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

[Jimbo23]

Potential house purchase here. The vendors don't think there's any issue but one surveyor and several professional roofers seem to think there is (photographic evidence included). If there IS an issue, do we think a complete overhauling is required or could I get away with repairs?

Edited December 26, 2022 by Jimbo23

[Jimbo23]

More pics:

[Jimbo23]

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[Jimbo23]

LAST ONE:

 

 

[Redbeard]

You'd get longer out of it, almost certainly, but we cannot see the condition of the tiles. I am guessing circa 100 yrs old (?) - looks '20's - and I don't know the life of Rosemary clay tiles. Certainly I have seen some 'dying' in less than that time. My (slate - so almost certainly 'destined-for-a-longer-life' roof had, I reckoned, 5-10 years left when we moved in. 35 years (and a goodly bit of maintenance) later I reckon it's got 15-20 years. If you want 30 years and don't want to re-roof I suspect you might look elsewhere. If you want something which is not too bad, will last while you save the money and will improve a lot when you re-roof it then this may be for you.

[PeterW]

Get a new surveyor ..?? Photo 7 isn’t defective mortar on that chimney, it looks to be a substantive crack plus the outer edge is leaning suggesting the stack needs a strip and rebuild.

 

Breaking off on the back of old rosemary tiles is not unusual but the whole lot is looking tired. Would suggest 1920’s or 1930’s roof that would be better replaced however you say there is a party wall and stripping and redoing rosemary roof joints between houses isn’t the easiest to get right. 

[Jimbo23]

@redbeard You're correct,  1920s exactly.

 

15-20 years lifespan is fine. Does that mean leaving it completely alone or does that include repairs (i.e. re-add missing hip/ridge tiles, repointing etc)?

Edited December 26, 2022 by Jimbo23

[ProDave]

This is a house that clearly repairs and upgrades.  If you are happy with that, then go ahead.  If you are expecting a house to move into without needing any work, keep on looking.

 

Have you considered insulation?  EPC?  Ongoing heating costs or probably significant costs to upgrade and improve that aspect ?

[Jimbo23]

5 minutes ago, ProDave said:

This is a house that clearly repairs and upgrades.  If you are happy with that, then go ahead.  If you are expecting a house to move into without needing any work, keep on looking.

 

Have you considered insulation?  EPC?  Ongoing heating costs or probably significant costs to upgrade and improve that aspect ?

Hi @ProDave - thanks for your response!

 

Yes we don't mind minor-medium level repairs and upgrades etc.

 

And yes, insulation, EPC, ongoing heating costs are all a part of our thought process. That's just the thing in fact, we didn't really factor in major roof repairs ON TOP of the insulation/EPC changes we'd planned on making, until we saw the survey. That has added a potentially extra financial layer.

[Redbeard]

@Jimbo23 said:

 

''@redbeard You're correct,  1920s exactly.

 

15-20 years lifespan is fine. Does that mean leaving it completely alone or does that include repairs (i.e. re-add missing hip/ridge tiles, repointing etc)?''

 

The 15-20 years was my latest target for *my* (slate) roof. No, it's definitely not leaving it compeletely alone! I don't think any 100+ year-old roof can be expected to be fine if left alone for 15-20 years. Even if it's just minor fettling it will need some TLC.

 

My latest target for my roof is after a lot of trips up the roof. Till I started getting old I went up every year for a darn good look round. I cannot make a guess at yours from the pics, but you need to look at it critically, like you are *expecting* the tiles to be knackered. Let them prove to you if they are not. Appreciate you don't own it yet, but I think someone really needs to go up there to have any degree of certainty.

[jayc89]

Day light coming through your roof is caused by the torching coming away. It's not necessarily a problem in itself - you can see daylight without water ingress, sometimes. That being said, torching was used prior to felting. As the torching degrades you're likely to find more slipped/fallen slates etc. as they're solely reliant on the ageing nails keeping them in place. 

 

Certainly needs some work but, if you fancy it, torching is certainly DIY'able. 

 

Im my experience - when the torching goes it allows rain in, and if you have fibreglass insulation that moisture will ruin the insulation's thermal properties, meaning a chunk, if not all of the insulation will need replacing too. 

[Mr Punter]

If the tiles are OK you could just strip, felt, batten and relay the worst sections.

[Jimbo23]

14 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

If the tiles are OK you could just strip, felt, batten and relay the worst sections.

Do you know how much that should cost, roughly?

 

What about the insides, do they need much work?

[twice round the block]

Have you got someone that can do a drone survey for you? 

[Jimbo23]

5 hours ago, twice round the block said:

Have you got someone that can do a drone survey for you? 

 

No, but it's really funny you mention that because I was thinking go buying one myself for this very reason (and for internally).

[Jimbo23]

Quick question:

How susceptible am I to nests/pests etc with the roof in the current state? That's another obvious consideration for me. Even if I patch up the missing hip tiles, I'm guessing rodents can still get in wherever I can see daylight...