Old Villa Maintenance?

Bling Bling done very little in home maintence for 10 years or so but at that time mates that were tradesman painters allways said if they were doing there own roof they would use brushes.

[Steve]

I find the biggest maintenance problems with my villa tend to relate to the various add-on's that have appeared over the years (3 according to council records). The integrety of the original structure is very much intact, even after 100 years.

Bling2 - I admire your persistance and I feel a bit silly doing this as Cap' implies but:
I've read Duncan's comments but don't agree that it's time to replace your roof or that iron roofs are inferior. If one's roof is over a few kms from the sea then many villas still have the original Lysaght (Oz) corrigated iron.
If the pitch of the roof is greater than 20 degrees then pay someone else to do it as it's fraught with high-end risks. Should take about 4-5 days for prep and two coats so I would imagine between $2000 -$3000 all up. Don't let anyone spray it or waterblast it unless they're absolutely trustworthy and competent. It should extend the roof life by 10 -15 years if it's done well. As Duncan says, most of the rusting occurs at the laps, so you may not see it. If you suspect that there is rust there just leave it alone except to give it a bit more paint at the edges, around the nail heads and where the lead edge ridgings meet the iron. Use an acrylic paint as they are more flexible and dry quickly. Even in badly rusted iron as long as its got a couple of decent coats of paint you'll extend the life of the roof.
Paint it nowbefore the minor rust gets worse. Brushing is the best but very labour intensive so I roll it diligently. Although it's a slower method the advantage is that you see just about everything and you just can't do that with an airless sprayer and you don't skip or scimp.
As with all painting the preparation is important.
* Wash it down with a stiffish broom, a garden hose and roof wash - Resene or similar. Get rid of lichen, moss, dirt, loose stuff. Dont use high pressure water as you may force it under the laps. Wire-brush te rusty bits just to shift the loose rust.
* Spot prime it with an anti-rust spirit-based paint - various grades available depending on how bad the rust is.
* Make a "crawler" (ladder with a thing that goes over the rige) to perch on and one for the paint tray/pot.
* Pick a low-wind, low humidity, moderate temp day. Not if the roof's wet and don't step onto wet paint - you stop when you hit the concrete!
* See if sme neighbourhood group want to do it for fund-raising.