Any Builders/Roofers price info/experience...

[snellfish]

Need a rough price for a new roof on a 3-bed semi.

Just had a homebuyers survey done and its come back saying there is evidence of slight sagging to the purlins and collars within the the roof space. (see pic attached of survey report)

Might not need a whole new roof but i want to try knock the price of the house down as much as i can so might aswell get a quote for a whole new roof.
Ive done a search on the net but getting prices from £2k - £15k ??

View media item 1848

 

[^woody^]

There is evidence of slight sagging on 90% of roofs, but that is not evidence that there is a problem.

You have fallen for a standard, worm out, meaningless "stating the beedin' obvious" clause which is in too many surveys nowadays.

That survey statement says nothing to me.

And why should you get a roofing contractor to comment on any repairs? Surely thats what you expected from a surveyor?

Is a roofer qualified to design you a possible new purlin or bracing?

 

[snellfish]

so if you were buying a house this comment wouldnt worry you at all?
this is my first house purchase so im obviously paranoid about buying a property thats gonna need lots of money spent on it (what with todays market). Would you not use this statement as an opportunity to renegotiate on the asking price?

 

[Shytalkz]

Victorian property? Nothing unusual. Rarely are completely new roofs required: a bit of strengthening is generally sufficient and easily achieved.

Have a go at haggling, if you must. Personally, unless I was desperate to sell, I'd say sling yer hook and not be a contributor to the feel-bad factor that's threatening to engulf us all.

 

[^woody^]

Yes, you've engaged a surveyor and he has now worried you.

Is there a problem or not? Roofs sag, its common, but what does this mean in this instance?

Is it natural age, are supports missing, is the purlin in distress or under-specified? Exactly what are the implications of leaving the roof as is? Is work required or not, is it going to fall down next week or stay up for the next 100 years?

You should get that statement clarified, as it is it is totally meaningless and a poor comment.

Yes its a homebuyer survey, so you should have been made aware of its limitations. But even so, it has IMO, failed to meet the purpose of having the survey done in the first place

As a buyer it is a bargaining point. But it depends on the sellers knowledge as to how far you get. Personally, I would say take it or leave it. Others may reduce the price for a sale.

You would be expected to use whatever info you can to get the price down. Likewise, the seller would be expected to resist any price reduction. That's the game.

 

[snellfish]

ok thanks for the comments, to be honest i dont want to have to go down the route of haggling the price etc, but in some of the searches of the property it has come back saying work has been done on the roof before, so might just mention to the seller about what the surveyer has reported and see if any previous work done on the roof relates to this problem and if there was any warranty.

this is the roof in question if that helps?
View media item 1852

 

[Shytalkz]

Ahhh, 1930s suburbia.

Undersized timbers by modern standards (which are in themselves hopelessly conservative), gradual sag under the roof load. If there's no widespread rot or insect infestation, I doubt that anything is actually required to be done to it.

Defensive reporting by a surveyor scared of possibly getting sued, in the event your place gets repo'd. Sign of the times, they're far more laid-back when the market is booming.

 

[Delinquent]

Ahhh, 1930s suburbia.

Undersized timbers by modern standards (which are in themselves hopelessly conservative), gradual sag under the roof load. If there's no widespread rot or insect infestation, I doubt that anything is actually required to be done to it.

Defensive reporting by a surveyor scared of possibly getting sued, in the event your place gets repo'd. Sign of the times, they're far more laid-back when the market is booming.

Oh I dunno, even in the time of boom my surveyor's list of "recommended reports" I should acquire was so long it would have cost as much in reports as the house itself

 

[Aqua]

... to be honest i dont want to have to go down the route of haggling the price etc

Why ever not.....wake up and smell the coffee.

In this wonderful world of ours you need to use what ever tools you can to get the very best deal for yourself, unless of course you are dripping in money.

I can guarantee anyone wanting to buy the house from you in the future will use anything they can to get the price down, it called market forces and capitalism (among other things)

Don't be put off by comments here which appear to be against haggling the price, get the best deal you can for yourself, no one will come round with a fist full of tenners just because you didn't haggle.

 

[^woody^]

... "Burt" ..... "Yeah?" ......"This bloke won't haggle"

Oh, all right ... I mean do we have to ...

Now are you telling me that's not worth twenty shekels?

 

[andy2306]

Haggle the price but if your bank has asked for a report doing be aware that any report you submit to them the cost will be held as a retainer on your mortgage, so if you need a mortgage of £150000 and the roof is gonna cost £15000, the bank may reduce the mortgage offer to £135,000 and give you the £15000 when the roofs repaired, depends on your deposit i suppose! Submit the cheapest quote to the bank, quote the most expensve when "haggling"

 

[snellfish]

thanks again for the helpful advice.

back to my original question ( in know roofers/builders will need to see the roof damage in the flesh to get a quote etc..) but can anyone here from their own experience or trade give me a rough price on what a new roof would cost me, or am i asking something that cant really be answered on a forum. I just want to get an idea of cost before i call the sellers esate agents to address the problem.

cheers

 

[Shytalkz]

He's not saying that it needs a completely new roof structure and, from the photo, it doesn't need a new roof structure: it has sagged slightly with age and lifted the tiles to a small degree over the party wall (which won't sag!) as a result. An extra diagonal prop midspan to the purlins to the three slopes taken back to load-bearing internal walls and a spot of gentle winding-up of the roof structure to lose the sag will suffice. It does not have to comply with BRegs, the surveyor is wrong on that point.


There are some localised tile repairs needed, but I can't see that there's any merit in stripping the tiles off, re-felting and battening, unless you want a Rolls Royce job. But that's preventative, not curing a problem and it would be unrealistic to expect a vendor to pay for that.

Propping and localised replacing and re-setting of loose tiles can be done for £1500 tops.

 

[snellfish]

ok shytalkz thanks for info, thats given me a bit of peace of mind knowing the roof is not going to fall in on me in the next few years.

 

[^woody^]

Yes, but the report does indicate that tiles have started to delaminate and that other similar properties in the area have had replacement tiles.

If the tiles are over 60 years old, then they may be nearing the end of their life.

I would not be too concerned with the roof structure, unless it has been altered - which it has not going by the report.

The issue is the tiles, and whether they need replacing in the short term.

If they do, then you are looking at about £5k.

What you need to do is take into account everything picked up in the report, then add your own items which will require attention and then start to negotiate on a reduction based on this and current market conditions.

If the seller intimates that they want a quick sale and are open to negotiation, and the property has had little interest then you may be in luck.

If the property is popular, the seller wants top money and is in no hurry then you have less bargaining power