What does a roofer choose when a roofer roofs his house

Being a roofer, Jonathon Telfer had some creative ideas for the crowning glory of his family home in Kerikeri.

He had sketched out some plans of what the single level weatherboard home would look like before handing them over to Paul Spooner, of Spooner Architectural Solutions.

“I had hips and valleys and all sorts of things going on because being a roofer I thought I’ll be able to put that on,” says Jonathon. “I had almost a boomerang-shaped roof in mind but Paul simplified things and came back with the concept of having the ridge line all at one level.”

Paul also designed a home that had uniform gutter heights all around the home, meaning that with differing roof pitches on the wings of the house, the depth of the eaves had to be adjusted to create a seamless look.

Jonathon said that fitted with his idea of the roof being “a feature without being too over the top”.

His roofing material of choice was Metrotile Royal, which has a textured finish in a shingle-type design.

“I went with the Metrotile because it gives the house an upmarket look and highlights the flat ridge line and the details of the variances in pitches,” says Jonathon. “Also with Metrotile being lightweight roofing it’s cost-effective because with something like a concrete tile roof you need beefier walls and foundations.”

He adds, “I’m very familiar with the product and have used it on some group housing show homes. I like how it’s finished and like working with the product.” 

Jonathon says using the ‘Mesquite’ colour added another layer of interest to the roof. 

“I went with the grey fleck to help break up the look of the roof because I think with a solid colour impact would have been lost,” he says.

“It’s laid as a random fitment but as it comes out of the factory the grey flecks are also random so that helps to break up the pattern.”

The judges of the 2016 RANZ Professionalism in Metal Tile Installation Award, sponsored by Metrotile, certainly liked the look and finishing of the roof, announcing Telfer Roofing as winner

Jonathon says, “I always knew it was going to be a nice roof but it wasn’t until we finished and stood back and looked at it that I knew how good it was.”

He says the project came about because he and his wife Janine had started a family and wanted to move into the Kerikeri School zone.

The brief to Paul Spooner was to design a family home that took in the lake views, with a master suite at one end and a children’s wing at the other end for their two pre-schoolers. They also wanted a space where extended family could live independently. 

Paul Spooner says his design was aimed at making best use of the site in terms of the wind, the sun and the views.

He says, “The view to the lake is south-facing but the sun is on the other side of the house so the idea was to make the house one room wide on an east-west axis so you get sun and views. The house also serves as a barrier to the wind coming off the lake so that the courtyard off the kitchen is sheltered.”

The main pavilion is 42m long with gables projecting from it at the eastern and western ends. There are also glazed gable ends either side of the main living space to create a view shaft from the outdoor area through the house to the lake. 

A gabled roof form also extends north from the pavilion, housing the garage and extended family living space. This also serves to create privacy and shelter for the north-facing outdoor space that will eventually have a swimming pool and barbecue area.

Paul says while it is aesthetically pleasing to have a single ridge line and uniform height gutters, executing that look took careful calculation.

He says, “The overall form is a lot simpler but geometrically it is a bit trickier because you don’t strike your valleys at 45 degrees and where the roof pitch is steeper you have to have a shallower eave to maintain the same gutter height.

“The end result is it looks simple but there is a lot of complexity hidden in there.”

Paul says that while Jonathon and Janine wanted to sleep at the opposite end of the house to their children, he designed the home so that adults could sleep in close proximity if needed while they were young.

Paul designed a glazed gallery - to optimise the lake views - from the entrance to the children’s wing that is wide enough that it could also be used as a play area.

With extensive glazing to the south, the insulation in the house had to be increased to meet the building code.

Paul’s plan also made provision for timber decks at each end of house and one in the middle.

As well as installing a pool and finishing the barbecue area, Jonathon is landscaping the property. He has already formed garden areas with mulch and begun planting them out with palms. Irrigation and septic tank lines feed out to the gardens.

“As time goes on I can do the landscaping – it’s something I enjoy doing.”