Heritage Terracotta Roof Replacement – Fintona Girls’ School, Balwyn

Where the Roof Had Reached Its Limit

Fintona Girls’ School is located in Balwyn, an established suburb in Melbourne’s east with many heritage-overlay streetscapes. The campus includes significant heritage buildings protected under the Boroondara Heritage Overlay, and the original building had reached the point where a new roof was unavoidable.

The original terracotta roof was still in place, but the tiles were starting to lose integrity. Because the original tiles were imported and rare, suitable replacements could not be sourced. At that stage, ongoing patch repairs would only delay the inevitable. A full roof replacement was the most responsible way to protect the building and preserve its character.

A Full Strip and Structural Rebuild

We fully stripped the roof back to expose the structure beneath and confirm what needed to be rebuilt before any new tiles were laid.

On heritage-overlay sites, roof replacement must be planned as a complete system rebuild, not just new tiles. That’s the approach we followed here.

1. Removed existing terracotta tiles and carefully saved the custom picket ridge for reuse.
2. Removed old battens, valley irons and flashing systems and prepared the roof for installation.
3. Completed minor structural rectification where required to stabilise the roof before re-roofing.
4. Repaired or replaced chimney flashings and finished them with paint for a clean, consistent appearance.
5. Installed new Colourbond valley irons and flashings to restore reliable drainage and junction performance.
6. Installed new battens and heavy-duty roof sarking across the entire roof to improve long-term weatherproofing and thermal comfort.
7. Re-laid the roof using Monier Nouveau terracotta tiles and new ridge caps, selected for colour consistency and a traditional finish that suits the building’s heritage character.
8. Installed ridge caps and reinstated picket ridge using a 3:1 sand and cement mix, then allowed the mortar to cure properly for longevity.
9. Finished ridge lines with colour-matched flexible pointing to seal the ridges and pickets while maintaining the intended heritage look.
10. Completed a full site clean-down, including pressure washing surrounding areas, so the campus presented as if we had never been there.

Particular care was taken at junction interfaces and movement points, where thermal movement can stress flashings over time if detailing is rushed.