What's wrong, and how a roofer usually fixes it
| The usual fix | Repair or replace? | |
|---|---|---|
| Drip under a PVC joiner or corner | The join is cleaned and re-glued, or a new joiner or seal goes in | Repair |
| Drip at a metal join or stop-end | Old rivets drilled out, surfaces cleaned, then re-riveted and resealed | Repair, if the metal around it is sound |
| Water sitting in the spouting after rain | The run is re-hung on new brackets with a steady fall to the outlet | Repair, unless the fascia is rotten |
| A single rust hole | A new length cut in, rather than sealant smeared over the hole | Repair once. Several holes, replace |
| Bent or pulled away after snow, wind or a branch | The damaged length straightened or replaced, with extra brackets or snow straps | Usually repair |
| Overflowing even when clean | Outlet size and downpipe spacing checked, then an outlet, downpipe or overflow added | Often a small change |
What separates a lasting repair from a quick one
The right rivets and fixings. New Zealand Steel recommends aluminium rivets with ZINCALUME, not stainless or Monel, and says stainless steel fasteners shouldn't be used with it in any environment. A repair held together with the wrong metal can corrode the spouting it was meant to save.
Brackets where the maker wants them. Dimond says internal brackets should sit under a roof rib, not the pan, so water leaves the roof freely. Spacing should follow the maker's figures, and Marley and Roofing Industries both tighten theirs in snow areas.
Water that actually drains. Dimond says ponding should drain or dry within hours, or it may affect the material warranty. After a re-hang, ask the roofer to run a hose along it before they pack up.
No sealant over rust. Rust rarely stops at the edge of the hole you can see, so a new length is the repair that lasts.
Before anyone drills old spouting
In a home built before 2000, spouting and downpipes could be asbestos cement, and WorkSafe says you can't tell by looking. Don't drill, cut, scrape or water-blast them until they've been tested. If you want a closer look yourself, keep it to a single-storey house, with someone footing the ladder and the power line well out of reach, and leave the repair to someone with proper edge protection.
What helps before the roofer arrives
You can
- A short phone video of each drip in steady rain
- Noting whether the spouting is plastic or metal, and roughly how old
- Checking the downpipe below the problem runs freely at ground level
- Mentioning it if you drink tank water off this roof
Leave to a roofer
- Resealing and re-riveting joins
- Replacing brackets and re-setting the fall
- Cutting in new lengths
- Anything that might be asbestos cement
Patch it or replace it? Our call
One dripping join or a bracket that's let go, we'd repair and move on. If the roofer finds rust in more than a couple of spots, or soft timber behind, we'd put the money towards a new run and a fascia repair rather than paying for patch after patch. Either way, ask for photos of what they found up there.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.