Question 1

Should I have my roof coated or sprayed?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. A coating does not restore a worn tile, it can trap moisture in the covering, it makes future individual repairs harder, and surveyors frequently flag it at sale. Most importantly it does nothing at all about corroded nails or rotten battens, which is what actually ends a tiled roof. Roof coating is one of the most heavily sold products in domestic roofing and one of the least useful, so it is worth setting out plainly what it does and does not do. What it does is change the appearance. A sprayed coating over a tired concrete tile roof makes it look uniform and new from the street, which is genuinely what a lot of buyers are paying for even if that is not how it was sold to them. What it does not do is restore the tile. A concrete tile that has lost its slurry surface has lost it; a film sprayed over the top does not put the original finish back or return the tile to its design condition. And it certainly does not address the fixings. The thing that ends a concrete tile roof is corroded nails and softened battens underneath, and a coating applied over the top is a cosmetic treatment on a roof that may need stripping. There are real downsides beyond the waste. Coatings can restrict the covering's ability to dry, holding moisture where you do not want it. They make individual repairs harder, because a coated tile cannot simply be swapped for a matching one. And a number of surveyors treat a sprayed roof as a query at valuation — because it obscures the condition of what is underneath, which is exactly the thing a survey is trying to establish. The commercial reason it is pushed so hard is straightforward: it carries a large margin on work the homeowner cannot inspect, and it is easy to sell to somebody who has just been told their roof looks bad. That is not proof it is never appropriate, but it is a very good reason to get a second opinion before agreeing to it — particularly if the suggestion came from somebody who knocked on your door. The same applies to spray foam applied to the underside of a roof, which is a different product with its own set of problems and is covered separately. Neither is a substitute for roofing. The honest position: have the roof cleaned occasionally if you want it to look better and to keep the gutters clear. If it needs work, have it roofed. There is no product that sits usefully in between.

Question 2

Is roof coating worth it?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. A coating does not restore a worn tile, it can trap moisture in the covering, it makes future individual repairs harder, and surveyors frequently flag it at sale. Most importantly it does nothing at all about corroded nails or rotten battens, which is what actually ends a tiled roof. Roof coating is one of the most heavily sold products in domestic roofing and one of the least useful, so it is worth setting out plainly what it does and does not do. What it does is change the appearance. A sprayed coating over a tired concrete tile roof makes it look uniform and new from the street, which is genuinely what a lot of buyers are paying for even if that is not how it was sold to them. What it does not do is restore the tile. A concrete tile that has lost its slurry surface has lost it; a film sprayed over the top does not put the original finish back or return the tile to its design condition. And it certainly does not address the fixings. The thing that ends a concrete tile roof is corroded nails and softened battens underneath, and a coating applied over the top is a cosmetic treatment on a roof that may need stripping. There are real downsides beyond the waste. Coatings can restrict the covering's ability to dry, holding moisture where you do not want it. They make individual repairs harder, because a coated tile cannot simply be swapped for a matching one. And a number of surveyors treat a sprayed roof as a query at valuation — because it obscures the condition of what is underneath, which is exactly the thing a survey is trying to establish. The commercial reason it is pushed so hard is straightforward: it carries a large margin on work the homeowner cannot inspect, and it is easy to sell to somebody who has just been told their roof looks bad. That is not proof it is never appropriate, but it is a very good reason to get a second opinion before agreeing to it — particularly if the suggestion came from somebody who knocked on your door. The same applies to spray foam applied to the underside of a roof, which is a different product with its own set of problems and is covered separately. Neither is a substitute for roofing. The honest position: have the roof cleaned occasionally if you want it to look better and to keep the gutters clear. If it needs work, have it roofed. There is no product that sits usefully in between.

Question 3

Roof sealant — good or bad?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. A coating does not restore a worn tile, it can trap moisture in the covering, it makes future individual repairs harder, and surveyors frequently flag it at sale. Most importantly it does nothing at all about corroded nails or rotten battens, which is what actually ends a tiled roof. Roof coating is one of the most heavily sold products in domestic roofing and one of the least useful, so it is worth setting out plainly what it does and does not do. What it does is change the appearance. A sprayed coating over a tired concrete tile roof makes it look uniform and new from the street, which is genuinely what a lot of buyers are paying for even if that is not how it was sold to them. What it does not do is restore the tile. A concrete tile that has lost its slurry surface has lost it; a film sprayed over the top does not put the original finish back or return the tile to its design condition. And it certainly does not address the fixings. The thing that ends a concrete tile roof is corroded nails and softened battens underneath, and a coating applied over the top is a cosmetic treatment on a roof that may need stripping. There are real downsides beyond the waste. Coatings can restrict the covering's ability to dry, holding moisture where you do not want it. They make individual repairs harder, because a coated tile cannot simply be swapped for a matching one. And a number of surveyors treat a sprayed roof as a query at valuation — because it obscures the condition of what is underneath, which is exactly the thing a survey is trying to establish. The commercial reason it is pushed so hard is straightforward: it carries a large margin on work the homeowner cannot inspect, and it is easy to sell to somebody who has just been told their roof looks bad. That is not proof it is never appropriate, but it is a very good reason to get a second opinion before agreeing to it — particularly if the suggestion came from somebody who knocked on your door. The same applies to spray foam applied to the underside of a roof, which is a different product with its own set of problems and is covered separately. Neither is a substitute for roofing. The honest position: have the roof cleaned occasionally if you want it to look better and to keep the gutters clear. If it needs work, have it roofed. There is no product that sits usefully in between.

Question 4

Is roof spraying a scam?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. A coating does not restore a worn tile, it can trap moisture in the covering, it makes future individual repairs harder, and surveyors frequently flag it at sale. Most importantly it does nothing at all about corroded nails or rotten battens, which is what actually ends a tiled roof. Roof coating is one of the most heavily sold products in domestic roofing and one of the least useful, so it is worth setting out plainly what it does and does not do. What it does is change the appearance. A sprayed coating over a tired concrete tile roof makes it look uniform and new from the street, which is genuinely what a lot of buyers are paying for even if that is not how it was sold to them. What it does not do is restore the tile. A concrete tile that has lost its slurry surface has lost it; a film sprayed over the top does not put the original finish back or return the tile to its design condition. And it certainly does not address the fixings. The thing that ends a concrete tile roof is corroded nails and softened battens underneath, and a coating applied over the top is a cosmetic treatment on a roof that may need stripping. There are real downsides beyond the waste. Coatings can restrict the covering's ability to dry, holding moisture where you do not want it. They make individual repairs harder, because a coated tile cannot simply be swapped for a matching one. And a number of surveyors treat a sprayed roof as a query at valuation — because it obscures the condition of what is underneath, which is exactly the thing a survey is trying to establish. The commercial reason it is pushed so hard is straightforward: it carries a large margin on work the homeowner cannot inspect, and it is easy to sell to somebody who has just been told their roof looks bad. That is not proof it is never appropriate, but it is a very good reason to get a second opinion before agreeing to it — particularly if the suggestion came from somebody who knocked on your door. The same applies to spray foam applied to the underside of a roof, which is a different product with its own set of problems and is covered separately. Neither is a substitute for roofing. The honest position: have the roof cleaned occasionally if you want it to look better and to keep the gutters clear. If it needs work, have it roofed. There is no product that sits usefully in between.

Should I have my roof coated or sprayed?

Got a roofing job in Macclesfield?

Got a roofing job? Let's get it sorted.