Re-roofing terraces, semis and Federation homes in the Inner West

When a roof has come to the end rather than just broken

There is a point where repairs stop being good value. You have paid for the same leak twice, the tiler has run out of matching tiles, and the box gutter needs rebuilding anyway — which means lifting the roof around it whatever you decide.

Replacement is not an upsell from a repair. It is a different decision, made on the evidence of what the roof structure and covering actually look like underneath. The free inspection is what produces that evidence.

Call (02) 8000 1103 if you are weighing it up.

Choosing the covering

Staying with slate

Genuine slate is still on a lot of the 1870s to 1900s stock through Balmain, Annandale, Stanmore and Newtown. A full re-slate is the most expensive option and the most appropriate one on a street-facing heritage roof. Slates are hung on hooks or non-ferrous nails, lead is used for the flashings and valleys, and sound salvaged slate can often be reused on secondary slopes to keep the cost down.

Terracotta or concrete tile

The Federation and inter-war half of the area — Strathfield, Burwood, Croydon, Haberfield, Summer Hill, Earlwood — is overwhelmingly tiled. Terracotta reads correctly on a Federation roof and holds its colour; concrete is cheaper per square metre and heavier. Either way the re-roof includes new sarking, which most of these roofs were built without.

Metal and standing seam

Metal earns its place on the parts of an Inner West roof you cannot see: rear skillions, bathroom pop-outs, additions behind a parapet, and low-pitch sections where tile simply will not perform. It is light, it suits long unbroken runs, and it handles a shallow pitch that tile cannot. See metal and Colorbond roofing for the detail.

The parts of a re-roof that are invisible when it is done

This is where the difference between a cheap quote and a sound one lives.

• Battens. Original hardwood battens on a slate roof are frequently split at the nail holes. Replacing them is not optional if the new covering has to stay on.
• Sarking. A second line of defence under the covering, and a wind-driven rain barrier. Almost no pre-war Inner West roof has it.
• Box gutter rebuild. New lining, correct minimum 200 mm flat base on a Class 1 dwelling, falls reinstated, a properly sized sump, and an independent overflow discharging to atmosphere where there was none before.
• Flashings. Parapet, party wall, chimney, valley and penetration flashings all reformed. Lead where lead belongs.
• Timber repairs. Rafter ends, wall plates and bearers that a slow box gutter leak has softened. You only see these with the roof off.
• Ventilation. Moving warm moist air out of a sealed roof cavity, which matters more once insulation goes in.

Heritage controls shape the specification

Large parts of these 29 suburbs sit inside listed heritage conservation areas, and the controls can reach the roof.

• Inner West Council administers the Inner West LEP 2022. Haberfield is conservation area C54, with additional landscaped-area and built-form controls under clause 6.20 and detailed guidance in Chapter E2 of the Comprehensive Inner West DCP 2016. Iron Cove (C26) and Gads Hill (C40) are among the others.
• Burwood Council lists its conservation areas in Schedule 5 of the Burwood LEP 2012, including the Appian Way area, Malvern Hill and Rostherne Avenue at Croydon.
• Strathfield Council has roughly 17 conservation areas under Schedule 5 of the Strathfield LEP 2012; the council DCP notes Federation Queen Anne as the dominant character of the Churchill Avenue, Homebush Road and Redmyre Road areas.
• City of Canada Bay covers Concord, Five Dock and Drummoyne, with around 20 conservation areas under Schedule 5 of the Canada Bay LEP 2013.
• Canterbury-Bankstown Council administers the CBC LEP 2023; the suburb of Hurlstone Park alone contains six conservation areas.

What that means in practice: the covering, profile and colour visible from the street may be constrained, and a change of material can need a development application rather than being exempt work. We specify to the controls and tell you when council is likely to be involved. We do not promise a particular council outcome.

Programme, access and living through it

Nothing is left open overnight. Slopes are stripped, dried in and re-covered in sequence.

Access is planned before the quote, not discovered during the job. On a Rozelle or Erskineville terrace with no setback and no side path, that means scaffolding, possibly a footpath or kerb occupation, and a plan for where material lands and where waste goes. On a Strathfield or Concord block with driveway access it is far simpler and cheaper. Either way it is priced in the quote.

Cost and the written quote

Roof size and pitch, the covering you choose, how much structural timber needs replacing, whether a box gutter is being rebuilt, access and scaffolding, heritage matching, and waste removal — those are the levers. We do not quote a square-metre rate down the phone, because on these roofs it would be wrong.

The written quote follows the free inspection and itemises what is included. Work is carried out by established, licensed and insured roofing contractors working to NSW Fair Trading requirements, with a written workmanship warranty on completion.

Where we re-roof

Across all 29 suburbs, from Balmain and Annandale in the north to Canterbury and Earlwood in the south, with the Federation belt at Strathfield in between. The full list is on the service areas page.

Call (02) 8000 1103 or request a free quote.