New Roofs Wellington

A new roof on a new build or extension is one of the parts of the project you least want to get wrong. In Wellington the roof has to be fixed to suit the site's wind zone, the steel and fasteners have to suit its distance from the sea, and the whole job has to be documented so your Code Compliance Certificate is not held up at the end.

We install new roofs for owners, builders and designers across the region, working from consented plans. Most are longrun steel, and we also lay membrane roofing on low-pitch areas and decks and fit skylights while the roof is open. If you are replacing an existing roof rather than building new, our re-roofing page is the better starting point.

Pricing: every roof gets a free on-site measure and an itemised written quote, with a fixed price agreed before any work starts.

What we install

A new roof is more than the sheets on top. Depending on the plans, the scope can include underlay, purlins or battens set out for the cladding, flashings, spouting and downpipes, and any skylights or roof windows. We confirm the scope against the plans and specification at quote stage, so nothing falls between trades.

• Longrun COLORSTEEL in corrugate and trapezoidal profiles
• Membrane roofs for low-pitch areas, decks and internal gutters
• Roof underlay and safety mesh to the specification
• Flashings folded to the consented details
• Spouting, downpipes and rainheads
• Skylights and roof windows with manufacturer flashing kits

Designing a roof for Wellington wind

NZS 3604 sorts building sites into wind zones by maximum design wind speed, from Low at 32 metres per second through Medium, High, Very High and Extra High at 55 metres per second, with sites above that needing specific design. The zone shapes the structure under the roof as well as the cladding: purlin and batten fixings, the number and spacing of roof fasteners and the flashing details all follow from it.

Wellington City Council publishes wind zone mapping for its urban areas, and BRANZ Maps gives an indicative zone by address, but the zone that counts is the one on your consented plans. As one example, a LIM for a property in Tawa records a Very High wind zone. Hilltops, ridges and the shoulders of hills can sit in a higher zone than a sheltered gully nearby. We build our quote around the zone and details on your plans, and we raise it early if something in the specification does not suit the site.

How It Works

Choosing roofing for the site

The roofing material is chosen by pitch, run length, exposure and the look you want. Corrugate suits steeper roofs and traditional styles, while trapezoidal profiles can run at lower pitches. Near the coast the steel product matters more than anywhere else. Under NZS 3604, sites within 500 metres of the sea, harbours included, are generally Exposure Zone D, and much of Wellington's harbourside and south coast housing is likely to fall in that band, though it should be confirmed for each address. Our COLORSTEEL and longrun roofing page explains how profile and product are matched to a site, and what the manufacturer's environment categories mean for warranty.

Consent, licensing and your Code Compliance Certificate

Roofing on a house under building consent is restricted building work, because it is part of how the building keeps water out. It must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner holding a suitable licence class. When the roof is finished, that practitioner gives a record of work to you and the council. It is worth asking whoever does your roof for their LBP number before work starts.

Your council issues the Code Compliance Certificate once it is satisfied the work matches the consent. Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City and Kāpiti Coast District each run their own consent process. Councils have 20 working days to decide on a Code Compliance Certificate application, and that clock stops while they wait for information, so missing roofing paperwork can delay the whole project. We supply the record of work, product information and photos your builder needs for the file.

Working with your builder on a hillside site

On a new build we fit into the builder's programme. The roof usually goes on once the frame and trusses or rafters are up and braced, so the building can be closed in. We need the roof framing ready, safe access to the roof edge, and a place to land long sheets.

Long sheets are where Wellington hillside sites get interesting. Hillside sections in suburbs like Brooklyn, Ngaio, Khandallah and Wainuiomata can have steep driveways or no vehicle access to the build platform, and council notes that the city's topography often pushes car decks and steps into the road reserve. Getting a 10 metre sheet from the truck to the roof may mean craning, hand carrying in sections, or splitting the run with a lap. We plan it with the builder before the steel is ordered, not on delivery day.

Rain, spouting and the rest of the roof

A new roof needs rainwater goods that can cope with local rain. NIWA rainfall normals range from about 957 mm a year at Wellington Airport to about 1,800 mm at the Wainuiomata reservoir, with much of the region between 1,000 and 1,200 mm. The Building Code's surface water clause E1 sizes spouting and downpipes from the roof area and rainfall intensity, and on hillside sections the downpipes must discharge where the plans say, not onto a bank. Our spouting page covers sizing in more detail, and our Hutt Valley roofers page covers the wetter valley suburbs.

Why Choose Cheeky's Roofers for New Roofs

New Roofs FAQs

New Roofs Across Wellington

We cover every region: Central Wellington, the Eastern and Southern Suburbs, the Western and Northern Suburbs, the Hutt Valley, Porirua, the Kāpiti Coast.

Related Roofing Services

• Metal Roofing
• Membrane Roofing
• Skylights
• Re-Roofing
• Roof Repairs

See the roof replacement cost guide or every service we offer.