Free roof inspection and an obligation-free quote.
Roof Restoration Ormond
Terracotta and concrete tiled roofs in Ormond and McKinnon — restored, repaired and matched by roof tilers who have been working with these tiles since the 1930s.
Ormond was market gardens before it was houses, and that is why its roofs are younger than its neighbours to the north.
The southern third of Glen Eira was farmland
Glen Eira sets out its own origins in three bands. Mansion estates in the north-west around Elsternwick and Caulfield North. Pastoral runs through the middle at Caulfield South, Carnegie and Murrumbeena. And agricultural land, mostly market gardens, across the south — Ormond, McKinnon, Bentleigh and Bentleigh East.
Market gardens are productive land, and productive land gets built on last. So while Elsternwick was filling with boom-era mansions, Ormond was still growing vegetables. The earliest surviving buildings here date only to around the 1880s and there are few of them.
What you have instead are two clear layers: interwar houses around the station and along the older streets, and a substantial postwar layer behind them. The small group of Federation and interwar shops near McKinnon station, covered by heritage overlay HO75, is part of a much larger residential precinct of the same period.
Two layers, two different jobs
The interwar houses are terracotta — Marseille pattern, laid in the decades Camberwell Potteries was firing terracotta roof tiles in Burwood. Those profiles are out of production and matching is the question that decides the job.
The postwar houses are brick veneer under concrete tile, now sixty to seventy years old. That is exactly the age where the pointing has gone and the surface coating has chalked off, and exactly the age where owners get told they need a new roof when they usually do not. Concrete loses its colour long before it loses its strength.
Light heritage control
Most of the roughly 2,995 places in the Glen Eira heritage overlay sit in Elsternwick and greater Caulfield. The south of the municipality is comparatively under-represented.
In practice that usually means more freedom in what you can put back than an Elsternwick owner has, and a close-match tile is less likely to become an argument. Check before you plan anything all the same.
What usually fails first here
Ridge and hip pointing, on both layers. On a roof that has never been repointed the mortar cracks and drops out, and on its own that is a repair rather than a new roof.
Surface coating on concrete tiles, chalked and faded while the tile underneath stays perfectly sound.
Valley irons, rusting under leaf litter.
Sarking at the end of its life on the interwar roofs. The one fault a restoration cannot fix, and we will tell you if we find it rather than coating over it.
We work on terracotta and concrete tiled roofs only — no metal, no Colorbond, no slate.
Some of our recent projects
WHAT FAILS FIRST
Signs an Ormond roof needs attention
On these roofs the tile usually outlasts everything holding it down.
-
Concrete tiles gone chalky and faded
The surface coating has broken down, not the tile. This is what a restoration is for.
-
Cracked mortar along the ridge lines
Visible from the ground. On its own it is a repair, not a new roof.
-
Rust streaks in a valley
Leaf litter holds water against the metal until it rusts through.
WHY US
Why call us for an Ormond roof
We know both layers
We will tell you not to replace
We were making these tiles
Tile only, and we say so
Related Services
Roof Restoration Ormond
Frequently asked questions
My 1960s roof looks tired. Does it need replacing?
Almost certainly not. At that age what has usually failed is the pointing, the valley irons and the surface coating on the tiles — not the tiles themselves. A clean, repoint and recoat gets you a roof that looks new for a fraction of a replacement. We check the sarking before quoting, because that is the one thing that would change the answer.
Can you match the terracotta on an interwar Ormond house?
Usually. The original profiles are largely 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 say so before you commit.
Am I likely to be in a heritage overlay?
Less likely here than further north. Most of the Glen Eira overlay is concentrated in Elsternwick and greater Caulfield, and the south of the municipality is comparatively under-represented. Council can confirm.
How do I tell terracotta from concrete?
Terracotta has its colour fired through the clay, so a chip shows the same colour underneath. Concrete is coated, so a chip shows grey. That difference decides whether recoating is appropriate, which is why we check it before quoting.
How long does the work take?
A straightforward repair is often an hour. Re-bedding and repointing 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.
Do you cover McKinnon and Bentleigh?
Yes, along with Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Caulfield South and Highett. We are based in Burwood and work across the eastern and south-eastern suburbs.
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.
Tiled roof in Ormond that needs looking at?
If you have a tiled roof in Ormond or McKinnon 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.
