Am I mad...

robotrobot · 16 Sep 2009

...to considering buying a house with a roof in this state?

I would say that over half of the purlins are severely bowed and there seems to be quite a few repairs here and there over the years. One RSJ has been installed in the past and the roof is visibly bowed from the outside.

The roof shape itself is a basic pitch - I would say it is 14m x 9m or covering a floor area of about 1200sq ft.

House is approx 300 yrs old (not listed).

cmother1 · 17 Sep 2009

What's it roofed with? Boulders?! Personally I'd avoid it like the plague. Properties that age are almost certain to come with a host of defects - not just the ones you can see like the roof. If you go ahead I wish you the very best of luck. I hope you have deep pockets.
For starters I'd get a surveyor in.

CortinaV8 · 17 Sep 2009

Looks knackered, then again after 300 years holding up a couple of tonne of tiles i'm sure you would

If it were me I would probably bid them less after getting a couple of estimates and see what happens, assuming of course the top of the house isnt being pushed apart by the roof!

robotrobot · 17 Sep 2009

Apparently the previous survey reckoned 20k to sort. They'll accept a bid less 40k of the asking price.

I'm more worried about the structural effect on the rest of the house. What should I be looking for in terms of the top of the house being pushed apart?

Chris

freddiemercurystwin · 17 Sep 2009

cmother1 said:
Personally I'd avoid it like the plague. Properties that age are almost certain to come with a host of defects

And sometimes a bucket full of charater too which sometimes comes at a price. If thats what you want then go for it. You realistically need an engineer to give it a once over to see if its as bad as you think. Whatever you do don't ask a surveyor, they're opinion will be worth jack sh*t!

CortinaV8 · 17 Sep 2009

Can't help with regard of what to look for, but with beams that warped it should be pretty damn evident from the outside I would imagine.

As Farrokh Bulsara above says, you really need someone who knows about this to compile a report, I would push the seller to do this at thier expense though, all the surveyor will be able to tell you is the house has slight damp and is in need of modernisation.......

robotrobot · 17 Sep 2009

Thanks for replies guys. Definitely looking for a character property.

Where would I get a qualified engineer who could make an assessment? I have a builder coming to have a look around but am worried that he might not have all the required knowledge to make an assessment.

I'm a bit wary about some brickwork on the very front of the house (which itself was an added extension about 100 years ago) as it looks uneven:

The rest of the propoerty looks pretty straight:

Chris

freddiemercurystwin · 17 Sep 2009

robotrobot said:
I'm a bit wary about some brickwork on the very front of the house (which itself was an added extension about 100 years ago) as it looks uneven

There's that character again!

You're right, some builders are good, some are bad but really you need to find a structural engineer from one of these sources and in this order:

1) Friends or family recommendations.
2) Phone building Control and ask if they would recommend someone.
3) Your builders recommendation.
4) Yellow Pages

You don't want a full scale structural report as that will cost an arm and a leg but, more of a considered opinion with a conclusion including their recommendations as you do need to make sure they'll stand behind it (and put some proper thought in to it), have a chat with a few, describe your issues and go with the one you feel you can work with. They should be prepared to spend say an hour in the loft and a hour or three writing a simple report backed up with some fag packet calcs. Will prob cost a few hundred £.

justlead1 · 17 Sep 2009

Hi I faced a similar dilemma some thirty odd years ago when moving to the country. The house that i viewed and loved had what i assumed were roof problems, not unlike your situation. I lost my nerve and brought another property near by. Only to be reminded month on month as i pasted the property, that i made the wrong move. No work has been carried out on the roof until 6 weeks ago. Its been re-slated and to and insult to injury, i was asked to carry out the lead work. As for the bent purlings. I am of the opinion that it is not all due to stress but to the radiated heat from the tiles, continually drying out the beam on this face. Which causes unbalanced drying of the timber in humid conditions. Resulting in the curve. Good Luck

joe-90 · 17 Sep 2009

That's a cracking house (in a good way). I reckon you need a local man who's been around a few decades. Looks good to me and with a 40K discount - can you really go wrong?

robotrobot · 17 Sep 2009

Hmm wise words...

Although there is also a flood risk on this house - flooded badly during the 2007 summer floods. Plus side is that it's been totally re-wired and new central heading fitted. The water company are supposedly fitting a flood defense in the village next May but no-one can be sure it won't flood again - esp. considering rising sea levels and global warming.

Having said that it's about 200k cheaper than I would expect if it was on a hill with a new roof. That's no good if it's under water in 20 years though.

Chris

joe-90 · 17 Sep 2009

If the flood defence was anywhere near a cure the original owner would hang on until it were finished and pocket an extra 100K.

robotrobot · 17 Sep 2009

There are reasons why they can't, I won't go into them here. Also I'm not actually convinced this will add to the price of the property, it'll just mean I can actually sell it on more easily.

Nige F · 17 Sep 2009

Roof, Walls - to me no problem. And agree with lead man and Joe. BUT flooding is another issue

. Not an issue to the house, it`s been there long enough+ probably flooded many times. But could you, personally cope with ,or indeed, install some adequate defences on the property. Like those door frame blocking panels..even a supply of sandbags.And will you get insurance

joe-90 · 17 Sep 2009

Nige. I remember seeing the last floods on the telly and some guy had all sorts of perimeter defences - but the water table rose and he said he watched the water rising out the middle of his garden as a puddle getting bigger and bigger. Sometimes you just can't win.

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Am I mad...

cmother1

justlead1

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