Epsom villa re-roof

Joining two homes together created an impressive 600sq m character villa in the Auckland suburb of Epsom.

But it also created a problem where the two homes were joined.

As Josh Barnes, director of Roofing Works Services Limited, explains. “Where the two homes are joined there are widows walks with internal gutters and they had rusted out because water was pooling there because there wasn’t enough fall.”

And the roof in general was in “pretty poor condition” and leaking when Roofing Works Services Limited was called in to replace it in its entirety.

Josh says the roof was repitched to allow the internal gutters to drain properly, a new bull-nosed roof was put on the veranda, and his team also had new flashings designed to replace the existing around the brick chimney. Two solar tubes were installed in addition to the existing seven skylights in the home.

Being set on a large site – big enough to accommodate a swimming pool and tennis court – made for easy access and room to cut materials on site.

The sprawling villa with intricate fretwork and wraparound verandas has been in the same family for about 50 years. 

Josh says there was a fulltime builder on site – as well as his team – in case any structural timber needed replacing or weatherboards needed removing to accommodate flashings.

“It was a big job,” says Josh. “We had five or six of us there for about 14 or 15 days, and we were doing it before Christmas so the pressure was really on to finish before the break.”