03 9888 2887
Call a roof plumber. In Victoria, roof plumbing is a licensed class of plumbing covering metal roofing, gutters, downpipes, flashings and stormwater drainage, which between them cause the large majority of roof leaks. A roof tiler handles tile replacement and re-roofing; a builder handles structure. But when water is getting in and nobody knows why yet, the roof plumber is the right first call, because working out where water enters, and where it travels before it shows itself, is the actual trade.
And travel it does. Water rarely drips into the room below its entry point; it runs along battens, rafters and sarking and surfaces metres away, which is why chasing the stain almost never finds the hole.
What a roof plumber does
Roof plumbing is the drainage system of your roof plus everything that seals it:
- Gutters and downpipes. Installing, repairing and replacing them, and yes, a plumber replaces guttering; in Victoria that’s exactly who is licensed to.
- Flashings. The metal seals around chimneys, skylights, vents and wall junctions. Failed flashings are among the most common leak sources we find.
- Metal roof sheeting. Repair and replacement of corrugated and other metal roofing, rusted sheets and fixings included.
- Valleys. The channels where roof planes meet, which corrode and overflow as they age and collect debris.
- Stormwater. Getting the collected water lawfully from the gutters into the drainage system.
On a leak call, the first job is finding the true entry point: flashings, valleys, penetrations, ridge capping and gutters all inspected, often with a hose test to reproduce the leak on our terms rather than the weather’s. Then it’s repair, not guesswork: a resealed flashing, a replaced valley, a corrected gutter fall, or new sheets where corrosion has won the argument.
The leaks Melbourne roofs actually get
After a few decades on them, the pattern is settled. Blocked gutters and downpipes overflow backwards into the eaves during heavy rain, a maintenance issue doing a convincing impression of a roof failure. Rusted valleys give way exactly where two roof planes concentrate the flow. Flashings crack and lift around chimneys and skylights as old sealants let go. Tile roofs drop the odd cracked or slipped tile and shed ridge capping mortar. And old metal roofs eventually just rust through, starting at the fixings and laps.
Storms add urgency to all of it. If water is coming in while it’s raining, treat it like any water emergency: buckets and tarps where it’s safe, stay off the wet roof, move what matters, and call. Our emergency team attends 7 days. And the mystery damp patch that appears without rain is a classic case for water leak detection, which can separate a roof entry from a pipe fault before anyone opens a ceiling on a hunch.
Repair, restoration or replacement?
A failed flashing or one rusted valley is a repair, and our roof repairs team handles it with a fixed quote. A roof leaking in several places, with spreading rust, porous tiles or crumbling ridge capping, is telling you patches won’t hold. That’s restoration territory: full clean, repairs, repointing and recoating to bring the whole surface back. Within the O’Shea family group, that work belongs to our sister company Roof Resto, the restoration specialists, so when an inspection shows a repair won’t honestly last, we hand you straight to them instead of leaving you to start the search from scratch. And where the deck or framing itself is compromised, the job moves beyond plumbing into building work, and we’ll say so plainly if that’s what we find.
The sequencing is the honest part: pay for the inspection and the smallest fix that genuinely solves it, and only escalate when the roof’s condition leaves no choice. A roof that gets that treatment at the first leak tends never to need the big conversation at all.
Frequently asked questions
Who do you call when you have a leaking roof? A roof plumber. Most leaks trace to gutters, flashings, valleys or metal roofing, all licensed roof plumbing work in Victoria, with tilers and builders joining for tile and structural work.
Does a plumber replace guttering? Yes. Gutters and downpipes are roof plumbing work, including setting the falls so water actually makes it to the downpipes.
What does a roof plumber do? Everything that catches, seals and drains water on your roof: metal roofing, flashings, valleys, gutters, downpipes and stormwater, plus finding where leaks really begin.
Is a leaking roof an emergency? While it’s raining in, yes: contain it, stay off the roof, call. A dry-weather stain can wait for a scheduled inspection, though not for a season.
Water where it shouldn’t be? Call O’Shea Plumbing on 03 9888 2887 or book a roof inspection. We find the real entry point, fix what needs fixing, and tell you straight if it needs more.
