Free roof inspection and an obligation-free quote.
Roof Restoration Box Hill
Terracotta and concrete tiled roofs in Box Hill, Box Hill South and Box Hill North — restored, repaired and replaced by roof tilers working out of Burwood, ten minutes away.
Box Hill is really two suburbs wearing one name, and which one you live in decides what your roof needs.
There are two Box Hills, and your roof tells you which
The railway reached Box Hill in 1882 and the land boom followed. The 1880s subdivisions left streets of Victorian and Federation housing, and many of those original houses are weatherboard under steeply pitched corrugated iron. That is not our work, and we will say so rather than quote you. We are roof tilers.
Then came the interwar brick housing, and after the war the orchards went and the Housing Commission was particularly active through Box Hill South. That postwar stock is mostly concrete tile, now sixty to eighty years old, and it is the bulk of what we are called to in this suburb.
The third Box Hill is the centre, redeveloped into towers from the mid-1970s onward. Nothing there for a tiler.
Heritage overlay streets
Box Hill carries several heritage overlay precincts, including the William Street precinct off the 1883 Ellingworth subdivision and the older Court Street housing.
If you are inside one, the practical rule is the same as everywhere in Melbourne: replacing like for like, terracotta with terracotta and the same profile, attracts far less scrutiny than changing material or pattern. Going from tile to metal is where owners run into objections. We are not planning consultants, but we can tell you what Whitehorse is likely to accept before you spend money on an application.
What usually fails first here
On a Box Hill roof it is rarely the tile.
Ridge capping mortar. The bedding and pointing under the ridge and hip caps cracks and drops out. The commonest fault in the suburb by a wide margin, and on its own it is a repair rather than a new roof.
Surface coating on concrete tiles. Concrete gets its colour from a coating on the surface. That coating chalks, fades and washes off while the tile underneath stays sound. This is precisely what a restoration is for, and on the postwar streets it is most of what we do.
Valley irons. Original valleys were often unlined steel. Once they rust through, water enters where two roof planes meet and the stain appears inside somewhere else entirely.
Sarking at the end of its life. On the oldest postwar roofs the sarking is now sixty-odd years old. It is the one fault a restoration cannot fix, and we will tell you if we find it rather than coating over it.
Restore, repair or replace
Repair when specific things have failed — a leak, a section of pointing, storm damage. Days, not weeks.
Restore when the roof is sound but tired across the whole surface. Clean, replace broken tiles, re-bed and repoint, clear the valleys and flashings, then seal and recoat where the tile type suits it.
Replace when the sarking, battens or fixings have reached the end of their life. A restoration does not touch those, which is the honest limit of the work.
We inspect first and tell you which of the three applies. Most of the time it is the cheapest one. We work on terracotta and concrete tiled roofs only — no metal, no Colorbond, no slate.
Some of our recent projects
WHAT FAILS FIRST
Signs a Box Hill roof needs attention
On these roofs the tile usually outlasts everything holding it down.
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Ridge capping mortar dropping out
The commonest fault here by a wide margin. On its own it is a repair, not a new roof.
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Concrete tiles gone chalky and faded
The surface coating has broken down, not the tile. This is what a restoration is for.
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Stains appearing inside
Often a rusted valley iron, and the stain usually shows up nowhere near the actual fault.
WHY US
Why call us for a Box Hill roof
We know which Box Hill you are in
Ten minutes away
Heritage overlay experience
Tile only, and we say so
Related Services
Roof Restoration Box Hill
Frequently asked questions
My Box Hill house has an iron roof. Can you do it?
No. A good deal of the older Box Hill stock, particularly the Victorian and Federation weatherboards, sits under corrugated iron, and we work on tiled roofs only. We would rather tell you now than send someone out.
My roof is concrete tile from the 1950s. Restore or replace?
Almost always restore, if the structure is sound. Concrete tiles lose their surface coating long before they lose their strength, so a clean, repoint and recoat gets you a roof that looks new. Replacement only makes sense once the sarking, battens or fixings have gone, and that is what we check at the inspection.
Can you match the tiles on an older Box Hill roof?
Usually. Wunderlich and early Monier profiles are out of production, but we hold both current brands and know which modern tile sits closest to each older pattern. Where nothing matches well enough we will tell you before you commit rather than after the roof is half done.
My house is in a heritage overlay. What can I actually do?
Like-for-like replacement usually attracts far less scrutiny than changing material or profile. Tile to metal is where owners run into objections. We can tell you what Whitehorse is likely to accept before you apply, though we are not planning consultants.
How long does the work take?
A straightforward repair is often an hour. Re-bedding and repointing a roof is generally a day. A full restoration with pointing and coating runs to two or three days. A complete re-roof is one to two weeks, depending on size, pitch and access.
Do you cover Box Hill South and Box Hill North?
Yes, and Mont Albert North, Blackburn and Burwood East as well. Our workshop and showroom are in Burwood, so this is one of the quickest areas for us to reach.
Will you tell me if I do not need the work?
Yes, and it happens often. A great many roofs we inspect need pointing and a valley cleared rather than anything major. We tell you which of repair, restoration or replacement you are actually looking at.
Tiled roof in Box Hill that needs looking at?
If you have a tiled roof in Box Hill, Box Hill South or Box Hill North and you want it assessed honestly, we will come and look at it.
Free inspection and obligation-free quote. Call 03 9888 7088, Monday to Friday 9:00am to 4:00pm. Safety is always our first priority — hand-rail, scaffolding or a roof harness is used on every job and included in the quote.
