sam approaches it
- 01 The roof is pressure-cleaned back to a sound surface and the gutters cleared of the debris that comes off
- 02 Ridge caps are re-bedded and re-pointed with a flexible pointing that moves with the roof rather than cracking
- 03 Broken and slipped tiles are replaced as part of the job
- 04 Where a protective coating is applied, the roof is properly prepared so the finish lasts
What it resolves
- A structurally sound roof that looks past its best
- Failing mortar letting water and wind under the ridge caps
- Moss and lichen holding moisture against the tiles
Repointing or rebedding?
The ridge and hip caps on a tile roof sit on a bed of mortar, sealed along the edge with pointing. Which job your roof needs depends on whether that bedding is still sound.
- Repointing only suits caps that are still firm, where only the outer pointing has cracked or weathered away. The old pointing is cleaned back and a new layer applied.
- Rebedding and repointing is needed when caps move when pressed, have shifted out of line, or the mortar has broken away underneath. The caps are lifted, the old bedding removed, and the caps re-laid on fresh bedding, then repointed.
Old sand and cement pointing is rigid, and a roof moves as it heats and cools, so rigid mortar cracks over time. We use a flexible pointing compound that moves with the roof instead. Tile installation, including bedding and pointing, is covered by the Australian Standard AS 2050. More in our rebedding and repointing guide.
Real jobs, real photos
These are A1 jobs, not stock images. Sam runs A1 Roofing from Redwood Park and quotes and does the work himself, so the person who looks at your roof is the person who fixes it. Adelaide's northern and north-eastern suburbs are the heart of the service area.
Common questions
Is ridge capping the same as repointing?
Not quite. Ridge capping is the row of capping tiles along the ridge and hips of a tile roof. Repointing is the sealing layer on the joints of that capping. The terms get used together because repointing is the most common repair done to ridge capping.
Do metal roofs need repointing?
No. Metal roofs such as Colorbond use metal ridge capping fixed with screws, not mortar, so there's nothing to repoint. They need their fixings, flashings and capping checked instead.
Can a metal roof be restored?
Yes, if the rust is caught early. A metal roof restoration is a clean, treatment of the surface rust and a re-coat. Sheets that have rusted through need replacing, and rust across the whole roof usually means a re-roof.
Is a restoration worth doing before selling?
Often, yes. A clean, repoint and re-coat on a sound roof lifts the look of the whole house for far less than replacement. Get the roof assessed first, so you're not paying to coat a roof that is failing underneath.
Can I repoint my own roof?
We don't recommend it. A pitched tile roof is a dangerous place to work, tiles crack easily underfoot, and poorly bedded caps can come loose in the next strong wind. A roofer will also spot other faults while up there.
Helpful guides
Local to the north-east
Based in Redwood Park: Restorations in Tea Tree Gully · Restorations in Modbury · Restorations in Golden Grove · Restorations in Salisbury · all areas
You may also need
Have a roof you'd like us to look at?
Call Sam for a straight answer, or send a photo of the problem and receive an honest assessment without waiting for a site visit.