Roof painting

Roof painting suits roofs that are structurally fine but faded, stained and mossy: concrete tiles that have lost their colour, fibre cement slates, and corrugated or profiled metal on sheds, garages and farm buildings. It changes how a house looks from the road and protects the surface of the tile or sheet. It does not fix a roof that leaks, and anyone selling it as a waterproofing repair is overselling it. So we check the roof first, and repair slipped or cracked tiles, loose ridges and failed flashings before any paint goes on. Then cleaning. Moss and lichen are scraped and washed off, and the roof is treated with a biocide so the growth dies at the root rather than coming back through the new paint. On concrete tiles we use low pressure washing, because high pressure strips the surface of the tile and drives water under the laps. Once the roof is fully dry, it is primed or sealed to suit the surface and given two coats of a paint made for roofs, which stays flexible through heat and cold. Metal roofs have rust treated back to sound metal and a suitable primer first. Fibre cement roofs from before about 2000 may contain asbestos, so they are tested first, and on those we avoid any abrasive cleaning.

Colour, and the view from the road

A painted roof is very visible, and in some areas a colour change on a front roof has to be considered against planning conditions or estate rules. Most people choose a colour close to the original. We show samples in daylight before starting.