Who to hire for a roof that needs replacing

Short answer

A licensed roofing contractor, and at this value the licence check is not optional — replacing a roof is squarely inside building work licensing in every state. Get at least three quotes and compare what is included rather than the totals, because sarking, battens, gutters and disposal are the four line items that make quotes look different when they are not.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

When it is someone else

Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Roofer.

  • your solar installer

    there are panels on the roof. They have to come off and go back, and that is a separate scope with its own warranty implications.

  • a builder

    the roof structure itself — rafters, trusses, battens — has deteriorated. That is carpentry inside a roofing job.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Get the reason in writing from whoever says it needs replacing. 'The tiles are porous' and 'the battens have failed' are different findings with different evidence.
  2. Check whether your house has any heritage or planning controls on roof material or colour. It is more common than people expect on older streets.
  3. Decide about insulation and sarking now. Replacing a roof is the one moment those are cheap.
  4. Ask about asbestos if the existing roof is fibre cement sheet. That changes the removal scope entirely and is not optional to handle correctly.

What to ask when you book

  • What is your licence number, and what class does it cover?
  • Does the quote include sarking, new battens, new gutters and downpipes, disposal, and making good?
  • Is statutory warranty insurance required for this value in this state, and is it in the price?
  • What happens if you find rot in the structure once the roof is off — how is that priced and do I approve it first?
  • What is the manufacturer warranty on the material and the workmanship warranty on the installation? They are different.

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • Roof area, pitch, complexity and number of penetrations.
  • Tile versus metal, and the specific product.
  • Whether the structure needs work once it is opened up.
  • Asbestos removal if the existing roof is fibre cement.
  • Scaffolding, which is required more often than householders expect and is a real line item.

Is this licensed work?

Building work licensing applies, generally with a written contract required above a monetary threshold that varies by state, and often with statutory warranty insurance required. Both of those protect you and both are reasons to insist on a licensed contractor.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for a roof that needs replacing
A licensed roofing contractor, and at this value the licence check is not optional — replacing a roof is squarely inside building work licensing in every state. Get at least three quotes and compare what is included rather than the totals, because sarking, battens, gutters and disposal are the four line items that make quotes look different when they are not.
How long does a roof last in Australia?
It depends far more on material and environment than on a single number: coastal salt, hail, and heavy tree cover all shorten it, and tile roofs frequently outlive their pointing and their sarking by decades. The useful question is not the roof's age but which component has failed — many 'the roof needs replacing' conversations turn out to be about capping, valleys or battens.
Can I change from tiles to metal?
Often, and it is a common change — but not always without engineering input, because the structure was designed for the load it carries and a lighter roof changes uplift behaviour as well as weight. A contractor who says yes without looking in the roof space has not checked.

Find a Roofer near you

1,369 roofers in this directory, ranked on published evidence rather than on advertising.

Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.