The Roof I Wanted

From the very beginning, I knew that for this project to be successful, every aspect of this house had to be carefully considered. Turning an old red brick house into a Palm Springs-inspired masterpiece required the use of quality finishes, but also patterns and textures characteristic of the Mid Century Modern style.

Before & After images of the Umina Springs facade

Changing the roof was a must. Its concrete tiles not only looked ugly but were worn and many were cracked. Even after spending money to repair and seal and repaint it, that old roof would still have looked tired and out of fashion. Enter No1 Roofing, a company that I know well and that amongst many quality products also creates the Snap-Line45®, a profile I truly love: fast to install and with a look that would give our renovated home the modern appeal I sought after.

Snap-Line45® can be added to roofs with a low angle, and each panel is firmly held in place by brackets which allow for expanding and shrinking of the metal as temperatures change, avoiding unsightly rippling of other metal products. As they’re applied, each panel also locks into the previous one, creating a surface that is firm, even cyclone-rated.

It’s available in different materials, but I knew that Colorbond® was what I wanted, a quality product I recommend every day to all my clients wanting a metal roof. It’s very durable, and its range of colours gave me great choices to fit with my Palm Springs palette. I chose the brand new Colorbond® BlueGum®. One other advantage of this profile in Colorbond, is that it doesn’t require continuous paneling underneath to support it, so it’s faster to apply and cheaper in costs.

Despite the massive storm that held up the work one morning, it only took two days of work to install the roof, and immediately, the house wasn’t an ugly duckling any longer. The team at No1 Roofing was amazing at considering all aspects of our project, advising a quality team of installers and supporting us along the way, even bringing the machine that creates the profile on-site, so we could film it for our online series 'James Bought A House'. I strongly recommend you watch the series to see not only the transformation the new roofing has helped achieve but also the ease of application of this wonderful product. Not last, the Snap-Line45® profile also looks stunning when applied vertically as cladding to contemporary-looking homes - check it out.

James Treble at one of the No1 Roofing sales points.

The old and damaged roof tiles, you’d be happy to know, didn’t end up in 'landfill' but were collected by a specialised company and recycled to become part of new building materials. The new roof, however, what can I say, as soon as the Snap-Line45® panels went on, the house changed its mood and appearance. Immediately! The Ugly Duckling had found its true feathers and had grown into the beautiful White Swan I knew I could achieve.

Watch the online series (James Bought A House) to learn about this wonderful product and contact No1 Roofing to see their vast range of products and profiles. Tell them I sent you :)

Interesting Notes:

1. Changing from a metal roof to tiles requires reinforcing the roof battens, which comes at a cost, while changing from tiled to metal roof is an easier transition.

2. Metal roofing can be applied also to roofs with a very low pitch, but tiled roofs can’t.

3. The Snap-Line45® profile comes with the wonderful S-5 Clamps system, which allows the installation of solar panels onto the roof without drilling any holes on it, whilst keeping the solar panels very low for a streamlined look.

James Treble has three decades of accumulated experience in the Building Industry, Real Estate and Interior Design and regularly shares his knowledge and experience in adding value to properties through effective design & styling. James is also an ambassador for Planet Ark and firmly believes in sensible purchasing, recycling and creative re-purposing. Watch his free videos on YouTube, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram for plenty of Design information. Watch his free Online Series to see how an Interior Designer renovates his own home.