Top Reasons Why Roof Repainting is Essential for Your Home in Melbourne
A whopping 30% of homes in Melbourne, Australia, face roofing difficulties on account of the erratic weather. This makes one roof repainting a must. Not only will a polished roof up your home’s silent salesperson factor, but it also gives the home a fighting chance against the elements. A properly repainted roof can be that much of a game-changer to most buyers, potentially spiking the home appraisal price high enough for me to push the people living in the house into another price range. I chose this topic first not because it’s step one but because it’s an easy and important cookie for better understanding the scale of at-home roof maintenance versus proper maintenance.
Understanding Roof Repainting
Roof repainting is the process of applying a new layer of paint to the surface of the roof, a simple initiative that could boost its longevity as well as its aesthetic appeal. Common roof-painting materials include acrylic, elastomeric, and silicone-based paints that offer UV resistance, waterproofing, and flexibility, among other benefits. They’re typically formulated for excellent weather resistance, so their finish endures.
There are many reasons why you might consider roof painting. A paint job adds curb appeal because the roof is often the first thing you notice as you pull up to a home. This, therefore, is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve the aesthetic appeal of your home from the outside. Beyond superficial matters, though, there’s integrity: having your roof painted is also an essential aspect of roof maintenance because the paint used forms a coat that protects the materials that protect the roof from the weather (sun, wind, ice, hail). So, painting could indeed merely be about longevity, it could simply be an effort to avoid a re-roofing job for as long as possible.
Enhancing Curb Appeal
A shiny coat of paint can change the entire look of anyone’s home. For one, it might be the roof that catches a home buyer’s eye. Slap a little paint on the roof and you’ll notice one thing: every home can be beautiful. A well-built roof looks nice. Gardens and well-done landscaping look nice which means someone is maintaining the home.
The look of your home is part of something realtors like to call “curb appeal,” which helps to define a home’s value. Whether your home can look as fine as any other home is a matter of a little spit and polish. Fresh paint on any mildly weathered exterior can add some pop to your curb appeal—and your selling price. So, paint your home by all means.
Cost-Effectiveness of Roof Repainting
The question of whether to repaint or replace a roof is one that just about every homeowner will consider at some point. Compared to a complete replacement, repainting your roof is generally the more cost-effective option—in fact, the savings can be huge. For the cash-strapped homeowner, a roof repaint will bring new life to the appearance of your home, while also adding a fresh layer of protection against the elements and maybe an extra few years to the lifespan of your roof.
A brand-new roof is expensive by comparison and makes less sense if you are bent on saving money. A new layer of paint can do wonders for the selling price of a property. But a fresh coat of paint simply does not compare to the value that a new roof brings to a property. You can avoid expensive damage to your property for decades if you make the investment now and replace your roof. The curb appeal—and hence, list price—that a home can attract, is much greater with a newer, better-condition roof. For the few thousand dollars that it costs to hire a painter today, you could be talking about a difference in selling price of tens of thousands of dollars if you replace your roof.
Protecting Your Home from the Elements
Roof repainting is a type of maintenance that helps your roof last longer. A new layer of quality paint can protect your home from being physically damaged by the environment. This includes rainwater, which may seep into a building and on the inside become a leaking roof. Another hazard that can damage your home is the wind, which may be blocked by the roof’s surface or sides. A good paint can keep a roof watertight and airtight. This blocks water, the liquid that can help something get wet, from reaching and softening the wooden parts that make up much of the building.
In Melbourne, the amount of UV radiation that will reach the ground is high, and paint treatment is often needed to keep a home’s roof looking intact. So, with a combination of new paint, nooks, and crannies being filled, plus the right materials being used, a roof should be able to stand up for itself in the often scorching Melbourne weather (which seems to only get hotter). Discussing how else homeowners in inverted-commas-Melbourne can come out ahead, this is a task that can be sorted out and completed easily.
Energy Efficiency Benefits
In sunny climates like Melbourne, Australia, homeowners can save energy by painting their roofs a light color or using a reflective roofing surface. As a result, the roof will absorb less heat from the sun, preventing the space under the roof from growing too warm. With a cooler indoor temperature, you won’t have to work your air conditioner quite so hard to beat the summer heat. You might save a little money on your monthly power bill in the process, and you’ll certainly get to feel good about the energy you save. Every drop in the bucket helps reduce the volume of climate-altering greenhouse gasses humans put into the atmosphere to generate electricity.
Choosing the Right Professionals for Roof Repainting
In choosing a reputable contractor for roof painting in Melbourne, start by checking their credentials. They need to be licensed and insured to protect you against any liabilities. They should have a contractor’s license or, at a bare minimum, the relevant qualifications to perform this type of work. Choosing an exterior painter is the best decision because they will have technical information on how to paint a roof with the products they offer.
Beyond reading online reviews and obtaining references, you should also ask to see examples of their work; most painters will already have a portfolio on their website that should be public and, therefore, also SEO friendly.
There are many reasons why homeowners in Melbourne might decide to have their roofs repainted. Besides adding a fresh new look to the home—which is obviously desirable—repainting can offer a measure of protection from weather, thereby preventing rust and subsequent deterioration of the other roofing materials. This would extend the life of your roof and prevent costly repairs down the road.
The advantage to not having to do these costly repairs (i.e., in energy efficiency) is that a light-colored roof can reflect sunlight and keep the home cooler in the summer. Over 15, 20, or 30 years, this would lead to not only a cooler home overall (and a less stressful living environment) but also lower monthly energy costs—making a house that much more affordable.
Feel free to reach out to Outlast Roof Resotrations for a consultation about your upcoming project.