Why Geelong roofs end up needing repairs
Little rain, but often
The Breakwater station averages 510.3 mm a year, and the older Geelong Airport table is close at 525.2 mm on 143.2 days. That's a modest total arriving in small doses, so a slipped tile or gap in the ridge rarely gets a long dry spell before the next shower finds it.
Summer heat on mortar and sealant
The 2009 heatwave ran for two weeks and set Geelong's record. Repeated heating and cooling is hard on ridge mortar and on the old sealant around flashings, and that's where a lot of Geelong leaks start.
Timber houses in Geelong West and Newtown
Most Geelong West houses are single-storey timber, from cottages to Federation homes and Californian bungalows. On a roof that old, a good repair matches what's already there instead of patching in whatever happens to be on the truck.
Terraces in short runs
Geelong has terrace houses, usually in short rows. Where your roof meets next door's, a leak can begin on the neighbour's side, so the roofer may need to look across the boundary before blaming your tiles.
Norlane's postwar houses
Norlane has 1960s weatherboard and some prefabricated houses imported from the Netherlands and France. If a roof or eaves lining from that era might be asbestos cement, the repair needs someone who knows how to handle it, and nobody should walk on it.
What to do before the roofer arrives
Contain the water
Bucket and towels under the drip. If water is near a light fitting or power point, switch the power off at the switchboard and leave that room alone.
Note when it leaks
Does it drip in every light shower, or only when wind drives rain from one direction? That pattern helps a roofer tell a cracked tile from a lifted flashing or a gutter overflowing.
Photograph from the ground
Take pictures of the ceiling stain and of the roof from the yard or a window. Stay off the roof itself, wet or dry.
Check the gutters from below
Water spilling over the front of a gutter in rain can look like a roof leak from inside. Our leak finder walks you through the likely spots.
Questions to ask a Geelong roofer about a repair
- Can you photograph the fault before you fix it, and again afterwards?
- If it's a terrace, do you need to get onto my neighbour's roof or gutter?
- Will replacement tiles match the old ones, and where will they come from?
- Is this one bad spot, or is the ridge mortar failing along its full length?
- Could any part of this roof or the eaves be asbestos cement?
- What's your licence or registration number, so I can look it up?
What we'd do
Get the leak found and fixed before anyone talks you into a big job. On an older Geelong roof, one repair done properly often buys years, and a roofer who tells you that is one to keep. If two roofers separately say the ridge is failing end to end, that's when we'd look at rebedding and repointing or a restoration instead of patch after patch.
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.