What a roof restoration includes
A restoration keeps the roof you have and brings it back to watertight, sound condition: the repairs first, then a clean finish. It suits a roof that is tired rather than failing, such as the concrete tiles on a post-war brick house or the Colorbond on a newer extension.
Tile roof restoration
The roofer cleans off moss and lichen, replaces cracked and slipped tiles, then lifts loose ridge and hip caps, rebeds them on fresh mortar and repoints them with a flexible pointing compound. A sealer or primer and two top coats of roof membrane finish a concrete tile roof. Unglazed terracotta is often left uncoated once the repairs are done.
Metal and Colorbond roof restoration
On corrugated iron and Colorbond the work is rust, screws and laps: treating surface rust, replacing loose or rusted screws, resealing laps and flashings, and swapping any sheets that have rusted through. Then a metal primer and two top coats. If most sheets are rusting through, ask the roofer to price a new roof alongside.
Restoration or a coat of paint?
A coating changes the colour and protects the surface; it doesn’t hold a loose ridge cap down or seal a cracked tile. If the roof only needs colour, see roof painting. If ridges and tiles need work, that is a restoration.
Roof cleaning in Brisbane
Brisbane’s humid summers grow mould, lichen and black staining on tiles, especially on the shaded side and under mango and jacaranda trees. A roof clean is the first stage of every restoration, and it’s also done on its own when the roof is sound and just dirty. Tile roofs are usually pressure-cleaned; metal and painted roofs are often soft-washed at low pressure with a cleaning solution. Ask whether clearing the run-off from the gutters is included.
Roof cleaning prices in Brisbane
| Work | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Roof clean, per m² (Brisbane row) | $3.00 – $6.50 | Yakka Labour |
| Roof clean, typical 180 m² single-storey (Brisbane row) | $540 – $1,170 | Yakka Labour |
Pressure clean or soft wash on its own, with no repairs or coating. Yakka Labour’s national roof cleaning guide, Brisbane row, published 1 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026; prices include GST. It notes “Mould and black staining common in humid months” for Brisbane.
Fibro roof? It can’t be water-blasted
Fibro roofs such as “Super Six” contain asbestos. The Queensland Government says they “must not be cleaned using a water blaster”, and homeowners “can be fined up to $10,000”. Its safe work procedure says a sound fibro roof can instead be treated with fungicide, washed with “a garden hose with no nozzle attached, at low pressure”, and painted to seal it.
Roof restoration costs in Brisbane
No inner-north roofer publishes its own restoration price, so these are the published Brisbane figures, each with its source. Two storeys, a steep pitch and a long list of broken tiles push a job towards the top of each band.
Roof restoration prices in Brisbane
| Job | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Typical single-storey tile restoration (Brisbane row) | $4,500 – $10,000 | Yakka Labour |
| Tile restoration: clean, rebed and repoint, recoat (low / typical / high) | $4,000 / $7,500 / $11,000 | whatsthedamage.com.au |
| Metal restoration: clean, rust treat, recoat (low / typical / high) | $3,000 / $5,000 / $7,500 | whatsthedamage.com.au |
Per job, Brisbane figures as each publisher states them, checked 22 October 2026. Yakka Labour is a labour-hire company’s national cost guide with a Brisbane row (published 1 October 2026); whatsthedamage.com.au is a national cost-guide website whose Brisbane table was updated 8 October 2026 and says it is “Based on Brisbane metro area, October 2026”. Both say their prices include GST. Neither is a quote: the roofer prices your roof after seeing how many tiles, ridges or sheets need work.
The roof restoration cost guide breaks a restoration into its parts (per m², per tile and per metre of ridge), with the other Queensland and national figures labelled as such.
Restore or replace the roof?
A restoration makes sense when most of the roof is sound: tiles that are faded and mossy but solid, ridges that have lost their pointing, or a metal roof with surface rust at the screws and laps. It stops making sense when the roof itself is failing.
- Tiles crumbling across whole sections, or so many broken that the replacements outnumber the sound tiles.
- Old galvanised iron rusted through on a Queenslander, rather than spotted with rust. The guide to re-roofing a Queenslander covers the character-house questions.
- A fibro (asbestos cement) roof that is cracked or no longer watertight. The Queensland Government’s fact sheet suggests applying “a fungicide or sealant” or considering replacing it; see asbestos roof replacement.
Ask the roofer to put the reasons in writing if they recommend a new roof instead, and compare the two prices side by side.
Who can restore a roof in Queensland
The QBCC says you need a contractor licence for building work “valued over $3,300”, and most restorations are well over that. The licence class matters, because a restoration is roofing work and painting work:
- Roof tiling covers “Cut and fix roof tiles” and “Bedding, pointing and installing of associated flashing”: the repairs on a tile roof.
- Roof and wall cladding covers metal roofs, flashings and rainwater goods: the repairs on a tin or Colorbond roof.
- Both roofing classes cover “Refurbish and maintain roofs, excluding painting roofs”. The QBCC’s painting and decorating class covers “Apply paint or other substance for protective, decorative or technical purposes”.
So ask which licence covers each part of the job, then check the business and its classes on the QBCC licensee register before work starts.
What to have ready
- What the roof is made of (concrete tile, terracotta, Colorbond, corrugated iron or fibro) and roughly how old it is
- Lowset, highset or two storeys, and the rough roof area if you know it (or the house plans)
- Photos of the ridges, any broken tiles or rust, and any stains on the ceilings
- Whether you want it coated, and in what colour, or cleaned and repaired only
Common questions
Can a roof restoration fix a leak?
It can, when the leak comes from cracked tiles, failed ridge pointing or rusted screws, because those are repaired before any coating goes on. Paint alone won’t stop a leak. For a roof that’s leaking now, start with roof leak repairs.
Can I restore a fibro (asbestos) roof?
Not with a pressure cleaner: that is illegal in Queensland. The Queensland Government’s safe work procedure for a sound fibro roof uses fungicide, a low-pressure garden hose and a soft brush, then primer applied “with a brush and paint roller, not a compressor” and two coats of roof paint. Tell any roofer or painter the roof is fibro before they quote.
Is it worth restoring an old terracotta roof?
Often, because terracotta tiles themselves last well. The work that keeps the water out is the ridge rebedding and repointing and replacing broken tiles; coating unglazed terracotta is optional. Ask the roofer to price the repairs with and without a coating.
Should I clean my own roof?
We’d rather you didn’t. Wet tiles and metal are slippery, and a pressure cleaner’s kick can throw you off balance. On a fibro roof it’s illegal. Look from the ground, and leave the roof itself to someone with harnesses and edge protection.
Can a roof restoration be done in stages?
Yes. Many owners have the repairs done first (broken tiles, rebedding and repointing, rusted screws or sheets) and the coating later. Ask for the quote to price each stage separately so you can choose.
Where this information comes from
The prices, rules and advice on this page come from these published pages, checked on 22 October 2026.
- Yakka Labour: roof restoration cost guide · Labour-hire company’s national cost guide with a Brisbane row, published 1 October 2026
- Yakka Labour: roof cleaning cost guide · Labour-hire company’s national cost guide with a Brisbane row, published 1 October 2026
- whatsthedamage.com.au: roofing cost Brisbane · National cost-guide website with Brisbane rows, updated 8 October 2026
- Queensland Government: cleaning asbestos cement roofs (fact sheet) · Queensland Government, PN11037 version 2, October 2020
- Queensland Government: preparing and painting corrugated asbestos cement roof and fences · Queensland Government safe work procedure, asbestos.qld.gov.au (no page date shown)
- QBCC: when you need a licence · Queensland Building and Construction Commission, last reviewed 11 August 2021
- QBCC: roof tiling licence class · Queensland Building and Construction Commission, 31 August 2021
- QBCC: roof and wall cladding licence class · Queensland Building and Construction Commission, 31 August 2021
- QBCC: painting and decorating licence class · Queensland Building and Construction Commission, last reviewed 31 August 2021
- QBCC licensee register · Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s public register
Related guides
- Roof restoration cost in BrisbanePublished Brisbane prices for tile and metal restoration, per m², per tile and per metre of ridge.
