Why Adelaide roofs end up needing repairs
Supercell winds
In the September 2016 storms, the Bureau of Meteorology found at least seven tornadoes hit South Australia and a supercell gust peaked at 260 km/h, with damage reaching metropolitan Adelaide. Loose sheets, ridge caps and flashings are the first things wind like that peels back.
A windy city all winter
Adelaide is a windy city, with significant wind chill in winter. Repeated gusts can work screws loose on old iron and rattle tiles that were never clipped, so a small gap is often waiting before the big storm arrives.
The 2021 hail in the north and the Hills
When hail, rain and strong winds hit in October 2021, more than 12,000 insurance claims came in early, mostly from the Barossa, Elizabeth, the Adelaide Hills, Salisbury and Craigmore. Most were for cars, but roofs were in there too.
Old iron and old tiles
Until the 1970s, Adelaide roofs were mostly painted corrugated iron or cement or clay tiles. A repair on one of those roofs often turns up rusted fixings or tired ridge mortar nearby, so don't be surprised if the roofer mentions them.
If the storm has just been through
Stay inside and off the roof
After the 2021 storms, insurers told South Australians not to climb onto damaged roofs. Wet sheets are slippery, and hail-cracked tiles can give way underfoot.
Make the rooms safe
Keep out of any room where the ceiling sags. If water is near lights or power points, switch off at the switchboard.
Catch the water and take photos
Buckets under drips, towels down, furniture moved. Photograph the damage inside, and outside from the ground, before anything is cleaned up.
Call the right people
For a storm emergency, call the SES on 132 500. Then ring your insurer before signing any repair contract: Moneysmart says many insurers can arrange a tarp. The Insurance Council warns that 'disaster chasers' knock on doors after storms, are often unlicensed, and that insurers won't send a tradesperson without telling you first.
Tiles, sheets and hail dents
Monier, the tile maker, says only the individual damaged tiles need replacing after a storm, so a few cracked tiles shouldn't turn into a whole-roof quote. Matching old cement tiles can be the hard part, because their colour coating fades over the years.
On Colorbond, BlueScope says hail dents don't usually shorten the roof's life. The exceptions are large dents on a low-pitched roof, which can hold water, and bent overlaps between sheets, which can let it in. Our hail and storm damage page goes further.
Ask before an Adelaide roofer starts
- Can you make it watertight today and quote the permanent repair separately?
- Will you photograph every broken tile or lifted sheet for my insurer?
- Can you match my existing tiles, or will the repaired patch look different?
- Is anything else on the roof close to failing, and can it safely wait?
- What's your CBS licence number? In South Australia it starts with BLD, and I'd like to check it.
- Could any part of this roof or the eaves be asbestos cement, and what happens if so?
Your part, and the roofer's
You can
- Photograph damage from the ground and from inside the house
- Clear hail and leaves from downpipe outlets you can reach at ground level
- Move furniture and put buckets and towels under drips
- Lodge the insurance claim and keep every receipt
Leave to a roofer
- Anything that means standing on the roof
- Replacing cracked tiles, ridge caps or damaged sheets
- Refixing lifted flashings and loose sheets
- Tarping, which needs someone harnessed and insured
Where we'd start
Get the roof watertight first and sort out the permanent fix once it's dry. Ask the roofer for photos of every broken tile or lifted sheet, because those photos carry a claim. If it's an older tile roof and they find a list of problems besides the storm damage, ask for the storm repair and everything else to be priced separately, so you can decide what can wait.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.
Getting a roofer out
Send us the job and your suburb. If we have a licence-checked roofer for that part of Adelaide, your phone and email go to them and no one else; if we don't, we'll say so straight away. Our national roof repairs guide and the Adelaide roofing hub have the bigger picture.