How Much Does a Roof Restoration Cost?
How much does a roof restoration cost? This would have to be one of the first questions I get asked when speaking with interested people and fair enough. I don't want to waste peoples time when i am interested in getting things done - I need to know if I have the funds available and if not - how much I need to budget for. So, before I give an indication of the costs of a roof restoration, I will need to explain what is involved in the full restoration process and I need to point out what sort of factors can influence the price for each situation.
What is Involved in a roof restoration?
There are a number of steps needed to complete a roof restoration including:
Replace broken and chipped tiles
High pressure clean roof
Re-bed and re-point ridge and hip caps as required
Apply a moss and lichen killer and inhibitor
Apply and primer coat
Apply 2-3 coats of a roofing membrane
(The process for iron roofs is very similar)
What impacts the price?
There are two (2) main factors which impact the price of a roof restoration. The first is the condition of the roof and the second is the size and design of the roof.
The condition of roof includes the number of broken and chipped tiles which need to be replaced and the number of capping tiles which need to re-bedded and re-pointed. These two elements are particularly important because they directly impact the costs of materials and labour.
The next factor impacting the cost of a roof restoration is the size and the design of the roof. The size of the roof directly impacts the time it will take to clean the roof, apply the moss and lichen killer and inhibitor as well as the time to apply the primer and membrane. Needless to mention the extra materials required.
The design of the roof is also an important factor in the cost. A roof which is very high (two or three storey) or is particularly steep will require additional safety equipment or measures such as scaffolding, boom lifts and or harness work. Additionally, a straight gabled roof will obviously have fewer caps then a roof with many hips and ridges, so the architecture of the roof may directly impact the number of potential re-beds and re-points.
How Much?
While factors such as the condition, size and design of the roof will impact the final investment, there are some general price ranges which act as a guide for restoring a roof. Generally smaller roofs (100m2 - 280m2 ) will cost around $28-$35/square metre while a larger roof may see the cost drop to $21-$25/m2.
When working out how many square metres a roof is, the industry standard is to work out the base measurement (wall to wall) and then multiply that by 1.1 to allow for eaves etc and then multiply that by 1.35 (allowing for pitch) to get the total square metres. Let's say that the base measurement is 180m2 then to work out the square metre area would be 180 x 1.1 = 198 x 1.35 = 267m2. So the actual calculated size of the roof would be 267m2. For this example, it would be reasonable to expect the roof restoration to cost somewhere between $7,476.00 (@ $28m2) to $9,345.00 (@$35m2) for a single storey home.
Variations in prices?
Anyone who has looked into the price of a roof restoration may have come across businesses which charge well above or well below the above example. While in some cases, there are justifiable reasons why a price will be much higher or lower than the above example, i would proceed with caution. Generally if the price is much higher than this, you will be paying for exorbitant marketing costs or agent commission fees which may be reasonable for exceptional service. If the price is much lower than this, you may be dealing with a tradie who is either not using quality materials or is 'stretching' the materials out. They may also be desperate for work and will probably not be around to warranty a job (no matter how much experience someone has- mistakes do happen).
Where to go?
If live in South Australia - are thinking about getting your roof restored or you have some issues and need some honest advice, let's connect.