Howick's roofs, decade by decade
From raupō to timber
The first Fencible cottages were raupō, and by December 1849 most had been replaced with wooden cottages. All Saints Church, erected in 1847, was the first parish church built in the Auckland region.
The post-war boom
Howick stayed a small agricultural centre until the 1950s. The council's special character statement says post-war subdivisions drove rapid growth, and the Panmure bridge opening in 1959 sped it up. Major suburban growth followed in the 1960s and 1970s.
A lot of standalone houses
At the 2023 Census, 79.7% of occupied homes in the Howick local board area were separate houses, out of 47,001 in total. The suburb of Howick itself had 4,011 dwellings.
Beaches on the Tāmaki Strait
Howick Beach looks out to the Tāmaki Strait, between Mellons Bay and Cockle Bay. Homes near the water get salt on their roofs, fixings and spouting.
Why decramastic comes up so often here
Gerard says stone-coated metal tiles, known as decramastic, were popular in New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s, the same decades Howick grew fastest. They're pressed galvanised steel with stone chip set in bitumen. Resene says the chip erodes over time, exposing the bitumen and then the steel, which eventually rusts.
Once that happens, the choice is to paint or replace. Painting restores colour but not the chip texture, and water-blasting knocks more chip off. Our guide to decramastic vs COLORSTEEL compares the options, and decramastic repairs covers smaller fixes.
Built before 2000? Check for asbestos first
WorkSafe says a home built before 1 January 2000 may contain asbestos, and lists roof sheeting, gutters, downpipes and eaves among the places it turns up. You can't tell by looking. Don't drill, cut, sand or water-blast suspect material, and have a sample tested before work starts. WorkSafe's guidance for cleaning weathered decramastic and asbestos cement roofs says to use a low-pressure sprayer and never high-pressure blasting.
How we'd approach a 1970s Howick roof
We'd find out what the roof actually is first: decramastic, concrete tile or iron, and whether anything on the house is asbestos. Then we'd get a roofer's honest view on whether it's a paint job or a re-roof. If the chip is mostly gone and the steel is rusting, we'd stop spending money on paint and plan the re-roof.
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.