Sometimes, all you need to do is you want your roof to go from looking like a relic from the Stone Age to looking brand new is just a good roof painting job. Your roof is so much an integral part of your home that something as simple as painting it will immediately transform your home aesthetically and increase its value.
Now, depending on what you are looking for, roof painting may vary in cost. While roof painting is significantly more affordable than total roof replacement, you may want to know if it is worth it and what you should have in mind when consulting a professional roof company.
Immense Benefits Of Painting Your Roof
As far as most homeowners are concerned, the only time they let an expert near their roof is when it is in need of a repair or a replacement. There is a tendency to think that roof repair and repair is all the good that could come to the roof. This can’t be more wrong.
Roof painting is the secret magic you may have been sleeping on. If you want to improve your home fast and at an affordable budget, roof painting is fast becoming recognized as the go-to project. And here are a few reasons why:
Improves The Look Of Your Roof
One of the reasons many homes look old and unsightly is because of how horrible the roof looks. What most seldom realize is that the roof is one of the most exposed parts of the house. It is what we see when coming from a distance.
The roof is so strategically positioned that it quickly starts creating a first impression about the home. But you can’t keep buying a new roof every time the current one looks old and dirty. By painting your roof, you can make it look attractive and new again.
Increases The Value Of Your Property
Not only does your roof look lovely to people visiting your house. It also makes your house more attractive. When bringing potential buyers to your property, you want the house to be as attractive as possible. Since the roof is the first thing they see, roof painting is an effective hack to a more attractive exterior.
Waterproofs Your Roof
Your roof being on the top of your house, it is the first contact for rain, dew, and snow. Even though your roof may be water-resistant at first, if you bought a high-quality roof in the first place, it is only a matter of time. After a while, that water-resistant layer would start wearing off, exposing the rest of the roof to damage.
By regularly painting your roof, you can have a temporary seal that would take the beating, helping you stall the damage and reduce your maintenance cost over time. The new coating that was on the roof when it was brand new wears off over time – which can potentially lead to more water absorption / adding more weight to the structure. By washing, sealing, and applying 2 coats of roof membrane this can bring the tiles back to its original condition or close to it. We will always recommend getting the repairs done at the same time -as the ridges, mortar, etc may need to be done prior to painting.
Stops The Growth Of Mould And Mildew
One of the most important factors necessary for the growth of mould and mildew is water and heat. When you coat your roof by painting it, you make it harder for mould to grow on it. As an extra protection, there are paints that come with growth-inhibiting fungicidal chemicals that will further help keep mould away.
Prevents Early Degradation
As you may have noticed from the previous benefits, painting your roof provides a protective coating that further assists the roof to keep the moisture away. beyond this, it also helps protect the roof from degradation caused by UV rays and infrared heat.
By bouncing back the solar heat generated when the sun hits your roof, temperature is maintained, reducing the expanding and contrasting effects of heat changes, which may have reduced the roof’s lifespan.
Helps You Save On Energy Bills
With roof painting helping you bounce back the heat from the sun, this will serve you immensely in reducing the heat that the roof would otherwise have absorbed into the house. This will translate to less money spent on cooling the house.
An Efficient And Cost-Effective Project
If you need a quick and easy makeover for your home, roof painting is the way to go. While it might have been cumbersome for homeowners like you, handing the rein over to a professional can cut the task time by days or weeks.
Depending on the size and other factors that go into painting a roof, a professional can have the whole job done in a day or just a couple of days.
Factors That Affect The Cost Of Painting Your Roof
In case you noticed from the last paragraph, yes, there are a number of factors that affect how big or small a roof painting project is. Some of them may be pretty obvious, but there are others you may not know:
Type Of Paint
The type or material of paint you go for significantly influences the cost of the roof painting project. And there are a number of them.
Depending on the location, your painting contractor may suggest a polymeric, polyurethane, or a polyurea roof coating. Also, there are the highly reflective water-based acrylic paints. But they don’t work well on roofs with water ponding in some areas. There are cheaper brands, premium brands and most experienced roofers will be able to recommend what is best used for your local weather conditions. We at Roof Makeover Specialist, make our own Roof Paint which is made in Melbourne for Melbourne. It is formulated using world leading Acrylic technology and has been designed to give superior adhesion.
Type Of Roof
Yes, the type of roof your home has may affect the choice of painting your painter recommends. This is because not all types of paints work great on all types of roofs. Besides this, different roof types require different amounts of care and pose different levels of risk and accident tendencies. While concrete roof tiles can handle foot traffic relatively well because of its durability, clay tiles require greater care. Power washing and painting a slate roof is quite risky too.
Ultimately, a professional knows exactly what works best for your roof. Usually, you get to discuss these options, but this is one part where you are better off deferring to the expert.
As a rule, you can safely paint cement/concrete and metal roof tiles. If the terracotta tiles are glazed, we usually do not recommend painting them as they won’t stick to them for very long.
Size Of Roof
Naturally, the larger the roof, the higher the price of the painting. But there are a few things to note. With smaller roofs, the rate a usually higher. This is required to cover the cost of labour and resources. But as the size increases, rates may drop. In the end, the overall cost would still turn out higher for the larger roofs.
Steepness Of Roof
Another factor that may play a role in the cost is the steepness of the roof. If the roof is too steep, it becomes much more difficult for roof painters to stand on them. Special safety equipment like hoists are required. The hire adds to the cost of the labour and the complication adds to the risk of the project. These affect the cost.
Condition Of Roof
This is another huge factor to consider. If your roof was previously painted, a combination of primers, sealants, and the paints may have been used. This is to provide effective protection for your roof against moisture and heat. For the new roof painting project, this would have to be removed first, thereby increasing the cost.
In case, you start wondering if painting the roof in the first place was a bad move, consider the alternative. A neglected roof could be damaged and weathered due to extended exposure to these elements. In such a case, the damages are considerably larger and the cost usually shoots higher.
Design Of Roof
Since roofs come in different designs, this affects the cost too. Some roof designs are simple and straightforward. Working on such a roof can be relatively easy. For more complex roof designs, more complex painting techniques are required. Of course, it also takes longer to complete the project. So, this affects the cost of painting.
Accessibility Of Roof
While some roofs are easy to access and with minimal risks, some are considerably harder. For example, it is harder to access the roof of a two-storey building when compared to that of a single storey building.
Because of the size, shape, and access points of different buildings, scaffolding, lifts, or abseil systems may be required. Any equipment would be factored into the cost of painting your roof.
Location Of Home
Accessing the roof is one thing. Getting to the location of your home is another. If your home is easily reachable, transporting to your place shouldn’t be a hassle. However, some other locations might require a mini-travel and accommodation plan. This would affect the overall cost.
What Goes Into Painting Your Roof
To paint your roof, there is usually a process to follow. This process has a number of steps, adjusted to the ones relevant to your project. Below are some of those steps:
- Initial site survey, where the contractor access the scope of the project and draws up the quote.
- Setting up of access and safety equipment, like the scaffolding, lifts, harness and others.
- Removing dirt and debris from the roof.
- Pressure washing the roof.
- Repairing or replacing damaged tiles.
- Disconnecting gutters from drainage pipes.
- Applying biocide to prevent mould growth
- Applying a primer or sealer coat
- Applying an undercoat
- Applying a top coat
For the level of work that goes into roof painting Melbourne, the cost is so affordable. This is why it is more efficient to pay an expert than do it yourself. In the long run, the money you pay in painting your roof is always a money well spent. Talk to a professional today and give your home a makeover.
As previously mentioned, we would always recommend doing the repairs such as repointing, rebedding, valley replacement all done at the same time as painting the roof as they are vital to the longevity of the roof structure.