Oakhurst Roofs, Four Decades From New

A suburb you can date exactly

Oakhurst was developed by Landcom from 1981, and the estate name became the suburb name — before that it was part of Plumpton. That gives us something unusual: a reliable date. The bulk of the housing here is early-to-mid 1980s, which puts the original concrete tile roofs in their mid-forties.

Forty-five years is right at the point where a tile roof either gets maintained or starts leaking. The tiles themselves are often still strong. The mortar, the valleys and the surface coating are not.

What a free inspection usually turns up here

• Ridge and hip pointing cracked through, with caps loose on the hips
• Surface oxidised and chalky, lichen on the southern planes
• Valley irons rusted at the lower ends where leaf litter sits
• A few cracked tiles, usually under the TV antenna or around a solar install
• Gutters holding water in one or two spans
• Occasionally a slow leak at a flue or skylight that has never been traced

Restoration is usually the answer

Rebed the ridges, repoint with a flexible compound, replace the broken tiles and the valleys, clean, prime and coat. That is a roof restoration, and on a 1980s Oakhurst roof it is almost always better value than a full re-roof.

We will tell you if yours is the exception. Where tiles have gone brittle or porous across the roof, coating them is a waste and a replacement is the honest recommendation.

And if a storm has been through recently, get the hail damage recorded before anyone cleans the roof — see storm and emergency repairs.

Close by: Plumpton, Hassall Grove and Glendenning. Every suburb we serve.

Call (02) 4705 5200 or book a free roof inspection.