roof sagging on survet

smith1987_2

Hi all, I am currently in the process of buying a new house but the survey had come back as roof sagging and inadequate support but only as essential work needed and they have gave a price of 2k are the surveyers normally right on the price and is it a big job? What causes the roof to sag? And will it happen again if work is done? This has put me off buying but really like the house, if anyone can give some information that would be great! The house was built aprox 1946 and is a semi detatched with original roof tiles

propertyman

Call the surveyor and ask what they had in mind of terms of repair that would cost £2K

It might simply be a few support to the joists or purlins, which properly installed and sized might be done " DIY"..

smith1987_2

Thanks for getting back to me. That was picked up on the basic survey and I'm now waiting for the home buyers report which should go into more depth?

propertyman

smith1987 wrote: »

Thanks for getting back to me. That was picked up on the basic survey and I'm now waiting for the home buyers report which should go into more depth?

Again call the surveyor and ask them to take a specific look at this issue.

While it is tedious to accompany a surveyor while inspecting, for both parties, you might arrange to meet towards the end of their time there.

motherofstudents

As propertyman says, speak to the surveyor. In my experience they generally overestimate costs but if you get to know from him/her what work is needed, you can then get quotes. There could be several reasons for it happening, are the roof tiles concrete ? Sometimes roof slates or tiles are replaced with heavier ones which could be a factor. The roof may have been constructed without all the timbers being tied to each other, ie the rafters not attached to the joists or similar. I would suspect you can get the work done for less but you may as well use the surveyor's finding to try to negotiate with the vendor and see if they will contribute.

renovation_man

As already mentioned it could be due to the weight, when slates are replaced by heavier concrete tiles. The answer is normally installing some strengthers by putting trimmers to roof rafters so they would look like an A frames and vertical timber struts to connect the rafters to the joists.

A more serious problem could be if the rafters have slipped off the eve wallplate due to weight or decay the report should be specific to the problem.

smith1987_2

Thanks all for the comments I will get intouch with the surveyer 2moro and find out exactly what's up and get back to u. Thanks again uve been a great help

smith1987_2

the home buyers report says roof timbers need support and in the very near future a complete re-cover....how much would this cost?

Yorkie1

smith1987 wrote: »

the home buyers report says roof timbers need support and in the very near future a complete re-cover....how much would this cost?

I don't understand your question.

In your first post you said that the surveyor had already told you it would be about £2K, and in your later posts you said that you were going to call the surveyor to discuss this in more detail.

Surely you already have the answer to your question?

smith1987_2

Well no because I know its gonna cost 2k to strengthen the timber frame but not sure on how much a complete re roof

propertyman

smith1987 wrote: »

Well no because I know its gonna cost 2k to strengthen the timber frame but not sure on how much a complete re roof

Ok that's clear; did the surveyor give an indication as the cost of recovering the roof?