Home/Roof Care Guide
Free guideMake your roof last 50 years.
What every Bay of Plenty homeowner should know, roof types, lifespans, inspection rhythm, and when it's time to act.
Know what's on your house.
Three roof types cover 95% of NZ homes. Each has a different lifespan and care rhythm.
Coloursteel / longrun metal
The standard NZ residential roof since the 80s. Long sheets, factory-painted steel, screw-fixed. Strong, light, recyclable. Coastal homes need a rescrew around year 20–25.
Decramastic / pressed metal tile
Stone-chip coated metal tiles. Common 70s–90s. Looks like a tile roof but performs like metal. Watch for chip loss and rust at edges.
Tile or membrane roof?
We don't install concrete tile, clay tile or membrane roofs, that's a specialist trade. Happy to look at yours and quote a tile-to-metal re-roof if it's due, the most common upgrade in the Bay right now.
Your roof care timeline.
For an average Coloursteel roof installed today.
Year 0–5 · Honeymoon
New, watertight, no action needed. Just gutter clean once a year.
Year 5 · First inspection
Quick visual check from the ground or a ladder. Looking for: lifted flashings, displaced ridge caps, sealant cracks around skylights.
Year 10–15 · Wash & check
Soft-wash the roof to clear moss and lichen (especially shaded sides). Get a roofer on the roof for the first proper inspection.
Year 20–25 · Rescrew time
Old fixings start backing out. Coastal homes earlier. A rescrew + re-seal extends your roof by 15–20 years for ~25% of a re-roof cost.
Year 30–40 · Re-paint or re-roof
Coloursteel paint film is at end-of-life. Decision point: re-coat for ~$8–12k, or re-roof. Honest assessment from us either way.
Year 40+ · Re-roof
Steel itself is reaching end of life, rust spots, holes, cracking around fixings. Time for a fresh roof.
Warning signs you shouldn't ignore.
Brown stains on the ceiling
Almost always a leak. Could be a flashing, a screw, a valley iron, or a lifted ridge cap. The water travels, the stain is rarely directly under the entry point. Call us before the gib goes soft.
Sagging between rafters
Decking or purlins have failed underneath. Often from years of small leaks. Re-roof territory.
Rust spots on metal sheets
Surface rust is treatable, sand, prime, paint. Through-rust (you can see daylight) means the sheet is gone.
Moss or lichen patches
Holds water against the roof, accelerates corrosion. Soft-wash, don't pressure-blast, pressure can drive water under sheets.
Whistle or hum in wind
A sheet is loose, a flashing is lifted, or a ridge cap has worked free. Usually a quick fix if caught early.
Want a real inspection?
We'll come look, climb up, give you an honest report, free. No upsell.