Tile roof restoration: process, checks and prices

A roof restoration brings a tired tile roof back into sound, watertight condition without stripping it off. On a typical job the roofer cleans the tiles, swaps out broken ones, rebeds and repoints the ridge capping, checks the valleys and flashings, then applies a primer and coating where the tile type suits it. The roofers you reach through this site run their own businesses: they inspect, price and carry out the restoration, and our about page explains that arrangement.

When is a roof ready for restoration?

Most owners notice the roof only when water comes through a ceiling. By then the damage has usually been building for a while. Look for these signs from the ground or from a safe ladder position at the gutter line:

• Moss, lichen or black staining spread across large areas of tiles.
• Cracked or crumbling mortar along the ridge and hip lines, or loose ridge caps.
• Tiles that have slipped, cracked or been broken by foot traffic, antenna installers or hail.
• Faded, chalky or porous concrete tiles that stay dark for days after rain.
• Rust in the valley irons or around flashings, or gutters full of tile grit.
• Damp patches or brown rings on ceilings near the ridge or along a valley.

Why tile roofs wear out

Concrete tiles lose their surface coating over decades of sun, which leaves the tile more porous and more likely to grow moss. Terracotta holds its colour but the glaze or surface can weather, and old tiles become brittle. The weak point on both is usually the bedding mortar under the ridge caps. Sand and cement bedding shrinks and cracks with heat and movement, the pointing over it lets water in, and eventually caps come loose in strong wind. Valleys collect leaves, and once water backs up it finds its way under the tile laps.

Restoration, repair or replacement: how the options compare

Option	Suits	What is usually included	Melbourne price guide
Full tile restoration	Sound tiles and battens with worn ridges and faded surface	Clean, replace broken tiles, rebed and repoint ridges, prime and coat	$4,200 to $11,550
Ridge rebed and repoint only	Tiles in fair shape, ridge lines failing	Lift caps, new bedding, flexible pointing	$840 to $3,675
Spot repair	A few cracked or slipped tiles	Replace or reseat tiles, seal the area	$315 to $1,050
Re-roof in Colorbond steel	Brittle tiles, rotten battens or a wish to change material	Strip, new battens or purlins where needed, sarking, new sheeting	$84 to $190 per sqm

Prices are published Melbourne ranges including GST, from the Melbourne roofing cost table on What’s The Damage, checked October 2026. The Sunbury roof restoration cost guide explains what pushes a quote toward the top or bottom of each range.

What should a roofer check before quoting?

A useful quote comes from a roof inspection, not a drive past. The provider should get up on the roof, or use a drone and then confirm the details on foot, and look at:

• The tile type and profile, and whether replacement tiles can be matched.
• How many tiles are cracked, and whether breakage is spread across the roof or limited to one area.
• The ridge and hip bedding, and whether the caps are fixed as well as bedded.
• Valley irons, flashings at walls and chimneys, and the condition of gutters and downpipes.
• The roof space: daylight through gaps, water stains on timbers, the state of any sarking.
• What the roof was made from. A house built or renovated before 1990 may have asbestos cement in eaves, flues or older patch repairs, and the Victorian Asbestos Hub homeowner guidance says to check for it before work starts.
• Access, roof pitch and the height at the eaves, which decide what scaffold or edge protection is needed.

Ask for photos of the problem areas with the quote. They show you what you are paying to fix.

What the work involves

1. Set up edge protection or scaffold and protect paths, gardens and solar panels.
2. Clean the roof with a pressure cleaner suited to the tile, and clear gutters and valleys.
3. Replace cracked tiles and reseat slipped ones.
4. Remove old ridge bedding, rebed the caps in fresh mortar and finish with flexible pointing compound.
5. Repair or replace rusted valley irons and failed flashings, with metal work done by a licensed roofing plumber.
6. Apply a primer or sealer, then the top coats specified by the coating maker, in dry weather.
7. Clean up, flush the gutters and walk you through photos of the finished roof.

Coating suits concrete tiles. Many terracotta roofs are cleaned and repointed but left unpainted, so ask why the quote includes a coating if yours is terracotta. The separate roof painting and sealing page covers coating choices in more detail.

Which rules apply?

Victoria splits roof work between building and plumbing rules. Under the Plumbing Regulations 2018, the Building and Plumbing Commission’s page on roofing (stormwater) work counts roof coverings, flashings and the roof drainage that gathers and carries stormwater off the house. That page leaves out cleaning and painting, and it also leaves out coverings made of non-metallic tiles, timber, concrete, glass, bitumen or slate. For a Sunbury tile roof, that means the cleaning, rebedding and coating fall outside plumbing, while new metal flashings, gutters or downpipes fall inside it. Ask the person doing that metal work for their BPC registration or licence number in the roofing (stormwater) class and check it on the BPC’s register.

Consumer Affairs Victoria says a person handling a domestic building contract above the BPC registration threshold must be registered, unless the job involves only one exempt trade such as painting. A restoration that combines tile repairs, ridge work and coating is more than one trade, so ask the provider which registration covers the contract. Contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026 for eligible work above the published value may fall under the BPC’s Home Warranty scheme.

What a careful roofer will not do

• Pressure clean a roof that may be asbestos cement. High-pressure water on suspected asbestos material is something the Victorian Asbestos Hub warns homeowners against.
• Paint over cracked tiles or failed pointing to make the roof look finished.
• Coat in wet or cold conditions outside the product’s application limits.
• Walk on tiles without care for breakage, then charge for the tiles they broke.
• Ask for most of the price up front before any work has started.

Restoration on Sunbury homes

Hume City Council’s community profile records rapid growth in Sunbury from the 1980s, so many local houses are now thirty or more years old. Where those houses have their original tiles, they are the roofs most likely to need ridge work and a fresh coat. Homes in the newer estates covered by the Sunbury South and Lancefield Road precinct structure plans are recent builds and usually need gutter cleaning and minor checks rather than restoration. The Sunbury suburb page has more on local housing and council rules.

What to do next

Count the cracked tiles you can see, take a few photos of the ridge line, and note whether you have had leaks. Then send the details through the quote form so an independent roofer can arrange an inspection and price the restoration.

Send a job enquiry