Why Hobart roofs leak when they do
More water west of the Derwent
Battery Point averages 565.9 mm of rain a year, against 463.5 mm at the airport on the eastern shore. A tired roof in Sandy Bay or South Hobart is simply tested more often than the same roof in Cambridge.
Bursts find weak spots that drizzle doesn't
In May 2018, Hobart took 128 mm in 24 hours and about a third of it fell between 10pm and 11pm. Rain that heavy overflows valleys and gutters and pushes water back under the roof edge, so some leaks only appear in the biggest storms.
Wind on exposed streets
The same storm lifted the roofs off a few homes in Sandy Bay. After strong winds, the common damage is smaller: lifted ridge caps, loose sheets and screws, bent flashings. Each one lets water in the next time it rains.
Old roofs with old details
Battery Point and the tramway-era suburbs are full of cottages and terraces that have been reroofed and patched over generations. Leaks there often come from tired flashings against walls and chimneys, where old work meets new.
What a repair usually involves
First the roofer finds where the water actually gets in. The stain on your ceiling is rarely right under the hole, because water runs along battens and rafters before it drops. Our guide on finding a roof leak explains why.
The fix is then usually one of a few things: swapping cracked tiles, rebedding a section of ridge (relaying the mortar under the caps), resealing or replacing flashing, or replacing rusted screws and sheets on a metal roof. In Tasmania, non-structural repairs and like-for-like replacement count as low-risk Category 1 work, with no council notification. Our national page on roof repairs covers each fix.
Your part, and the roofer's
You can
- Catch drips, move belongings and photograph the stain and any damage you can see from the ground
- Note when it leaks: every shower, only in heavy rain, or only when the wind blows from one direction
- Clear a blocked downpipe at ground level if it's safe to reach
- Call the SES on 132 500 if a storm has left the roof open
Leave to a roofer
- Anything on the roof, especially on a wet or frosty winter morning
- Tracing the leak and fixing tiles, ridge mortar or flashing
- Temporary covers after storm damage
- Any older roof that might be asbestos cement
What to ask a Hobart roofer before they start
- Where do you think the water is getting in, and can you send me photos?
- Is this storm damage or wear and tear? My insurer will ask.
- Have you worked on roofs this age before? (Worth asking in Battery Point and the inner suburbs.)
- Can you make it watertight before winter and quote any bigger work separately?
- Will you check the gutters and valleys while you're up there?
- What's your licence number? (You can check it on the CBOS register.)
If it were our roof
We'd get it looked at in autumn, before the August rain and the sleet months, while there are still dry days to work in. If the leak only shows in big storms, don't write it off as a one-off: tell the roofer exactly when it happened, because that usually points straight to an overflowing valley or gutter. And if storm damage is involved, photograph everything before anything is fixed.
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.