Roof problem

glitter123

We have a porch canopy above our front door. A month ago without any warning all the tiles fell off - in an avalanche effect, including all the battens, verges. To protect from rain we covered the whole area with plastic - the rest of the canopy(including the flashings are still intact). The porch was part of the original house built just over 20 years ago.

The insurance company sent a roof consultant to look. Their report stated that battens had only been fixed to the 2 centre rafters not the two outer, the fixing nails were quite small and roof pitch very steep. In their opinion the damage was due to poor workmanship and gradual process loss. Consequently they had rejected our claim.

He didnt inspect under the plastic covering just the debris we had retained (which clearly we would have been better off disposing of). No other property on our estate has suffered this fate and presumably the roof pitch was passed by building regulations at the time of constructions.

Is there anything we can do?

mchu6am4

Have rest of properties got the same porches - ie built at same time and by same builder? If it is then you have a case!

mara

If the porch is about 20 years old and you havent regulary maintained the property, in all honesty it does sound like a case of normal wear & tear which is not covered. What was the weather like when this happened? If there were storm conditions, you may be able to argue that the weather conditions contributed to the damage. It is still unlikely that the entire claim would be covered, but you might be able to get a contribution towards the costs.

Alternatively, you could get your own contractor out to provide a report on the condition of the porch/likely cause of damage.

glitter123

mara wrote: »

If the porch is about 20 years old and you havent regulary maintained the property, .

What sort of maintenance would you need to do on a pitched roof? How would you prevent all the tiles just slipping off if there's no prior evidence?

mara

In an ideal world, roofs should be given at the very least a visual expection every few years- if any tiles are starting to slip then get a builder to in to check the overall condition of the roof. Pretty much the same principal of getting your car serviced to fix potential problems before they cause severe damage. Easier said then done though, and most people just dont think of getting a house checked out.

glitter123

mara wrote: »

In an ideal world, roofs should be given at the very least a visual expection every few years- if any tiles are starting to slip then get a builder to in to check the overall condition of the roof. Pretty much the same principal of getting your car serviced to fix potential problems before they cause severe damage. Easier said then done though, and most people just dont think of getting a house checked out.

This is the problem though - there was no prior evidence and it would seem pretty extreme for the whole lot to come crashing down. As it is, my OH is fastidious about repairs and maintenance - he always notices the most minor things, which I wouldnt even see.

glitter123

mchu6am4 wrote: »

Have rest of properties got the same porches - ie built at same time and by same builder? If it is then you have a case!

Yes our estate is of about 80 detached 4 bed houses built by a major building company.

telly-addict

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but:

1. I can quite understand why the household insurers have declined the claim. It doesn't sound like an insured peril - storm, etc.
2. Your chances of successfully making a claim for defective workmanship against the original builders/developers are remote to say the least.

I'm afraid that you're going to end up bearing the loss. Suggest that you save yourself the pain of pursuing further and accept the inevitable now.

Sorry.