Should I be worried about buying a house with this roof?

[JPE23]

Should I be concerned about buying a house with this roof/roof void?

Surveyor says the following work needs doing:

- Repoint defective mortar joints to the chimney stacks
- Repoint or re-bed roof ridge and hip tiles
- Replace slipped, loose and cracked tiles.
- Brick up holes in the party wall within the roof void
- Repair defective torching to the underside of the roof tiles

 

[JPE23]

More pics.

 

[JPE23]

Roof is almost 100 years old, but the owners are convinced that because it's not leaking, it's not in bad condition. I've had the surveyor and almost every roofer I've spoken to give the opposite opinion.

 

[^woody^]

No house is perfect when sold. This is reflected in the price offered for it.

 

[JPE23]

No house is perfect when sold. This is reflected in the price offered for it.

Thanks for your response. It would have been a great one if my question was "Are all houses supposed to be perfect when sold?"

 

[^woody^]

It still is a great all encompassing response.

 

[Koolpc]

Not enough pics of roof!

 

[JPE23]

Not enough pics of roof!

Assuming non-sarcasm , I'm sorry these are all I have. The dark ones are obviously showing the amount of daylight getting in and the rest are from the level 3 survey I conducted.

 

[Mottie]

Nothing to worry about. Depends on how bad you want the house. It obviously needs some work. Get some quotes and negotiate with the seller and if you can’t reach a compromise, don’t buy it. Only you can decide whether it’s worth it.

 

[robinbanks]

Stunning lack of insulation btw. Climb up in the loft there and have a feel of the battens, see if they've gone soft. Even better if you can do it on a rainy day to see if any parts are getting soaked. Be a good few tens of thousands to get that reroofed I dare say

 

[noseall]

Should I be concerned about buying a house with this roof/roof void?

Some of the earlier machine made tiles were prone to delamination. If the gutters haven't been recently cleaned, check those for shale like debris. It'll mean the difference between whether they can be salvaged or not, come the time you need to re-roof.

 

[JPE23]

Nothing to worry about. Depends on how bad you want the house. It obviously needs some work. Get some quotes and negotiate with the seller and if you can’t reach a compromise, don’t buy it. Only you can decide whether it’s worth it.

"Some work" is an understatement given that even that will likely cost thousands, but I hear you regarding the rest of it. Thanks though!

 

[JPE23]

Stunning lack of insulation btw. Climb up in the loft there and have a feel of the battens, see if they've gone soft. Even better if you can do it on a rainy day to see if any parts are getting soaked. Be a good few tens of thousands to get that reroofed I dare say

This is the thing, I can't because I don't yet own it. The sellers say it isn't leaking, but I only have their word for that. The survey didn't specifically raise any issues of leaking however, so they might be telling the truth.

 

[Munroast]

This is the thing, I can't because I don't yet own it. The sellers say it isn't leaking, but I only have their word for that. The survey didn't specifically raise any issues of leaking however, so they might be telling the truth.

They won't let you go and look? I would find that difficult and assume the worst

 

[Notch7]

How can the experts on this forum help?

what are you actually asking?

Should I be concerned about buying a house with this roof/roof void?

this is unfortunately is a vague question.

Personally it looks like a roof overdue for some maintenance, that means scaffold and therefore a level of cost that likely to be in the thousands not hundreds

If you are asking does the roof need re tiling -the following is great advice, from Noseall:

"Some of the earlier machine made tiles were prone to delamination. If the gutters haven't been recently cleaned, check those for shale like debris. It'll mean the difference between whether they can be salvaged or not, come the time you need to re-roof."


I presume youve made an offer as youve had a survey -how does the offer compare to equivalent properties?

My guess is you need to allow say £5k for roof repairs and maybe a new roof in the next 10-20 years costing say £20k

I dont know the real costs, these are just to show the point.