Torbay at a glance, for roofs
A 1970s suburb
Torbay developed as a suburb in the 1970s once the Northern Motorway improved, and had 4,101 dwellings at the 2023 Census. Decramastic pressed-metal tiles were popular in New Zealand through the 1960s and 1970s, so find out what your roof is made of before anyone cleans or paints it.
Bush in the middle of the suburb
Awaruku Bush Reserve is a remnant kahikatea forest kept since the 1960s, and inland Torbay was broadleaf podocarp forest before settlement. Resene notes that moss and mould are often found where trees overhang roofs.
Beaches and a marine reserve
Waiake, Torbay Beach, Winstone's Cove and Ladder Bay are on the doorstep, and the Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve borders the north-east coast. Homes near the water deal with salt as well as leaves.
The 2008 slips
GNS Science reported a major landslide at Torbay during the wet June to August 2008, one of several on the Shore that damaged houses. Rain set them off, but GNS put the underlying cause down to building on old landslides.
The jobs that usually follow
Spouting under trees. Leaves and bark fill spouting (gutters) fast, and blocked outlets send water over the edge and into fascias. Guards reduce the clearing without ending it; see gutter guards.
Moss treatment. A gentle chemical treatment does the work, not a blast of water. See moss treatment and roof cleaning in Auckland.
Decramastic decisions. Resene says the stone chips on decramastic erode over time, exposing the bitumen and eventually the steel, which rusts. At that point the choice is paint or replace, which decramastic roofs walks through.
What you can do, and what to leave to a roofer
You can
- Look along the spouting from a ladder, only if you're comfortable and the ground is firm
- Check downpipes are connected and draining after rain
- Photograph moss, rust or broken tiles from the ground so a roofer can quote with a clear picture
- Trim branches back from the roofline where you can do it from the ground
Leave to a roofer
- Any work up on the roof itself, especially old decramastic or tiles, which can break underfoot
- Moss treatment on older roofs, at low pressure
- Rust treatment, re-coating or replacing worn decramastic
- Fitting gutter guards under heavy tree cover
Built before 2000? Treat the roof as possible asbestos
WorkSafe says a home built before 2000 may contain asbestos, and lists roofing, ridge capping, gutters and eaves among the places it turns up. Resene says coatings on pre-early-1980s decramastic may contain it too. Don't water-blast, sand, drill or walk on a roof like that, and have a sample tested before work starts.
Where we'd start in Torbay
We'd book a moss treatment and spouting clear together, low pressure only, and ask the roofer for an honest view of how long the decramastic or tiles have left. If the roof is close to the end, putting money into paint rarely pays off; plan the re-roof instead.
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.