Roof Opinion on Possible House Purchase - Rosemary Tiles Circa 1910

[cmillar7]

We could do with some opinions. We viewed a house and are considering putting an offer in. The house was built circa 1910 and had an extension in the 90s.

At the viewing I got some photos from above and inside. Is there anything to be concerned of here? We assume the old part of the roof needs a membrane and the battens replaced. But outside of this, do you think there is anything else that we should be concerned of such as the rafters? Also what is the white stuff, could it be mould?

Also we are trying to budget for this along with other things like re-wiring and a chimney replaced/repaired. Does anyone know how much we should allow for this work?

 

[Lower]

The roof looks similar to our 1920s build, but you have no torching.

My parents bought a 1920’s build in the 80s and the survey said the Rosemary tiled roof was nearing the end of its life. The same roof is still on 40 years later and has no leaks and has needed no maintenance.

Our survey 15 years ago said that our 1920 s build rosemary tiled roof was nearing the end of its life but it’s still fine. It’s very dusty due to the torching gradually failing, but other than that it’s watertight.

The roof in your photo has the odd chipped or delaminated tile (which could be replaced) but otherwise looks fine to me.

 

[ree]

OP,
Buy it - its a great looking house in a great location, & if what you show & tell is the extent of work needed then the cost of the work in terms of the total purchase price is not significant.
Given there's no leaks then dont mess with the roof coverings - get some more years out of the tiles etc.
Clean all gutters & all valleys - only allow roofers who use roof ladders - & for the chimney stack rebuild a scaffold is required.
Come back here if you do buy it?

 

[Si_]

The first thing I'd do is have a professional assessment. Because if, like I would estimate, it's nearing the end of its life in its entirety, you're looking at one gargantuan bill. Even if it's 'only' a case of replacing battens, how much do you think that will cost? It's essentially a re-roof.

 

[noseall]

We could do with some opinions. We viewed a house and are considering putting an offer in. The house was built circa 1910 and had an extension in the 90s.

At the viewing I got some photos from above and inside. Is there anything to be concerned of here? We assume the old part of the roof needs a membrane and the battens replaced. But outside of this, do you think there is anything else that we should be concerned of such as the rafters? Also what is the white stuff, could it be mould?

Also we are trying to budget for this along with other things like re-wiring and a chimney replaced/repaired. Does anyone know how much we should allow for this work?

I'd look at delamination risk first. There doesn't appear to be any debris, but this could have been cleaned away. But there does seem to be a large number of repairs.

A new (tile) roof - £60k+ ?

 

[Si_]

I'd be budgeting six figures for that. It has just about every complexity you could imagine for a tiled roof.

 

[cmillar7]

Thanks for all the comments.

Lower – I highly expect any survey to say similar things. But also, this roof is nearly 120 years old and if we were to buy it, I would like it to be trouble free for the next 30-40 years. I would however be happy to leave it for a year or 2 whilst we concentrate on the other big things.

ree – Unfortunately this is not the only extent of works needed, there is repointing, chimney repair, electric re-wiring, de-commission an oil fired Rayburn that heats the water and finally lots of re-decoration. Regarding leaks, I think there are signs of some previous leaks (see photos), but I could not see any mould, apart from a verry small bit on the ceiling on the extension. The house is covered in wallpaper, maybe it’s all hidden behind that. Also I got a quote for that chimney repair and repointing the left side of the house at about £12,400 including scaffold. But Yes, I will come back if I do buy it, likely for more advice!

Si_ - Essentially a re-roof is what I thought, but I have no idea in the variables or costs involved. Such as do the rafters and/or tiles need replaced or can they be re-used.

Noseall – I did not know this term in relation to roof tiles, I’ll look into it thanks. 60k+ is a lot, and if it was to cost this much it would put me off buying it. I was hoping to allow for 15-20k to add new battens and add a membrane.

I assumed these tiles can be re-used. The house also comes with spares. But now I am thinking if these tiles need replaced.

In the back of my mind, I would also like to consider solar if it was cost affective to repair the roof and do the install at the same time. I don’t like the look of solar, but this house quite a few parts that people can’t see from the ground as it’s against a hill overlooking a village and is about 250 meters from the sea.

I've added some other photos from the outside that may help or be of interest.

 

[Si_]

Those tiles look porous from the salt deposits. So 13,000+ new tiles, 2 substantial turrets needing a specialist heritage roofer, 8 valleys, 4 ridges, 2 enormous crumbling chimneys, a flat lead roof, complex scaffolding, 1500m2 of felt, several kms of batten, 8 waste skips, plus anything else found along the way, such as timber rot. You'll have spent £20k long before you get anyone on the roof, don't say I didn't warn you

 

[cmillar7]

I'd be budgeting six figures for that. It has just about every complexity you could imagine for a tiled roof.

I didn't see this before posting, Wow 6 figures!

Those tiles look porous from the salt deposits. So 13,000+ new tiles, 2 substantial turrets needing a specialist heritage roofer, 8 valleys, 4 ridges, 2 enormous crumbling chimneys, a flat lead roof, complex scaffolding, 1500m2 of felt, several kms of batten, 8 waste skips, plus anything else found along the way, such as timber rot. You'll have spent £20k long before you get anyone on the roof, don't say I didn't warn you

This is what I needed to hear and why I came here asking. But some of your figures sound really high, for example there is no lead roof (unless you mean the channel between old and new) and one chimney has been fully rebuilt. But yes I get it and this gives us much to think about. Thanks.

 

[Si_]

Those tiles look porous from the salt deposits. So 13,000+ new tiles, 2 substantial turrets needing a specialist heritage roofer, 8 valleys, 4 ridges, 2 enormous crumbling chimneys, a flat lead roof, complex scaffolding, 1500m2 of felt, several kms of batten, 8 waste skips, plus anything else found along the way, such as timber rot. You'll have spent £20k long before you get anyone on the roof, don't say I didn't warn you

Isn't the stepped valley between the extension and the house lead? It's basically a roof in itself.

 

[ree]

OP,
As poster# 2 mentioned & I implied similar that the roof we see is good to go for who knows how much longer? FWIW: here's just a few points for you & any other interested viewers:

The box gutter ( "the stepped valley") looks fine, & GRP replacements for box gutters & valleys are available. The GRP is relatively cheap & simple to install.
I dont see much in the way of efflorescence.
Perhaps moss has had a historic grip on parts of the roof?
The scaffolding required for the whole roof would be very basic for a scaffolder.
There are no turrets, & no such trade as a "specialist heritage roofer" - there are roofers, & any roofer would take that whole roof in their stride.
There's no lead flat roof.

The more or less harmless white fungus seen in the loft is caused by condensation - ie. humid air rising up from the floors below. A sealed, well insulated loft is the answer.

 

[Charlie George]

OP,
As poster# 2 mentioned & I implied similar that the roof we see is good to go for who knows how much longer? FWIW: here's just a few points for you & any other interested viewers:

The box gutter ( "the stepped valley") looks fine, & GRP replacements for box gutters & valleys are available. The GRP is relatively cheap & simple to install.
I dont see much in the way of efflorescence.
Perhaps moss has had a historic grip on parts of the roof?
The scaffolding required for the whole roof would be very basic for a scaffolder.
There are no turrets, & no such trade as a "specialist heritage roofer" - there are roofers, & any roofer would take that whole roof in their stride.
There's no lead flat roof.

The more or less harmless white fungus seen in the loft is caused by condensation - ie. humid air rising up from the floors below. A sealed, well insulated loft is the answer.

Hardly basic scaffolding, and as for any roofers taking that in their stride, don't think so, for a roof like that, surely lead is the only material, and i also see turrets, the advice and figures Si gave are in the right ballpark

 

[stevie888]

I bet you're glad you asked OP!!

My threehapenceworth: I'm big on if it ain't broke............and I'm seeing a roof that has clearly had some remedials done along the way but nothing looks bad now. Absence of felt isn't an issue as the roof can breathe better. Thousands of roofs don't have any and there are thousands that look way way worse than yours that are still keeping the rain out.

It's a big roof and it's pretty complex so I would certainly want a guy of proven ability as there's a world of difference between something like this and a Wimpey box but it's still essentially basic stuff: it just has to be done with care and attention to detail

Scaffolding? Well it's just go up from the ground so it's basic stuff BUT it's extensive and therefore expensive