Flashing Repairs & Replacement Shellharbour
Flashing is where the roof meets everything else: walls, chimneys, vents, skylights. It is the most common place we find leaks, and one of the cheapest to fix before the water reaches a ceiling.
- Tile and metal roofs
- 10+ years experience, fully insured
- Free written quotes
Walls, valleys, penetrations and changes in roof shape
The stain inside is rarely under the entry point
Flashing has to work with the roof around it
Repair where it will hold, replace where it will not
The four places flashing usually fails
Flashing directs water at every point where the roof stops being a simple slope. When it lets go, water gets behind it and travels before it shows up inside.
Roof-to-wall junctions
Where the roof runs into a wall, including step flashings up a rake. Very common on extensions and anywhere two parts of the house meet.
Chimneys
Multiple junctions in a small area, all of them working hard. Chimney flashing is fiddly and it is where a lot of older repairs were done badly.
Penetrations
Vents, flues, skylights, and anything cut in for solar or air conditioning after the roof was finished. Later additions are a frequent culprit.
Roof plane changes
Where pitch or direction changes, and at valley heads. Water concentrates at these points, so a small failure moves a lot of water.
Repair it or replace it?
A repair is proportionate when the affected detail is limited and the roof around it is still serviceable. That is most of what we do, and it is usually a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand.
Replacement makes more sense when corrosion runs along the length, the flashing was never formed correctly in the first place, or the same junction has been patched repeatedly. Sealant over a badly formed junction hides the cause and makes the eventual fix harder, so we would rather do it once properly.
What a flashing assessment covers
More than one junction can contribute to the same stain, so we look at the whole picture rather than the first thing we find.
Walls and parapets
How the flashing is turned into the wall, whether it is still fixed and sealed, and whether the wall itself is letting water past.
Valleys and their heads
Where the flashing meets the valley, which is where a lot of water arrives at once and where debris tends to gather.
Pipes and penetrations
Boots, collars, upstands and anything added later. We check these rather than assuming the sealant you can see is the whole story.
The roof around it
New flashing has to work with the wall, the penetration, the tile or sheet profile and the path the water needs to take. That is what makes it hold.
Noticed a stain, a gap or a rusted edge?
Tell us where it shows, when you first noticed it and what the weather was doing. That is usually enough to narrow it down.
From your call to a fixed junction
Describe it
Where the stain shows, when it happens and what the weather does.
We trace it
Back from the symptom to the junction actually letting water past.
We check around it
The adjoining roof, because flashing only works with what it meets.
You get a quote
Naming the junction, the method and what is excluded.
We fix it
Formed and fixed properly rather than sealed over and hoped for.
We show you
What was wrong and what we did, with photos where it helps.
Why patch-after-patch keeps failing
If a junction has been sealed several times and keeps leaking, the sealant was never the answer. Something underneath is moving, corroded or was formed wrong, and each new bead of silicone buys a shorter reprieve than the last.
When we find that, we will tell you rather than adding another layer. Sometimes the honest recommendation is to investigate further before quoting, because guessing at a junction with a history is how people end up paying three times for the same leak.
The limits, stated upfront
We quote what we can access and observe. Some things only become clear once the flashing or adjoining materials come up, and here is how we handle that.
Behind the flashing
Corroded fixings, damaged battens or a failed wall detail can be hidden until we open it. If we find that, we stop, show you and agree the next step.
More than one path
Where several junctions could be contributing, fixing one may not resolve everything. We will say so rather than promising a single repair will end it.
The wall itself
Sometimes water is coming through the wall rather than the roof. That is not a roofing repair, and we would rather tell you than take the job.
Access
Height, pitch, fragile surfaces and nearby structures affect what can be reached safely. Anything we cannot confirm, we say we cannot confirm.
Shellharbour and surrounding areas
We repair and replace roof flashings on homes and commercial properties within roughly 20 km of Shellharbour. It is one of the most common jobs we do, because flashing is where nearly every roof eventually leaks. Also see roof repairs.
Useful when you call
Which room the stain shows in, how close it is to an external wall, a chimney or a vent, when it started, and whether it only happens in driving rain from one direction.
Ryan Bruce leads the team, we have more than 10 years of roofing experience behind the work, and we are fully licensed and insured. Quotes are free.
What flashing work costs
Every roof is quoted in writing after we have looked at it. The ranges below are a guide only and cover most Shellharbour homes; size, pitch, access and the condition we find can move a job outside them either way.
Repair or replace a run of flashing
$350 – $800
Chimney or complex junction flashing
$800 – $1,800
Find and fix a leak at a junction
$300 – $900
Assessment and written quote
Free
Flashing is one of the most common leak points on Shellharbour roofs, and one of the cheapest to fix before it wets the ceiling.
Flashing repair questions
Straight answers to what people actually ask us. If yours is not here, just call and ask.
What does flashing work cost?
Repairing or replacing a run of flashing typically runs $350 to $800, chimney or complex junction flashing $800 to $1,800, and finding and fixing a leak at a junction $300 to $900. Every job is quoted in writing after we have looked.
Why does my roof only leak in driving rain?
Because wind pushes water up and behind flashing that steady rain runs straight over. A leak that appears only with wind from one direction is a strong pointer to a junction rather than the roof surface, so mention it when you call.
Can I just seal it myself?
Sealant works on the right detail, but over movement, corrosion or a badly formed junction it hides the cause and makes the proper repair harder later. If a spot has been sealed more than once, it needs fixing rather than sealing again.
The stain is next to a wall. Is that the flashing?
Often, but not always. Water can travel to that edge from somewhere else entirely, and sometimes it is coming through the wall rather than the roof. We trace it rather than assuming, and if it is not a roofing fault we will tell you.
Is flashing the most common cause of leaks?
In our experience, yes, along with valleys. Anywhere the roof meets something else is working harder than the plain sections, which is why it is the first place we look.
Do you work on chimney flashing?
Yes. Chimneys have several junctions packed into a small area, which is why they leak and why older repairs there are frequently poor. It is fiddly work and worth doing properly once.
What if solar or a skylight caused it?
Very common. Anything cut into a finished roof is a candidate, and we check those carefully. The fix is usually contained, which is good news for the bill.
What if you find more than one problem?
We will show you both and price them separately, so you can decide what to do now and what can wait. What we will not do is quietly fix one and let you believe the leak is sorted.
Get a free flashing repair quote
Tell us where the water shows up and when. We will trace it back to the junction actually letting it in, and quote the repair in writing.
If the junction has already been sealed a few times, mention that. It changes what we look for.
Prefer to talk? Call (02) 4215 8188.