Edwardian house with loft conversion - original roof beams?

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Location
Berkshire
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United Kingdom
Hello all.

I am hoping for a little advice. We are looking to buy an Edwardian house in berkshire. Today we had the homebuyers survey carried out. The house is laid out over 3 floors with the top floor being a loft conversion and nicely done. It was actually converted in 1987. The surveyor called me to say that he thinks they have boarded over the existing roof joists when this was done and so it might not be very safe by todays building regulations. He mentioned that the joists were 10cm deep with boarding over them, really this should be 20cm deep if it were done today. Anyway the work was carried out before the current owners who have been there the past 20 years and raised their 3 kids there. But apparently they do have some kind of building regs approval. There was no evidence of the floor sinking and indeed it has been there 25 years. He also wasn't sure as he couldn't get access to the floor very easily other than through the eves, but he measured what he could. He suggested i talk to council and find out about what if any building control was used and recorded. Secondly get a builder to check it over. Any advice on a situation like this? What is the worst case here can the floor be taken up and reinforced somehow?

Many thanks

Brian
 
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If its been like it for 25 years then nothing is gonna happen now or in the future that wouldn't have already happened. There are millions of converted lofts that would not conform to the Building Regs, yet we take them for granted. Stop worrying and just buy it. Your surveyor is just covering his back. Don't waste time talking to BC.

If any of this worries you then this house is probably not for you.
 
I take your point on the floor. The other aspect of the conversion that was raised in addition to the flooring was the fire regulations. The loft has essentially been split into two rooms of similar size each with a large velux window. The surveyor is saying that even in the 80's when the velux windows were fitted they would have needed to be "escape" windows meaning you can presumably fully open them and crawl out onto the roof - I expect that would be fun.

Should I take the stance that this is minimum "must have" and ask the seller to either replace them or reduce the price to the tune of £2500 or whatever the cost would be....I expect this will be raised when I sell the house in the future....

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Brian
 
Nowadays a door separating the loft rooms from the stairwell and fire door upgrades (no closers required though) for the habitable rooms off the stairwell would suffice, as the emphasis nowadays is not to get you to try and escape via the roof, for obvious reasons. So as mentioned before, there are millions of converted lofts that would not conform to the Building Regs, yet we take them for granted. You could ask the seller to add this or add that or deuce it by this much or whatever but you have to decide how much you want it and if the seller is desperate enough that they will do this or that. The issue may come up again when you sell, it will not change the fact. Some will be unperturbed by the lack of approval some will not, you makes your choice and takes your chances.

If the loft had been converted 50 years ago would you have the same concerns?
 
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The problem you may have is getting buildings insurance if the loft conversion is not to a standard that the mortgage company considered as necessary.

You must see the present owner as a salesperson doing their utmost to sell the house. They are un-likely to mention any defects that are not obvious or those that do not have to be declared.
 
Hello All,

Quick update. It seems our solicitors have received the correct building control documents for the loft structure. It appears to be some kind of relaxation certificate that building control issued back in 1987. I find it hard to believe that the local council dont keep records back that far.

Anyway thanks for the advice.

Brian
 

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