Heritage Roof Restoration – Footscray Primary’s Edwardian School Building

Where the Roof Was Failing

This heritage-listed Edwardian school building at Footscray Primary is a local landmark in Melbourne’s inner west. The roof remained visually impressive, but corrosion and fatigued drainage and flashing details were beginning to allow water ingress.

While much of the original roof fabric was still serviceable, the supporting elements had reached the end of their reliable lifespan. Valley irons showed progressive corrosion, lead flashings had split and fatigued at movement points, and sections of the drainage system were no longer shedding water efficiently during heavy rain.

On heritage-listed institutional buildings, these failures must be handled carefully. Replacement alone isn’t the goal. The objective is to restore weatherproof performance while preserving traditional profiles, original roof lines, and period detailing that define the building’s architectural character.

Left untreated, these issues would have progressed from minor leaks to structural timber damage and internal deterioration — risks no school facility should carry.

A Restoration-Led Approach

We approached the project systematically, restoring performance while preserving the building’s period detailing.

1. Installed full scaffold and defined safety zones to manage access across steep roof sections.
2. Replaced corroded valley irons to re-establish clean drainage paths.
3. Removed deteriorated flashings and installed new lead flashings compatible with heritage detailing.
4. Upgraded gutters, sumps, rain heads and overflow systems to improve stormwater management.
5. Renewed junction detailing and prepared ridge sections for flexible pointing, maintaining traditional roof profiles.
6. Carefully reinstated tiles and slate that were disturbed during the works.

This ensured the entire roof system, not just isolated sections, was restored to reliable working condition.

This project is a strong example of our broader roof restoration approach on heritage-listed buildings, addressing the root cause, restoring performance, and preserving period detailing rather than replacing it unnecessarily.