Tiles, valleys and gutters on older Ballarat homes
What a pre-purchase inspection finds on roofs that have seen a century of Ballarat winters, from broken tiles to gutters that hold water.
In short: Older Ballarat roofs carry moss, patched tiles and gutters that have dropped out of fall. Most of it is maintenance, some of it lets water in. The report separates the two.
A roof that works hard
Rain spread across much of the year, fog and long damp spells mean a roof here rarely dries out quickly in winter. Moss and algae take hold on shaded faces, and every cracked tile or open valley has months of wet weather to find a way through.
What we look at from outside
From a safe position we check the covering for broken, slipped or mismatched tiles, the ridge and hip capping, valleys, flashings at chimneys and walls, and the gutters and downpipes. On a two storey house or a steep pitch, we use a pole camera or drone where that is safe and say where we could not see.
Inside the roof space
Where there is a manhole we look up into the framing for water staining, daylight through the covering, sagging members and damp insulation. Water stains on timber under a valley usually tell you more about a leak than the tiles do from outside.
Gutters that hold water
Gutters on older houses often sag between brackets or were never set with enough fall. Standing water rusts the steel and spills over the back into the eaves. We record ponding and the brackets or joints that cause it.
Repairs that tell a story
Tiles of a different colour or profile usually mean a past repair. That is not a defect in itself, but it is worth asking the vendor what leaked and when, and checking the ceiling below for staining.
What is outside the scope
We do not walk fragile roofs, test downpipes under flow or certify a roof watertight. Concealed sarking and framing beyond the hatch are noted as limitations. Where a roof plumber's view would help, the report says so.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Ballarat. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
