Re-Pointing & Painting Tile Roof. Thoughts on Sarking?

Planning to restore my concrete tile roof & have considered putting sarking in as well. The quotes I've obtained vary wildly. I'm hoping someone with a bit of knowledge can lend me their thoughts. All quotes include the mandatory QBCC insurance premium.

Quote 1:
$6500
"Proprietary 1038 resin based primer & paint". Made in Brisbane, some US company makes it apparently. Doesn't do sarking.

Quote 2:
$6500 - restore
Dulux Acra-Tex coatings
$10,600 - restore + sarking (brand not specified)

Quote 3:
$9350 - restore
Nutech coatings. Claims no warranty exclusions & that Dulux requires washing every 2 years for warranty
$13500 - sarking (brand not specified)

Quote 4:
$17700 - restore + sarking (wouldn't do restore alone due to roof pitch being 15 deg). No details re paint or sarking provided.

Really have no clue. 2 & 3 both have very good reviews, including from my neighbourhood. Can't see $3k extra value in a different paint brand, unless I am missing something?

4 is obviously a piss take. 1 is a big company that do the hard sell in home.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Comments

  • +1

    Never heard of sarking done with a roof repaint. If you're after additional insulation then I'd think there's better and cheaper alternatives.
    We had our roof done with Dulux Arcatex 20 years ago. Still looks new. House built in 1969. Tiles Roman profile (Boral).

    • It's to prevent water / moisture ingress to the ceiling…at least that's what the insurance company reckons. The insulation currently sits on top of the plaster.

      • +1

        Yep, sounds normal. Unless this is some weird QLD thing (or perhaps som Suncorp thing), I've never heard of insurance caring about insulation sitting on ceilings.

        Regardless, retrofitting aluminium/wool insulation to the underside of the roof should not be $5ks worth.

        • The two "independent" reports they obtained both recommended sarking be installed to prevent it happening again, when it's clear that a clean roof with fresh paint & pointing would be sufficient. It's clearly an arse-covering exercise. Anyway, I'm still tempted to go ahead with it, for my own piece of mind. It's going to be a huge PITA to have the ceilings redone with an infant at home.

          • +2

            @Ham Dragon: Insurance companies have been called out recently for taking the piss, literally selling junk policies. I hope they get hammered again.

          • +1

            @Ham Dragon: im getting reroof done in 4 weeks, its done in 2-3 days

  • +1

    Just out of interest how large is the roof area? Got a quote for 4.5k for pointing and painting for 150m2 in Bris

    • +1

      180sqm, it's a double storey place so they need to use safety rails. Did your quote include reclipping?

      Quotes I got were from (cheapest to expensive):

      Roofshield Restorations
      TLC Roof Restorations
      Urb'N Roofing
      Sky High Roofing (and prices…$17k to sark & restore 🤯)

      • +1

        you need yo use safety rails on single story place by law, sure many don't bother

        • Fair enough, it wasn't an extra charge, but maybe the rate for a 2 storey house is more? Hard to say…just getting a call back from trades is half the struggle

    • +1

      Would you mind sharing which company?

  • +8

    Just an opinion, but repainting a sound tiled roof, will not give you much benefit, apart from making it look prettier.

    To correctly sark an existing roof, the roof tiles must be removed first, then the sarking laid, as it has to be a complete moisture barrier, then the existing tiles replaced. As part of this work, any cracked/broken tiles will be replaced, and the coping tiles rebedded and grouted. If this work is done, then a repaint is not necessary. However, if you want it to look pretty, there are plenty of roof 'cleaners' who will chemically treat and pressure wash your roof.

    Resarking is a timely job.

    • +3

      "repainting a sound tiled roof, will not give you much benefit, apart from making it look prettier."

      This is the same opinion given to me by a building industry mate.

    • Appreciate the input. I'm at a bit of a crossroads, as I know the roof is sound and has been for 43 years since it was built. It did fail somewhat given the extreme event on Feb 26, partially due to the pitch & water not evacuating quick enough (tiles haven't been cleaned in years - thanks previous owners!). Will that happen again? Not sure, but for $3.5k extra I'm erring on the side of caution and figuring the peace of kind is worth it.

      • Replace with the appropriate profile of steel roof for -15% fall and put sarking during the process.
        Wasting your time with other quotes

        • The difference is $15k…not small beans

          • @Ham Dragon: Your not going to get a good result with the other options.

            • @Stewardo: The roof has withstood storms (many severe - we're in The Gap, QLD) for this long, it was only the unprecedented event earlier in the year which exceeded its limits. Won't sarking prevent most moisture that does get in from entering the ceiling cavity? It's a single pitch (isosceles triangle profile) roof, no channels etc.

              • +1

                @Ham Dragon: Fully sarking the roof and rebedding/repointing the coping tiles will fix your issue.

                • @BOGOF: That's what we're likely to do. Will cost just under $11k including new whirlybirds, for sarking, reclipping, cleaning, repointing & painting in a new colour. Doesn't seem wildly unreasonable.

      • +1

        I had a very similar situation, i repointed, painted and restored a tiled roof. Did it in the weeks between the big rainfalls. We had water coming in everywhere originally and got nothing after the restore. Based on my experience i highly recommend doing it. I don't see how any company is adding sarking? They need to remove every tile to do this. By the time you account for extra tiles breaking when being removed surely it would be more cost effective to replace the roof. I would double check if it's truly sarking. If they are just stapling it between the trusses then you're wasting your time. I did 260sq, low set for 3.4k. Was Dulux acratex.

  • Anyone know how much colorbond is? Looks like almost cheaper to rip it all out and put in colorbond.

    • +2

      not that simple

      consider that to replace tile with colorbond, you likely need a building approval with your council, and you need additional tie downs including cyclone rods to the bottom plate to be done correctly and certified. This means peeling every brick off the outside and relaying them, or doing it from the inside through the walls which will require every bathroom and kitchen gutted out. house engineered for tiles should stay tiles, new builds with colorbond would have cyclone rods

      otherwise if wind uplift peels off your colour bond (as it weights 10% of tiles), you may get a nasty shock when your insurer does not pay out.

    • I was quoted $25k for my 180sqm roof.

      • thats pretty cheap for a roof replace.
        whats the bg to this sarking being eeded all of A sudden?

        • Insurance won't cover us for a similar event again (water ingress to roof). We live in an area notorious for severe weather, so an extra barrier to prevent this makes sense to me. We also have an infant child and plan on another baby in the next few years. Having 9/10 rooms repainted a second time is not a disruption we really want to endure.

          • @Ham Dragon: If insurance is telling you that, getting some cowboys into to resurface the roof and hang some sarking in the ceiling space will just cause more headaches with insurance and roof pitch should show up in building report when you sell. Expensive as it is, it’s better to start again and do it properly. Especially with children and mould spores etc.

            • @Stewardo: I don't see how a roof restoration done by licenced so-called professionals would cause headaches when it's being done, at their insistence, as a preventative measure?

  • sarking is a must

    any work done make sure qbcc licensed , pay the qbcc insurance, and inspect builders history for issues

    • One slight issue will be a flyover roof covering a deck but the assure me they just cut around the piers that support it 🤷🏻‍♂️

      • +1

        The flyover roof on my extension is where all the leaks happen (thru the sarking). Make they don't stuff up the flashing.

  • +1

    I restored my terracotta roof (almost 300 m2) 5 years ago with Brisco roofing and very happy with it. From memory, around $5200; wash, repoint, bedding, replace broken tiles and 2 coats of terra glaze. 10 years warranty.

  • Thoughts on Sarking

    I built with a volume builder who are known notoriously for up selling garbage. Even those consultants discouraged adding roof sarking here in vic telling its a complete waste unless there is a very special reason for doing it. Qld might be different story though due to higher humidity.

    On a different side note, here in vic for tiled roofs its optional to release the kitchen exhaust to outside environment, but I highly recommend doing it since you’re re doing the roof (if not already done).

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