Roof Painting Services WA 2026 - Get Quotes

What Roof Painting Actually Achieves

Roof painting does three things, and being clear about which of them you are buying avoids most of the disappointment in this trade. It restores the appearance of a roof that has faded or gone patchy, it seals a porous surface so the tile absorbs less water and sheds it faster, and with a heat reflective product it reduces the amount of solar heat the roof passes into the space below. Those are real benefits on a Perth house. What it does not do is fix a structural problem, stop a leak or extend the life of a roof that is genuinely failing. The roofing services guide for WA covers the broader range of roof work available in this state. Knowing which of the three benefits you actually want makes the quoting conversation far more useful. Appearance, sealing and heat reflection are not always achieved by the same specification.

The distinction between roof painting and roof restoration matters because the two words are used loosely. Painting in the narrow sense is clean, prime and coat. Restoration includes the repair work that should come first, meaning replacing cracked and broken tiles, repointing or rebedding ridge capping, resealing valleys and flashings, and clearing the gutters. Most Perth roofs over twenty years old need some of that, and a quote that includes none of it is either quoting a very sound roof or skipping the part that matters. The roof restoration page covers the fuller scope of work.

Heat reflection is the benefit that gets oversold and still deserves attention. Coatings with high solar reflectance reflect more of the sun's energy rather than absorbing it, which lowers the roof surface temperature and reduces heat transferred into the roof cavity. In a Perth summer, where roof spaces get extremely hot, that translates into less load on the air conditioning. It works best in combination with adequate ceiling insulation and roof ventilation rather than on its own, and the ceiling and wall insulation page covers the more significant half of that pairing.

Colour choice has a genuine performance effect here and is not purely aesthetic. A very dark roof absorbs substantially more solar energy than a light one, and on a west facing Perth roof that difference is measurable in the ceiling space temperature. Lighter colours and products with higher solar reflectance perform better thermally, though plenty of households choose dark charcoal for appearance and accept the trade off. If thermal performance is part of why you are painting, say so, because it should influence the colour recommendation. A good contractor will show you the solar reflectance figures for the colours you are considering.

Timing a roof repaint is usually a judgement about appearance, since very little about it is urgent. Concrete tiles lose their surface colour over fifteen to twenty years in Perth conditions and become visibly patchy, while the tile itself remains structurally sound for much longer. Metal roofs chalk and fade over a similar period. Neither situation is causing damage, which means you can plan the work instead of reacting to it. That is a useful thing to know, because it puts you in control of the timing and the price, instead of responding to someone else's urgency. That is worth knowing when a door knocker suggests otherwise.

There are situations where painting is the wrong answer entirely. A roof with widespread cracked tiles, failed sarking, significant rust perforation on metal, or structural sag needs repair or replacement rather than a coating, and paint applied over any of those hides the problem without addressing it. A competent contractor will say so and quote the repair, and the roof repairs page covers what that involves. Getting an honest assessment first is worth the inspection fee.

Tile, Metal and What Suits

Concrete tile is the most common roof across Perth's post war suburbs and it is the substrate that benefits most from painting. The tiles are inherently porous, and the factory colour is a surface coating rather than a through body colour, so once it weathers away the tile absorbs more water, grows lichen more readily and looks tired. A quality coating system restores the appearance and seals the surface, which genuinely improves how the tile performs. This is the classic Perth roof painting job and it is well worth doing on a sound roof. It typically buys another fifteen years of good appearance on a tile that would otherwise keep deteriorating at the surface. Roofs from the 1970s and 1980s across the middle ring suburbs are the usual candidates.

Terracotta is a different proposition and deserves honest advice. Unglazed terracotta can be coated successfully with the right system, but glazed terracotta has a hard fired surface that paint struggles to bond to, and adhesion failures on glazed tile are common enough that many good contractors decline the work. Terracotta also ages attractively in a way concrete does not, so cleaning and repointing without coating is often the better outcome. Where a contractor is enthusiastic about painting glazed terracotta, ask what primer system they are using and what warranty applies.

Colorbond and prepainted steel roofs are painted when the factory finish has chalked and faded, which in Perth typically takes a couple of decades depending on orientation and proximity to the coast. The factory coating is very durable, so in most cases the job is about appearance, not protection. Preparation is the whole story, since the existing finish must be cleaned thoroughly and prepared so the new coating bonds, and skipping that produces peeling within a year or two. Products designed specifically for prepainted steel are the ones to use, and the manufacturer will specify the required preparation. Chalk removal is the critical step, since coating over a chalked surface guarantees failure. A simple hand test on the sheet tells a contractor how much chalking has occurred.

Zincalume and galvanised steel need a different primer approach again. Bare or weathered zinc coated steel requires an etch primer or a specialist adhesion primer to bond properly, and applying a standard acrylic directly is a reliable way to produce a peeling roof. Older galvanised roofs on sheds, patios and pre-1980s houses across WA fall into this category. The exterior painting page covers substrate priming more broadly. Getting the primer wrong on metal is the single most common cause of a roof coating lifting in sheets.

Rust changes the job on any metal roof. Surface rust can be treated, converted and coated as part of a painting job, but perforating rust means the sheet has failed and paint will not restore it. Coastal properties from Mandurah through Fremantle and up the northern beaches see this earlier than inland homes, particularly on older Zincalume and on fixings. Salt exposure within a few hundred metres of the water accelerates everything, and roofs there generally need attention sooner than the same roof twenty kilometres inland. A contractor who identifies rust and quotes sheet replacement before coating is being straight with you.

Asbestos cement roofing appears on WA homes and outbuildings built before the late 1980s and it is the one substrate that changes everything. It must never be high pressure cleaned, wire brushed or mechanically disturbed, because that releases fibres. Any work on such a roof requires assessment first, and the asbestos testing and inspection page explains how that is arranged. Encapsulation coatings applied by a suitably qualified operator are sometimes an option, and removal through a licensed contractor is the other. Neither is an ordinary roof painting job and neither should be priced as one.

Preparation and Repairs

High pressure cleaning is the first and most visible stage, and on a Perth tile roof it removes a surprising amount of material. Years of accumulated moss and lichen, particularly on shaded southern faces, along with dust, sand and the loose remains of the original surface coating all have to come off before anything is applied. A roof that has never been cleaned can shed several wheelbarrow loads of debris. The roof cleaning page covers the process where cleaning alone is what you need.

Moss and lichen need treating, since blasting alone leaves the spores behind. Lichen attaches into the tile surface and regrows from what remains, so a biocide treatment applied before or after cleaning is what stops it returning under the new coating. Southern facing roof planes and areas shaded by trees are where it takes hold in Perth, and those are the areas where coatings fail first if the lichen was not properly killed. Properties in the hills and the leafier river suburbs see considerably more of it than open coastal blocks. Ask specifically whether a biocide treatment is included.

Broken and cracked tiles must be replaced before coating, not painted over. Perth roofs accumulate cracked tiles from foot traffic during air conditioning installations, antenna work, solar panel fitting and general maintenance, and a single cracked tile lets water into the roof space regardless of what colour it is. Every trade that has been on the roof over thirty years has left a few behind. Matching replacement tiles on an older roof can be difficult, and good contractors keep a stock of common profiles. Expect a quote to include an allowance for a number of tiles with a rate for any beyond that. That structure is fair to both sides, since nobody can count cracked tiles from the ground. Twenty to thirty tiles is a common allowance on an older Perth roof.

Ridge capping is the item that most often needs attention and most often gets left out of cheap quotes. The mortar bedding and pointing that holds ridge and hip capping in place deteriorates over twenty or thirty years, cracking and dropping out, and loose capping is both a leak point and a safety hazard in a storm. Repointing with a flexible pointing compound is standard practice, and rebedding is required where the mortar bed itself has failed. This is real work at $28 to $55 a lineal metre and it belongs in the quote as a separate line. A flexible pointing compound rather than a straight sand and cement mix is what stops it cracking again within a few years.

Valleys, flashings and penetrations need checking while access is available. Valley irons rust out over time, flashings around chimneys, vents and skylights lift and perish, and penetrations for solar hot water, air conditioning and plumbing vents all need their seals inspected. None of these are painting work but all are cheaper to address while someone is already on the roof. The roof and gutter plumbing page covers the metal work involved.

Gutters and downpipes deserve attention in the same visit. Cleaning is necessary anyway because debris from the roof cleaning ends up there, and the access is already paid for, so it is the sensible moment to deal with anything failing. Rusted gutter sections, downpipes that have come apart and missing leaf guards all get noticed during a roof job. The gutter replacement page covers the options where cleaning is no longer enough.

Sealing a porous concrete tile is the final preparation step and it matters more than people realise. After decades of weathering the tile surface is absorbent, so a sealer or primer coat is applied to stabilise it and give the topcoats something to bond to. Skipping the sealer and applying two colour coats directly to bare tile produces a finish that looks identical on the day and fails much sooner. Ask how many coats are being applied and what each one is. Three coats with a proper sealer is the usual specification on a weathered concrete tile roof. Two coats without a sealer is the corner most often cut.

Coatings and Heat Reflection

Modern roof coating systems are water based acrylics or acrylic membranes formulated specifically for roofs, and they are considerably more durable than general exterior paint. A typical tile system is a sealer or primer followed by two coats of a pigmented membrane, applied by airless spray. Products from Dulux AcraTex, Shieldcoat, Nutech Paint and Colormaker are used across Western Australia, and most contractors work within one or two systems they know well. Asking which system a contractor is accredited to apply is a reasonable question, since accreditation is usually what activates the manufacturer warranty. The system matters more than the brand name, since each manufacturer specifies particular primers for particular substrates. Mixing a primer from one supplier with topcoats from another is how a product warranty gets voided before the job finishes.

Heat reflective technology is now standard in the better roof coatings and it is worth understanding what it does. These products use pigments with higher solar reflectance so that more of the sun's infrared energy is reflected rather than absorbed, which lowers the surface temperature of the roof and therefore the heat entering the roof cavity. The effect is largest on darker colours, where the reflective version can run considerably cooler than a conventional paint of the same shade. In Perth conditions this is a genuine benefit and not marketing. The manufacturers publish solar reflectance index figures, so the claim can be checked instead of taken on trust. Ask to see them for the specific colour you are choosing.

That benefit compounds with the rest of the building. A reflective roof reduces the temperature of the roof space, which reduces the load on ceiling insulation and on any ducting running through it, which in turn reduces what the air conditioner has to do. Roof ventilation helps further by moving hot air out of the cavity, and the roof ventilation and whirlybird installation page covers that. Doing all three at once is a sensible package on an older Perth house with poor thermal performance.

Colour selection has practical consequences beyond thermal performance. Lighter colours show less fading over time but show more dirt and moss staining, while very dark colours look sharp initially and fade more visibly under Perth ultraviolet. Charcoals and mid greys have been dominant for a decade and generally wear well. Lighter terracotta and heritage reds suit older Perth housing and character areas, where a charcoal roof can look out of place against red brick. It is worth looking at a sample on the roof rather than a card in the hand, since roof colours read very differently at scale and in full sun.

Warranties on roof coatings vary a great deal and are worth reading. Manufacturers typically warrant the product for a period, commonly seven to fifteen years depending on the system, subject to correct application by an approved applicator. The contractor separately warrants their workmanship, usually for a shorter period. The two are different, and the product warranty generally requires the full specified system including the correct primer, so a contractor who substitutes a cheaper primer may have voided it before they start. Ask whether the contractor is an approved applicator for the system being quoted.

Application method affects the result more than most owners expect. Airless spraying gives even coverage and reaches the tile profile properly, while brushing and rolling a tile roof is impractical at scale. Weather conditions matter too, since coating in high wind causes overspray onto neighbouring property and vehicles, and applying in extreme heat can affect film formation. A contractor who postpones a day because of wind is protecting your neighbours and their own reputation. Perth afternoon sea breezes are strong enough to carry overspray a long way.

How the Job Runs

A typical Perth roof painting job runs over two to four days depending on size and weather. Day one is usually access setup and high pressure cleaning, day two is repairs including tile replacement and ridge capping, and the remaining days cover priming and the topcoats with drying time between. Rain interrupts everything, so winter jobs stretch out considerably and a job booked for four days can run over a fortnight. Most contractors will not start a coating stage if rain is forecast within the curing window.

Access arrangements depend on the roof and the site. Single storey homes with reasonable pitch are usually worked from ladders with harness anchors, while two storey properties, steep pitches and difficult sites need scaffold or edge protection. That cost is real and should appear in the quote instead of being absorbed silently. A contractor who explains what access they are using has thought about the safety side. It also tells you whether the price reflects the real difficulty of your roof.

Protecting the property during cleaning and spraying takes real effort. Windows, gutters, solar panels, air conditioning units, paving, vehicles and gardens all need covering or masking, and overspray on a neighbour's car is a genuine risk on a windy Perth day. Ask what protection is included and whether neighbouring properties will be notified. Letting the neighbours know a day ahead is simple courtesy and it means cars get moved without anyone having to knock on a door mid job. Good contractors do this as routine and it shows in how they set up on the first morning. An hour spent masking saves a difficult conversation later. Neighbouring vehicles are the most common casualty.

Water management during high pressure cleaning is a WA specific consideration. The runoff carries dirt, moss, biocide and loose coating material, and it should not go into a rainwater tank, a swimming pool or straight into a garden bed of sensitive plants. Rainwater tank inlets need isolating and first flush diverters checked before cleaning starts, which the rainwater tank plumbing page covers. Pool owners should cover the pool or arrange the work accordingly, since biocide and debris in a pool is an expensive nuisance.

Solar panels complicate the job and need discussing early. Panels cannot be painted around convincingly, cleaning under them is difficult, and overspray on panels reduces their output. The options are removing and refitting the array, which requires a licensed electrician and costs $550 to $1,600, or masking carefully and accepting that the tiles beneath will not be coated. The solar panel installation page covers the removal and reinstatement side. Given how many Perth roofs carry panels, this is worth settling at quoting stage, well before the first morning. WA has among the highest household solar uptake in the country.

Living in the house during the work is normal but there are practical points. Expect noise from the pressure cleaner, a period where windows should stay closed, and paint odour that is modest with water based products but still noticeable. Pets should be kept inside or away during spraying. Cats in particular tend to investigate a roof crew, which is unhelpful for everyone. Ask the contractor which days are the noisy ones so you can plan around them if you work from home. Washing on the line and cars in the driveway need moving, and the contractor should tell you when.

Completion should include more than a look from the footpath. Ask for photographs of the finished roof from the roof itself, since that is where the quality of the ridge capping and the coverage in the valleys is visible. Confirm what colour and product were used and get it in writing for future touch ups. Colour codes are almost impossible to match by eye years later, and a cracked tile replaced in five years needs to blend with everything around it. A final walk around checking for overspray on windows, paving and the neighbour's side of the fence is worth doing before final payment. Overspray is far easier to resolve while the crew is still on site.

Heights, Asbestos and Safety

Working at height is the most significant risk in this trade and it is regulated accordingly. WorkSafe WA administers work health and safety in this state, and falls from height remain one of the leading causes of serious injury in construction. Roof work requires appropriate fall protection, which on most domestic jobs means harness systems with proper anchor points, edge protection or scaffold. Perth tile roofs are also slippery underfoot once wet or covered in lichen dust, which is part of why cleaning day is one of the more hazardous stages. A contractor working a two storey roof without any of that is exposing themselves and potentially you. It is also a reasonable question to ask before work starts. Established contractors answer it without hesitation.

Brittle roofing deserves specific mention because it kills people. Asbestos cement sheeting, old fibre cement, polycarbonate and some older metal sheeting will not support a person's weight and can give way without warning. Roof ladders, crawl boards and knowing which surfaces are safe to walk on are basic competence in this trade. This is one reason a homeowner attempting a roof clean is a genuinely bad idea on an older property.

Asbestos is the hazard that most often affects WA homes built before the late 1980s. Cement sheet roofing, and sometimes sarking or eaves sheeting, may contain asbestos, and high pressure cleaning such a roof is one of the most effective ways to release fibres into the air and across the property and the neighbours. It must never be done. Testing through an accredited laboratory settles the question, and the asbestos removal page covers the licensed removal pathway where that is the chosen outcome. A few hundred dollars removes all doubt before anyone climbs up. It is cheap insurance against a genuinely serious problem.

Where an asbestos cement roof is confirmed and the owner wants to keep it, encapsulation is sometimes possible. That involves applying a coating without disturbing the surface, using methods that do not generate dust, and it should only be carried out by an operator competent in working with asbestos containing material. It is not the same as an ordinary roof painting job and should not be priced as one. A contractor who offers to just give it a quick blast first has disqualified themselves from the job entirely.

Chemical and environmental considerations apply to the cleaning stage. Biocides and cleaning products used on roofs need to be handled according to their labels, and runoff should be managed so it does not enter stormwater in concentrated form or damage garden beds. The Environmental Protection Authority publishes guidance relevant to larger operations. For a domestic roof, sensible containment and avoiding sensitive areas is what is required.

Insurance is worth verifying with a certificate in hand. A contractor working on your roof should carry public liability insurance, and where they have employees, workers compensation cover. Ask to see the certificate of currency, which any established business produces without hesitation. Where a contractor has employees on the roof, workers compensation cover is not optional either. This matters more on roof work than on most trades, given both the height risk and the potential for water damage if a roof is left open.

Approvals, Strata and Warranties

Roof painting on a detached house rarely requires any approval, since it is maintenance and not building work. Building and planning requirements generally sit with local government, and general state government service information is published at wa.gov.au. The exceptions are worth knowing about. Properties within a heritage listing or a character protection area may have controls on external colours and finishes, which applies across parts of Fremantle, Subiaco, Guildford, York, Albany and other older centres. A quick call to the local government planning counter settles whether anything applies to your address. It takes five minutes and avoids a repaint at your own expense.

Newer estates frequently carry design guidelines through a restrictive covenant on the title, and those can specify permitted roof colours. Covenants are a private legal instrument rather than a council matter, and they are enforceable by the developer or other lot owners, so checking the title before choosing a colour is sensible in an estate built in the last twenty years. Strata schemes in this state operate under legislation available through Western Australian Legislation. Most people discover the covenant after the fact, usually when a letter arrives. Checking takes very little effort compared with repainting a roof. It is a five minute check with your title documents and it is worth doing before you choose a colour.

Strata properties add an approval requirement that catches people out. On a survey strata or a built strata scheme, the roof may be common property or the external appearance may be controlled by the by-laws, and painting it a different colour without approval can create a genuine problem. Approval is usually straightforward but it takes time and should be obtained before booking. Where multiple lots share a roof, the work is normally arranged by the strata company rather than by individual owners, and the cost is shared accordingly.

Warranty structure is worth pinning down in writing because there are usually two of them. The manufacturer's product warranty covers the coating performing as specified, typically for seven to fifteen years, and generally requires the complete specified system applied by an approved applicator. The contractor's workmanship warranty covers the application and is usually shorter. Ask for both in writing, and ask what conditions apply, since most product warranties require the correct primer and specified film thickness. A warranty you cannot produce documentation for is not much of a warranty.

Consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law apply regardless of what any warranty document says, and the ACCC publishes guidance on what those guarantees cover. Services must be carried out with due care and skill, and materials must be fit for purpose, which is directly relevant if a coating fails prematurely because of poor preparation. Keeping the quote, the product specification, photographs and the invoice together is what makes any later claim straightforward.

Door to door selling is more common in this trade than most and warrants caution. Roof painting and restoration is frequently sold by canvassers who claim to have spotted a problem from the street, often with pressure to decide immediately and a discount that expires today. Consumer protections for unsolicited sales, including a cooling off period, apply in that situation. A roof that genuinely needs work will still need it next week, so there is never a reason to sign on the spot.

Costs in Detail

A roof inspection with a written report runs $180 to $420 and is worth having where the condition is uncertain or where a canvasser has told you the roof is failing. It establishes whether the roof needs repair, restoration or simply cleaning, and gives you something concrete to quote against. Many contractors will inspect and quote at no charge, which is fine, though an independent report carries more weight when the advice is contested. That is particularly true after a canvasser has told you the roof is in poor condition. An independent opinion costs less than an unnecessary restoration.

High pressure cleaning alone runs $400 to $1,100 depending on roof area, pitch and how much lichen has accumulated. On a roof that is structurally fine and simply looks dirty, cleaning without coating is a legitimate and much cheaper outcome. Terracotta in particular often looks excellent after a clean and repoint without any paint at all. Plenty of owners assume a tired looking terracotta roof needs coating when what it actually needs is the lichen removed and the ridge lines put back in order. Ask for that option to be priced where it might suit, since it can save several thousand dollars.

Full painting of a concrete tile roof commonly lands between $2,800 and $6,500 for a typical Perth home. The spread reflects roof area, pitch and access, how much tile replacement and ridge capping work is required, and the coating system chosen. Terracotta runs higher at $3,400 to $7,800 given the preparation required and the additional risk. Metal and Colorbond roofs sit at $2,400 to $5,600, with rust treatment adding where required. Sheet replacement where rust has perforated is a roofing job priced separately again.

Repair items are priced separately and should be visible in the quote. Ridge capping repointing runs $28 to $55 a lineal metre, and a typical single storey home has a substantial run of ridge and hip capping, so this is a meaningful figure and not a minor extra. Broken tile replacement runs $12 to $35 each depending on profile and availability. Valley iron replacement, flashing repairs and gutter work are all quoted individually and are worth doing while the access is set up.

Access and ancillary costs add up on more difficult properties. Scaffold or edge protection on a two storey home can add $900 to $3,500, solar panel removal and reinstatement $550 to $1,600, and steep pitched roofs attract a premium because the work is slower and the safety requirements greater. Two storey homes, split levels and properties with limited ground access all sit above the standard ranges. Ask for these as separate lines rather than a lump sum, since it makes comparing quotes considerably easier.

Regional Western Australia prices differently. Firms working out of Bunbury, Albany, Geraldton and the Goldfields charge much what their metropolitan counterparts do within their own patch, and a Perth crew sent out adds travel and accommodation on top. In the north, extreme heat limits working hours through summer and cyclone region requirements affect roof work generally. Coating work in Karratha or Port Hedland is typically scheduled for the cooler months. Grouping several properties in one trip is common practice in country areas and reduces what everyone pays.

What to Look Out For

Be very cautious of door to door roof canvassers. This trade attracts them, the pitch usually involves having noticed a problem from the street, and the pressure to sign today with a discount that expires is a standard technique. A roof that genuinely needs work will still need it in a fortnight. Get an independent inspection and two or three quotes before committing to anything, and remember that unsolicited sales carry cooling off rights. Never pay a large deposit on the day to a business you had not heard of that morning.

Watch for quotes that price coating without pricing preparation. Ridge capping repointing, broken tile replacement and biocide treatment for lichen are the three items most often omitted, and they are precisely what determines whether the finish lasts five years or fifteen. A quote listing only a square metre rate to spray is quoting the easy part.

Be careful about any suggestion of painting an asbestos cement roof without assessment, and absolutely refuse high pressure cleaning of one. Pre-1990 homes and outbuildings across WA commonly have asbestos cement roofing, and blasting it spreads fibres across the property and the neighbours. Testing costs a few hundred dollars. A contractor who waves the question away should not be on your roof, whatever else they are offering.

Check that a leaking roof is being repaired and not simply coated over. Paint does not bridge a gap, seal a failed flashing or fix a cracked tile, and a contractor who proposes to coat over an active leak is selling you a delay. Where there is any history of water in the ceiling, have the cause identified first. The repair and the coating can be done in the same visit, but they are different pieces of work with different prices.

One last item: verify the insurance and ask about overspray protection. Public liability cover matters on roof work, and a certificate of currency is produced without fuss by any established business. Ask specifically what will be masked, whether neighbours will be notified, and what happens if there is overspray. On a windy Perth afternoon those questions are not theoretical, and overspray on a neighbour's car is an expensive way to learn the lesson.

How to Get Comparable Quotes

Start by gathering the basics. Roof type, whether it is single or two storey, approximate roof area if you know it, the age of the house, whether there are solar panels, whether there is any history of leaks, and whether the property is in a heritage area, an estate with a covenant or a strata scheme. A few photographs from the ground, including the ridge lines and any obviously damaged areas, help contractors quote accurately before visiting. A photo taken from an upstairs window of a neighbouring property is even better where one is available.

Every contractor should get the same written brief and the same questions. What preparation is included and whether biocide treatment is specified, how many tiles are allowed for and the rate beyond that, whether ridge capping repointing is included and how many lineal metres, the coating system by manufacturer and product with the number of coats, whether it is heat reflective, what access equipment is being used, how solar panels will be handled, what protection and neighbour notification is planned, and both warranties in writing.

Compare the preparation before the price. A quote that is cheaper by roughly the value of the ridge capping and the tile replacement is not a better deal, it is a smaller job, and the roof will still need that work within a couple of years. Where two quotes differ substantially, the difference is almost always in preparation or in the coating system. Neither shows in a photograph of the finished roof, which is exactly why the cheaper option can look identical on handover day and quite different five summers later. Ask the cheaper contractor which of the two applies, and the answer usually resolves the comparison.

Timing the work sensibly is worth a paragraph of its own. Spring and autumn give the most reliable weather in Perth for a multi day job with curing time between coats, while winter brings interruptions and midsummer brings extreme heat on a roof surface. Booking outside the peak also tends to mean better availability and a more considered job. If a contractor is pushing to start in the middle of a wet week, ask how they intend to manage the drying times. A coating applied and then rained on before it cures will not perform as specified.

Keep a proper record once the job is finished. Note the product manufacturer, system and colour code, the date, the contractor's details and both warranty documents, along with photographs of the completed work taken from the roof. When a tile cracks in five years and needs a touch up, the colour code saves a guessing exercise. It also demonstrates to a future buyer that the roof was properly restored, not simply sprayed. On an older Perth house that distinction is worth making at sale time.