I'm not sure if this is relevant for your area but our neighbours have a light grey(colour of a stormy day) colorbond roof and pigeons love it. They make a complete mess on it and sit on it most of the day. The house next door to it has a light beige/cream roof and the pigeons completely ignore it.

my personal research says light colour but not original silver look that creates reflective problems my choice for my new house is mid beige with black gutters and eaves to widen my narrow house good searching and check out the colorbond site which should have comparisons of performance for each color choice sustainable housing day sept 15 revealed roof insulation at R6 was the standard plus reflective foil

We have colorbond roof in Monument (almost black) in Sydney. We used ceiling and wall batts to insulate R3.5 and our home is cool in summer and warm in winter. Some tips I would suggest...

Make sure you draught proof as much as you can for winter warmth. Before we renovated we seemed to lose a lot of warmth under doors etc eg there are new shaped door treads that fix this.

I've noticed a lot of lighter roofs that look old within 12 months from black stains and seems to be from gum trees and possibly pollution. Mid to darker roofs don't seem to show.

There's a lot of professional advice that gaps will cause batts to lose their efficiency. Make sure your installer does a neat job!

Good luck!

Just look around your neighbourhood and see what colours exist and that will give you a pretty good indication if there are any colour restrictions in place.

If most of the roofs are the same colour, it's a pretty good indication that council has restrictions but definitely check with your local council.

Whilst you are in this very important decision of chosing a colour, you could in fact re invent your entire home decore, so I would seek professional help in making the right choice for the type of home you have and the ultimate look you're after in the end.

As for insulation, we have just had our roof completed albeit on a new home, we have a 22.5* pitch, yours looks more than that or at least as much.

We are placing factor 7 into our roof instead of the usual 3.5 batts as part of our compulsory energy rating but most heat enters and escapes through the roof so more insulation there can never be a bad decision, so colour choice should really be a factor.

We chose Jasper for our roof colour rather then Hedland which is the colour I originally wanted, now deleted, Manor Red, is probably the colour your roof was.

I am somewhat glad that I didn't go with Hedland, as I think it would have dated an otherwise modern looking home in my case built with Mt Gambier limestone.

Choose windspray here near Byron bay, love it.Check neighbourhood as some very light colours look dirty readily.Considered the appropriate environmental options and still happy with the choice after 5 years

Tis a lovely house love the fret work.

Not sure I would choose a grey like windspray, unless you intend on doing grey features on the home as well but if you were thinking of going down that colour pallete, then it could look amazing, as heritage homes can be a little too dark often and can really be transformed with lighter colours.

We choose Windspray as we did not want dark or light roof. For a heritage home this might be ok, depending on what you have to use. As you most likely will not change the bricks colour just make sure that greys are the way you want to go. Being on a corner yes you do have to worry about reflection and are you going to use solar panels too.

Agree with Fiona.

The insulation blanket and highest rating batts is the best decision you will make.....I did and I don't suffer temperature fluctuations at all. As for the colour, you need to live with it.....I chose monument and I'm still in love with it.

Hi Montiadis,

A dark colour will always have a higher proportion of solar energy absorbed. Coatings/additives like Thermatech® may help, but the difference will always be there. I am unsure on the current stats, but info I got from BHP about 8 years ago.... zincalume sheet 5% absorbed, Deep grey like Ironstone about 40% absorbed, so the difference can be significant. You could do the front roof and flashings a heritage red, but do all the back in zinc? Alternatively or additionally, ensure you have good controlled roof space ventilation in summer (http://www.pureventilation.com.au/product/exhaust-fans/edmonds-airomatic-roof-ventilator-white/), combined with a duct from underfloor (some downpipe up through a cupboard works well!) to provide cooler air in the roof. Seal the flashings and sheet ends (anticon blanket does this if well installed), and my choice would be to spray foam the ceiling (http://www.sprayitsolutions.com.au/) as you don't get settling or installed gaps like batts!

Enjoy!

Bryce.

I see the next door neighbour has a light roof.

go with monument...classy and will not date

Thanks SO much everyone - this is the first time I've ever put anything on Houzz and I'm so grateful that so many of you have taken the time to comment and make suggestions. I'm still undecided about what to go with - taking all the points about houses in the immediate neighbourhood (sadly there are few that are alike and in the same position/orientation, ie so exposed), and it seems more common that the dark brick tuckpointed houses of that era in Newcastle have tiles rather than tin on the roof, so I've not found many 'OOH like THAT ONE!' examples.. Funnily enough, I was driving through Goulburn last weekend and there are loads, which gave me some good ideas (even if what to avoid).. mmm.. Ta for all the advice re batts and insulation too, very helpful. And yes, I hope to have solar installed at some point. Likely to be on the northern side and the road towards the house runs up the hill so while the house is exposed and very clearly seen, hopefully the angles will mean little or no reflection-distraction for traffic. (will have to research that later :-)) No heritage overlays but it's a lovely little house and I'd like to see it looking loved and cared for, it seems to have been reasonably prominent back in its day. So many of these little houses are being demolished for development so I'm feeling very happy about being able to preserve this one. Internally it needs updating (all very beige) and it's sadly had a lot of its features stripped out (but lovely ceilings mainly retained), and I'm about to get the cypress pine floorboards in the living areas polished. Its external fretwork isn't as ornate as many others (eg via googled images I've been looking at for ideas) and I'd like to see it looking sharp - while not Federation colours I've seen some really good looking combos with dark grey/navy trims, with lighter grey and white posts and windows; to my mind this looks especially good against the darker bricks.. could really make the contrast clean and smart; not too fiddly or overdone. Because the roof is SO exposed and visible its colour will have a much bigger overall effect on how the house looks.. mmm.. So, I'm really very very grateful to you all, it's been a huge help.. (I'll have to come back to ask about double glazing and other stuff!) In the meantime, my indecision is working in nicely with delays with the roofer.. :-)

As for the solar panels distracting drivers, stand a mannequin in a bikini up on the nature strip across the road.

A fresh lighter look to rejuvenate and lift the heritage style of this house would be to use mid and light tonal colours eg. Haymes Butterscotch (or similar) for barge boards, fascias, gable battens and posts with Haymes Eggshell (or similar) on the fretwork and gable infill. Roof and guttering could be Colorbond Ironstone (if you like a blue/grey look or Colorbond Woodland Grey for a green/grey look) which could be picked up again in paintwork on the rendered tops of the piers and entry steps (or Haymes Butterscotch again). Windows, eaves and rendered sides to the steps could be Haymes Eggshell keeping the colour scheme very simple and smart. Warm colours will suit the mortar colour of the brick walls better than cool colours. All the best with the project and well done for taking on the job of looking after part of Australia's heritage.

I think your ideas about the charcoal/blue and lighter greys with the red brick are inspired! I also have noticed that many federation have the red roof tiles instead of tin roof. I believe that you would do well going with either the traditional Manor Red (colorbond classic) or a darker shade of grey from the contemporary range such as Ironstone or Basalt.

This picture of a renovated Federation house gives a great representation of the aforementioned colour palette, substituting the tiled roof with the manor red colorbond. With these paint palette colours, using the Ironstone or Basalt would work beautifully.

If you were swayed toward the blue/charcoals, then I would recommend colorbond classic Deep Ocean.

For the future installation of Solar panels, it may be aesthetically more pleasing to have the grey roof tones for a more seamlessly blended, less obvious contast of tradition versus technology.

Hope this has been useful!

Good luck! :)

Unfortunately, Colorbond Deep Ocean doesn't fit with the era of the house. Colorbond Manor Red, Colorbond Ironstone or Colorbond Woodland Grey will sit better with the era if you are trying to be as authentic as possible (the last 2 will coordinate well with solar panels). The greys look stunning on the house above but be aware that your home doesn't have as much area for light grey paintwork to lift the look of the house and dark grey windows under the verandah will darken the look considerably, absorbing all the light....and heat (on windows not under the verandah). Just depends whether you want to lift the profile of the house or hide it. Important to understand that a paint colour scheme on one house does not necessarily transfer well to another house. Colour balance is also important. To be true to the history of this house simplicity is the key because it was doubtful that it was built for a wealthy person, unlike the house pictured above, noted by the degree of ornamental detail, the front garden size and the size of the house. The social history of each house style is fascinating......spare time reading!

we just re-roofed our 100 year old tudor. installed a roof blanket (1.5) and ceiling batts (3.5). last week we had a couple of days around 35degrees, and the house barely changed in temp (topped out at 22-23degrees) Our roofcolour is surfmist with ironstone gutters. whilst i wanted a light colour (lots of homes in the area are going straight galv colour), i didnt realise how much lighter the colours appear outside with the sun on them. to be honest, i dont love it. i dont hate it either. but i am dissapointed-after spending nearly 30k, i had hoped it would look amazing. :/

i guess it doesnt really matter-after all, years ago, everything was just galv. provided they dont leak, thats the important thing.

Gal does turn grey with time. In the meantime it's not popular if it reflects heat into neighbour's houses, same with white. If this is not a prob, then, true, gal is technically historical, but it would have been tin.

Light colours do reflect heat and glare, which is why they are used on walls in hot places instead of very dark colours. I'm sure you made sure that your neighbours would not be affected before you installed your roof.

Unfortunately, in our increasingly built up neighbourhoods, that is not always possible. In design dilemmas, Houzzers are given minimal information, so I always err on the side of caution when giving a serious answer.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=White+roof+reflecting+nuisance&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

The council that i am with current has updated their zoning laws to increase housing density ie. R30 to R40 and R40 to R60. This sift has been advertised for a while and people have been subdividing and updating their house/units all around me to reflect the new direction of increased living density with energy efficiency. The issue of heat and glare are minimal due to council planning. The only reason i know this is that i recently asked that council about roofing, permits, energy practices etc for that council as i was looking to repaint the roof.

What kinda threw me was that i have never experienced glare/heat like galv. on a lighter coloured roof except from galv. itself. Part of my job is to drive around at different times in different areas.

I picked a galvanised colorbond roof for a workers cottage i rebuilt. I liked the silver look and was depending on it for minimal heat retention. One neighbour - a good friend - still mentioned that they were concerned at the likelihood of glare onto the street. This never became an issue. People didn't need to look away or anything because it was too bright, but it was interesting that they feared this would be the case and it created some small tension at the time.

Gal does mellow to grey.

Gal will go grey (mid to dark grey) over 12 - 18 months. Initially VERY bright. The energy absorbed changes accordingly, from sub 5% absorbed to ~35%. Zinc maintains brightness for longer, though still suffers some dulling. Say 5% to 15% over time. This can be avoided by coating with a product called 'Sharkhide' metal protectant, used to stop aluminium boats oxidising.

For there reasons many councils will not allow zinc or gal roofing (visual amenity, reflection issues), while making the houses more prone to requiring summer aircon at the same time. Surfmist Colorbond starts around 9% absorbed.

If purely for energy reasons, a light colour might be the only option. If going dark, I would suggest at least doing the 'less aesthetically important' sides and rear in a light colour. Your call. If you go all dark, ensure you have good roof space ventilation for the summer that can be closed in the winter, and lots of well installed ceiling level insulation. Spray foam is more reliable over time than batts, see Spray It Solutions or similar (they have the Formaldahyde free Canadian Icenene foam).

I am having my roof restored and having colorbonds "Paperbark" colour on my new gutters and downpipes to suit the brickwork, I was wondering if anyone out there had teamed it with either Birch Grey or Light grey Dulux Acra-Tex paint on their roof tiles.

If you check-out this link,

http://mydesignethos.blogspot.com.au/2012_03_01_archive.html

about half way down the page there's a period home similar to yours and in colours suggesting that a Manor Red Colourbond roof would come closest to the original terracotta tiles so often seen in his style.

@girlguides,

Didn't realize that the roof looked almost like a zinc colour in thaty photo!!

I've attached another photo below that is a bit more true to colour.

Cheers,

Barbara