New Roofs in Taranaki

Roofing to a Builder's Programme

On a new build, the roof is the moment the job changes. Until it is on, every other trade is waiting and every rain event is a risk to framing that has already been paid for. Once it is on, the building is closed in and the interior work can start. That makes the roofer one of the few trades whose timing affects everybody else on site - and in Taranaki, where it rains on more days than it does not, the timing matters even more.

We work to your programme rather than ours. Give us the date the trusses are going up and we will have the material ordered, the scaffold coordinated and the crew booked so we start when the frame is ready. If your dates move - and on a build they always move - tell us early and we will move with you. Quick, reliable turnaround is the thing we built this business on.

What We Install on New Builds

Most new homes in Taranaki get a longrun metal roof, and for good reason: it handles the rain, it handles the wind, it comes in every colour, and it is the best value per square metre by a distance. We install:

• Longrun corrugate, the classic profile, rolled to the exact length of each run so there are no end laps for the rain to find.
• Trapezoidal and low-rib profiles for a cleaner, more modern line on contemporary designs, and for lower pitches where corrugate is not suitable.
• Matching flashings, ridging, barge and apron details, folded to suit the roof rather than pulled off a shelf.
• Spouting and downpipes as part of the roof package, sized to actually carry a Taranaki downpour rather than just to look right.

If your plans call for something else - an architectural tray roof, for instance - tell us early and we will give you a straight answer on whether it is work we take on.

The Details That Decide Whether a New Roof Leaks

New roofs almost never fail in the middle of a sheet. They fail at the edges and the interruptions, which is where the difference between roofers shows up, and where most of the labour on a good job actually goes.

• Penetrations. Every flue, vent, pipe and skylight is a hole in an otherwise continuous surface. Each one gets a proper flashing and the correct upstand for the roof pitch, not a bead of sealant and optimism.
• Valleys. A valley carries the water off two roof planes at once. Get the width or the underlap wrong and it backs up under the sheets in the first proper Taranaki downpour.
• Underlay and ventilation. A modern, well-insulated roof needs to be able to dry. Condensation forming under the roof is a very common cause of a "leak" that turns out never to have come from outside at all.
• Roof pitch versus product. Every roofing profile has a minimum pitch, and some of the low-pitch mono designs that are popular right now sit close to it. Getting that wrong is not a detail, it is a roof that ponds.

Working With Your Builder

Much of our new build work comes through builders around Bell Block, New Plymouth, Stratford and Hāwera, and we are used to fitting into a site where several trades are working at once. We will talk directly to your builder about scaffold, crane access, delivery timing and where the material can be safely stacked. If you are the homeowner and your builder is managing the trades, just put us in touch.

We are equally happy dealing with an owner-builder directly. If this is your first build, ask us anything - the questions people are embarrassed to ask about roofs are usually the ones worth answering.

Replacing an existing roof instead? or roofing a shed or workshop.