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Hello all,
Thanks in advance for reading this. I am looking for some guidance...
My partner and I are in the process of buying a new house. Everything is going ok but we have just had the Homebuyers report done and it highlighted a few problems. The house is a 1900 Victorian Terraced (End of Terrace). The report highlighted the potential for rising damp (we are going to get a damp specialist to look at this) and also a problem with spray foam in the roof.
The roof space has been "enhanced" and is not a saleable room, I have been up there, there is drop down stairs and it is carpeted etc. It is like a room but not classified as one in the sale. No building regs were consented for this but I understand this is ok as its not classified as a bedroom?
That was one of the points from the surveyor about building regs but understand this is quite common in a survey?
The next point was stated as "Roof coverings - the underside of which have been sprayed with foam, with the potential to cause rot to the rafters and battens due to severely restricted ventilation"
I have looked into this and there are a lot of articles explaining the problems with using this foam and lack of ventilation etc. I put this to the seller and have had the response below, can someone please let me know there thoughts on this and whether it will still cause an issue?
3. Roof coverings - the underside of which have been sprayed with foam, with the potential to cause rot to the rafters and battens due to severely restricted ventilation[Vendor] Rafters are treated with to prevent rot, foam has been placed to enhance the structural capability of the roof coverings, ventilation to the area has been maintained, the roof was repointed and repaired at the time of the spray insulation. [Me] Are there any photos or documentation showing the work done in the roof space in general and the date of works? In particular how ventilation was maintained with foam being sprayed to the underside of the roof tiles and to what extent the roof was repaired/ repointed?[Vendor] Work to the roofing space was carried out 2008, I cannot locate documentation for the works at this time but if this is an issue I will endeavour to contact the company that undertook the works and ask them to provide.
The spray foam is only to the underside of the roof coverings, it in essence replaces the insulation normal required within the roof construction and assists in maintaining the roof coverings, the natural ventilation to the area through the eaves is maintained, the timbers to the loft area are not encased in the foam (the foam is placed between the rafters) to ensure that the timber can breathe. There is a membrane between the spray foam and the tiles to allow natural ventilation to occur. (for reference see image below.
The complete roof was repaired and repointing was carried out the chimney stack and the party wall above the roof coverings. The eaves and facia was also replaced with uPVC at that time and the existing gutter replaced.
Thanks in advance for any comments.
Thanks in advance for reading this. I am looking for some guidance...
My partner and I are in the process of buying a new house. Everything is going ok but we have just had the Homebuyers report done and it highlighted a few problems. The house is a 1900 Victorian Terraced (End of Terrace). The report highlighted the potential for rising damp (we are going to get a damp specialist to look at this) and also a problem with spray foam in the roof.
The roof space has been "enhanced" and is not a saleable room, I have been up there, there is drop down stairs and it is carpeted etc. It is like a room but not classified as one in the sale. No building regs were consented for this but I understand this is ok as its not classified as a bedroom?
That was one of the points from the surveyor about building regs but understand this is quite common in a survey?
The next point was stated as "Roof coverings - the underside of which have been sprayed with foam, with the potential to cause rot to the rafters and battens due to severely restricted ventilation"
I have looked into this and there are a lot of articles explaining the problems with using this foam and lack of ventilation etc. I put this to the seller and have had the response below, can someone please let me know there thoughts on this and whether it will still cause an issue?
3. Roof coverings - the underside of which have been sprayed with foam, with the potential to cause rot to the rafters and battens due to severely restricted ventilation[Vendor] Rafters are treated with to prevent rot, foam has been placed to enhance the structural capability of the roof coverings, ventilation to the area has been maintained, the roof was repointed and repaired at the time of the spray insulation. [Me] Are there any photos or documentation showing the work done in the roof space in general and the date of works? In particular how ventilation was maintained with foam being sprayed to the underside of the roof tiles and to what extent the roof was repaired/ repointed?[Vendor] Work to the roofing space was carried out 2008, I cannot locate documentation for the works at this time but if this is an issue I will endeavour to contact the company that undertook the works and ask them to provide.
The spray foam is only to the underside of the roof coverings, it in essence replaces the insulation normal required within the roof construction and assists in maintaining the roof coverings, the natural ventilation to the area through the eaves is maintained, the timbers to the loft area are not encased in the foam (the foam is placed between the rafters) to ensure that the timber can breathe. There is a membrane between the spray foam and the tiles to allow natural ventilation to occur. (for reference see image below.
The complete roof was repaired and repointing was carried out the chimney stack and the party wall above the roof coverings. The eaves and facia was also replaced with uPVC at that time and the existing gutter replaced.
Thanks in advance for any comments.