Painting your roof can be one of the best ways to bring your home to life and restore its aesthetic. However, years of seeing peeling paint on galvanized roofs, or having to paint and repaint fences made from galvanized steel has put a lot of people off the idea of painting their roof.
While people with Colorbond roofs or concrete tiles often believe that their roofs can’t be painted and restored.
Thankfully all these presumptions are completely wrong. Having your roof painted will bring a new lease of life to your home, and with the information you can find on https://easternmelbourneroofing.com.au/ having your roof painted need not be a painful experience.
Why Should I Paint My Roof?
There are a number of reasons why people will paint their roofs, but generally it comes down to either they don’t like the colour it is in need of a good repair as it is starting to look tired.
The unfiltered UV in an Australian sun is a common cause for fading colours, and usually quite unevenly depending on how your roof faces the sun.
However, another reason is if you have had an alteration or addon to your house that means you have one section of your roof that is new or a slightly different shade to the original roof.
In any of these situations it would make good sense to simply repaint the roof so that you have one colour across the entire home, and in a colour which you like.
The downside to painting your roof, particularly with something that wouldn’t necessarily be painted normally such as asphalt shingles, is that you have now locked yourself into having to repaint your roof again. Of course, chances are high that within the same time frame you would be needing to do repairs anyway, so unless you have terracotta tiles it probably makes sense to give your home that new build look.
Can My Roof Be Painted?
The short answer is – probably.
If your roof is in good repair, it will need to be cleaned well, and then it should be able to be painted. The most common call for repainting is on a corrugated iron roof – even Colorbond sheets fade overtime, particularly in Australia.
However, you can also paint cement tiles, and even asphalt shingles – although there are a few tricks with painting over asphalt shingles, so you may find that not all roofing contractors will be willing to do this one.
Really, the only thing you can’t paint over is a terracotta tile, but with these you don’t need to paint them, generally a really good clean will bring them up as good as new – and your favourite roofer can do a high-pressure clean for you with little problem.
Can I Just Paint?
The short answer is – no.
Before you can paint you will need to make sure your roof is in good repair. This means any leaks need to be found and fixed, any rusty sheets need to be replaced or any broken tiles replaced. Basically, you need to ensure that your roof is in excellent repair before you actually paint it.
There is a myth that painting will help make your roof watertight, and this just isn’t the case. In fact, with some types of paint they can seal in moisture, particularly in the case of asphalt tiles which tend to hold a little more moisture in any case.
Once you have made all of your repairs you will also need to make sure that your roof is clean. This is usually done by a roofing contractor using a pressure water blaster, and they may use a chemical cleaner as well depending on the cause of grime and the intensity. This may also depend on if they need to remove old paint first. With titles your roofer may also use an antifungal application to help prevent the growth of mould – this is more common on tiles than corrugated iron or Colorbond.
Generally, you will also have your gutters cleaned out as well, as you will want to ensure that these are in good order with no leaks or soft spots.
My Roof Has Been Repaired, and Cleaned, Now What?
Once your roof is ready to be painted, you generally still aren’t quite there yet. First you will often find that your roofer will want to spay a primer and then a sealant coat.
Then, finally, your roofing contractor will paint your roof. Unlike the old days with the shaped roller brushes, most professional roofing painters will use a spray coat system that provides an even coating of paint, and excellent coverage across the entire roof.
Safety First
One of the reasons to hire a professional roof painting crew rather than trying to do the work yourself is not only to make sure that the job is done properly (no offence to those amazing DIYers out there), as it is a difficult job, made more so by the fact that most home owners don’t generally have the right equipment to do the job as well, or as fast, as a professional paint team.
The other big reason is that a professional roofer has all the safety equipment to ensure that no one gets hurt of the job. They are trained in WorkSafe and OH&S regulations, additionally they will have the insurance to cover any accidents that do occur.
Using a professional also means that you are going to be hiring a professional master builder, which is someone who you know has the qualifications and skills to do the job you want, and to do it well.
Last Things To Check
When you are getting quotes, you not only want to know things like how long the job will take and will they be taking their rubbish away with them, but also ask your roofer how long they expect the paint job to last. Do they guarantee it will last a certain period of time? And do they offer a guarantee on the workmanship, both for any repairs as well as for the actual painting job itself.