Survey disputed by vendors

bris

G_M wrote: »

But equally the sellers have used 'an architect friend'! So potential bias on both sides!

Yes definitely, I am not saying one or the other is right or wrong, just that an independant point of view is needed.

Ulfar

darkpool wrote: »

looking at this issue from the vendors eyes i'd be suspicous of any survey produced by a family member of the potential house purchaser. be honest it does shout bias.

regarding the cracks that could be related to the roof, tbh that sounds like bull5hit to me. i don't see the difference in weight between concrete and slate tiles being enough to cause cracks in the rest of the house.

Unfortunate in this you are incorrect clay roof tiles weigh much more than slate. You can see lots of examples of where clay tiles have been put on a roof without proper support in that they start to sag in the middle, while quite minor at first it only gets worse until the roof has to be replaced again and done properly.

bris

Ulfar wrote: »

Unfortunate in this you are incorrect clay roof tiles weigh much more than slate. You can see lots of examples of where clay tiles have been put on a roof without proper support in that they start to sag in the middle, while quite minor at first it only gets worse until the roof has to be replaced again and done properly.

Have you been up on the vendors roof? have you been in their attic? Have you seen the problem and can tell the extent of the damage. If you have not then you can't say what the problem is can you.

darkpool

yeah i agree that the wood joists will sag if you put a heavier tile on them. But why would the heavier tiles cause cracks elsewhere in the house?

Ulfar

bris wrote: »

Have you been up on the vendors roof? have you been in their attic? Have you seen the problem and can tell the extent of the damage. If you have not then you can't say what the problem is can you.

I am going by the information the op has supplied and the feedback from his surveyor, no I cannot be entirely sure without seeing for myself but the op asked on a forum for opinions.

I have given my opinion of one cause of problems with a roof, one which is quite common. What is clear from the information that has been provided is the vendor has altered the roof and botched the job in whatever way, I would walk.

Ulfar

darkpool wrote: »

yeah i agree that the wood joists will sag if you put a heavier tile on them. But why would the heavier tiles cause cracks elsewhere in the house?

A heavier roof can cause cracks because the roof is supported by the walls.

darkpool

ehhhmmm i work as a civil engineer. in my opinion it would be extremely unlikely for cracks to be caused by a slightly heavier roof. you might be increasing the overall weight of the house by 1% or so. It's just not enough weight increase to be causing cracks throughout the house.

The only reason I can think that a heavier roof would cause cracks in a wall is that the heavier roof causes lateral (sideways) movement at the top of the walls. If this was the case you would see horizontal cracks at the top of the wall. If this was the case it would be fairly self evident that the roof tiles were causing the trouble.