Re-Roofing Wellington

A Wellington re-roof is judged on one thing above all: whether it stays on and stays dry when a gale comes through. Doing it properly means stripping the old roofing back to the frame, checking the timber and fixings underneath, and building a new roof with fresh underlay, flashings and screws chosen for your wind zone and distance from the sea. This page sets out what that involves.

If you are not yet sure the roof needs replacing, start with our guide to roof replacement, which covers roof life, warning signs and the repair or replace decision. If you already know it is time, the next step is a free on-site measure and an itemised written quote. You can also get a rough figure first from our roof replacement cost guide.

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

Still deciding whether the roof can be repaired or needs replacing? The signs and the decision are covered under roof replacement.

Re-Roofing by Cheeky's Roofers roofers in Wellington

What a full re-roof includes

Every re-roof we quote is broken into its parts so you can see where the money goes. A typical residential re-roof covers the items below.

The parts nobody sees decide how long the new roof lasts. Brittle underlay, soft purlins or fixings that no longer grip will undermine new steel, so once the old roofing is off we check them and photograph what we find before any extra work is agreed.

Scaffolding and edge protection in place before anyone works on the roof
Stripping the old roofing, fixings and flashings and taking them off site
Checking purlins, rafters and their connections, and replacing or adding timber where needed
New roofing underlay, laid and lapped to the manufacturer's instructions
New longrun steel rolled to length and fixed at the screw pattern your wind zone requires
New ridge, barge, apron, valley and penetration flashings made to suit
Optional new spouting, downpipes and fascia while the scaffold is up
A magnetic sweep and full site clean-up at the end

Built for Wellington wind zones

Wind is the defining load on a Wellington roof. NIWA's records for Wellington Airport show gusts above 63 km/h on about 166 days a year and above 96 km/h on about 24 days a year, with gales most frequent in winter.

NZS 3604 sorts sites into wind zones by design wind speed: Low, Medium, High, Very High and Extra High, with anything above 55 m/s needing specific engineering design. Many Wellington sites sit in the High, Very High or Extra High zones, and some exposed ridges need specific design. The zone for an address is usually shown on consented plans or a LIM, and Wellington City Council publishes wind zone maps for its urban area.

We confirm your zone before quoting, because it sets the purlin fixings, screw spacing and flashing details for the whole roof. Where specific design applies, an engineer sets the fixings, and we price that in from the start.

How It Works

Free on-site measure, roof inspection and photos

Wind zone, exposure zone and access checked for your address

Itemised written quote with steel grade, profile and colour confirmed

Strip, inspect, replace timber and underlay, and roof each section the same day

Flashings, ridging and spouting finished, then a full clean-up and walk-through

Choosing steel for coastal and harbour sites

Distance from the sea matters as much as wind. Under NZS 3604, exposure Zone D covers land within 500 m of the sea, including harbours, and breaking surf beach fronts fall into Zone E. That makes it likely that many homes around Oriental Bay, Eastbourne, Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Seatoun, Tītahi Bay and the Kāpiti beachfront sit in the harsher categories. Boundaries are decided per address, so we check yours on BRANZ Maps rather than guessing from the suburb.

COLORSTEEL offers MAXAM for most environments from mild to very severe, and ALTIMATE, an aluminium-based product, for extremely severe marine and surf sites. NZ Steel advises regular washing of roofing near the sea, particularly areas rain does not reach. Corrugate suits villas and workers' cottages, while trapezoidal profiles suit modern houses and lower pitches. Browse our COLORSTEEL colours page and check a sample in daylight.

If your current roof is concrete tile, decramastic or old fibre cement, the strip-off changes. See tile to metal re-roofing and asbestos roof replacement.

Hillside access and keeping the house dry

Plenty of Wellington homes sit well above or below the road, reached by steps, a steep path or no vehicle access at all. That shapes how the scaffold goes up and how sheets reach the roof, so we assess access at the measure and plan delivery and waste removal before the job is booked.

We strip only as much roof as we can close in the same day, one face at a time, with underlay going straight down and new sheets following. We watch the wind forecast as closely as the rain, because open roofs and loose sheets are a hazard in a strong gust. That can mean a day of waiting, which costs far less than a wet ceiling. You can usually stay in the house throughout.

Consent, character precincts and sign-off

Under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, replacing a building component with a comparable one in the same position is often exempt from building consent, and swapping old steel for new steel on the same structure usually fits. The exemption does not cover components that have failed the durability requirements of the Building Code, complete or substantial replacement of a specified system, or structural changes, so we check what applies to your house before we quote.

Where consent is needed, the roofing becomes restricted building work, carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner with the roofing licence class, who provides a record of work at the end. You then apply to your council, whether Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt, Porirua or Kāpiti Coast, for a Code Compliance Certificate.

Older villas and cottages in suburbs such as Thorndon, Mt Victoria and Newtown may be inside a Character Precinct under the Wellington City 2024 District Plan. If you plan to change the material or shape of a character house roof, check whether it is in a precinct first.

Re-roofing across the Wellington region

Conditions change across the region. Hillside streets in Brooklyn, Kelburn and Khandallah can be very exposed, harbourside homes deal with salt, and the Hutt Valley is wetter than the city: NIWA's normals put Wellington Airport at about 957 mm a year and Wainuiomata Reservoir at about 1,800 mm. See our pages for roofers in Central Wellington and roofers in the Hutt Valley.

Why Choose Cheeky's Roofers for Re-Roofing

Itemised quotes

Every part of the job is listed separately, from scaffold to flashings, so you can compare quotes properly.

Wind zone confirmed first

We check your NZS 3604 wind zone before quoting, so fixings and flashings suit your site.

Steel matched to your exposure

We check the corrosion zone for your address and specify the steel that suits it.

One section at a time

We strip only what we can close the same day, so the house stays dry.

Re-Roofing FAQs

How long does a re-roof take in Wellington?

Most single-level homes take several working days once the scaffold is up, and larger or hard to reach roofs take longer. Wind is the main variable, because we will not open a roof when strong gusts or heavy rain are forecast.

How do I find out my wind zone?

Check your consented plans or LIM, Wellington City Council's wind zone maps, or BRANZ Maps for an indicative zone. We confirm it at the measure, because it decides how the roof is fixed.

Do I need building consent to re-roof?

Often not, if the new roof is comparable to the old one and in the same position. Changing material, altering the structure or replacing a roof that has failed the Building Code durability requirements can change that.

Do you replace the underlay?

Yes. New underlay is part of every full re-roof we quote, because old underlay is usually brittle by the time a roof needs replacing.

How do payments work?

We agree a staged payment schedule in writing before the job starts, tied to clear milestones. You never pay the full amount up front.

What warranty comes with a re-roof?

The steel carries a manufacturer warranty that depends on the product and your environment category, and your quote states which applies, along with our workmanship terms.

Re-Roofing 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

Re-Roofing Guides

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

Sources and further reading

Free roof quote

Thanks, we have your details.