Australian roofs and gutters, explained

Roof leaking? Gutters overflowing? Start here.

How every part of an Australian roof works, what goes wrong, and what the fix costs in 2026. Drawn, sourced and dated.

Illustration: an Australian suburban street of houses with tile and metal roofs after rain, wet roofs shining — Illustration, not a real street.

What roof and gutter jobs cost in 2026

Gutter replacement$30 to $160 per metre Gutter cleaning$100 to $600 a house Roof painting$15 to $35 per m² Roof replacement$85 to $250 per m²

Gutter check

Check downpipe spacing

Enter total eaves-gutter length and downpipe count for a rough average against a 12-metre spacing reference. Individual runs, roof catchment, rainfall and outlets still need checking.

Gutter length 40 m Downpipes 3

Method: the cited housing provisions use a 12 m maximum served gutter length and outlets near valleys. Use the code edition and state provisions applicable to the work. A total-length average does not check every individual run; a roof plumber checks rainfall, catchment, size and overflow provision.

Know the parts

Illustration: looking along a long flat-bottomed galvanised steel box gutter channel that runs between two parallel sloping corrugated metal roofs of attached terrace houses, seen from roof level

Box gutters

Flashing

Sarking

Illustration: hands fixing a new colour-steel quad gutter to a fascia board with brackets, from a ladder

Gutter profiles