Cost of roof strengthening - possible cause of cracked render

kelleth

My home buyers report has recommended a destructive investigation into a vertical crack in pebbledash render on the side of a victorian terrace.

Does anyone know how much this could cost and whether I could get the seller to pay for any of it?

The report also said the roof needs strengthening due to the old slate tiles being replaced by concrete one's at some point in the past - what would this involve?

GDB2222

Your seller will probably not allow any destructive testing.

You'd need an engineer to specify how much strengthening the roof needs. I imagine that your sellers will say that the roof has been fine for many years, so this is your surveyor just covering his butt.

rpc

kelleth wrote: »

The report also said the roof needs strengthening due to the old slate tiles being replaced by concrete one's at some point in the past - what would this involve?

For me, this would involve walking away unless they have a report from the time that covers it.

It depends a lot on the roof structure, I have seen some solutions costing a few £k and others costing £10k-£20k. If there's already been damage done and the walls are bowing out, it could be a lot worse.

I *think* (but I'm not sure) building regs approval will also be needed. It should have been obtained when the work was done if the weight increase exceeded a certain amount.

kelleth

Thanks - to be honest I wish I had gone straight for the full structural survey in the first instance as the HBR seems so vague and leaves so many questions unanswered

anselld

Sounds like surveyor suspects "roof spread", i.e. the roof sags a bit under the additional weight of the tiles, pushes the supporting walls out, resulting in crack in the gable end.

It can normally be rectified (at least as far as further movement is concerned) by fitting extra timbers inside the roof.

Probably best to speak to the surveyor and ask exactly what remedial work he thinks is needed and then get some quotations.