Problems after completion

Doozergirl

The description of a "New roof" would rarely mean complete new timbers. You'd really be talking complete dereliction of the house for that to be required or some major long term structural issue.

"New roof" is a colloquialism for a new roof covering. "New roof" can also often mean reusing the old tiles, perhaps mixing in new ones with old cracked or broken ones. It can also mean using completely reclaimed tiles.

There is a perception on this board that no one ever needs a new roof (there's certainly no questions asked to delve deeper into individual circumstances) and I am not sure where that comes from. Patching roofs up is simply a way of delaying the inevitable. There often isn't an easy way to patch and there are subsequent knock on effects of the actual patching, particularly with slate roofs, that help the slippery slope to replacement. The tiles around the area start to move around, spreading problems wider.

There's also often a lot of unseen rotten timbers under there caused by those little leaks that appear over time and damp that can run right down to the ground floor level via the chimney breasts.

You'd be shocked at the sight of previous 'repairs' when you're actually up on a roof. Silicone sealant is a popular tool or lead arranged to deflecting water away from a problem.

Fair enough if people don't replace their roofs, but being glib about a roof you've not seen or someone's decision to invest in a roof that won't need touching again in their lifetime isn't based on anything much logical.

Surveyors can actually see very little indeed from ground level to make any kind of detailed assessment. If their assessment is a poor one from the ground, the reality isn't going to be much better.

Davesnave

Doozergirl wrote: »

Fair enough if people don't replace their roofs, but being glib about a roof you've not seen or someone's decision to invest in a roof that won't need touching again in their lifetime isn't based on anything much logical.

Surveyors can actually see very little indeed from ground level to make any kind of detailed assessment. If their assessment is a poor one from the ground, the reality isn't going to be much better.

To be fair, the OP is part-questioning whether they were given poor advice from the surveyor and the answer is none of us knows, or will ever know. We don't even know the level of survey.

However, we're told it's a doer-upper, so it's entirely logical that work should start at the roof.

I refurbished the 40 year old roof covering on my property, re-using the tiles, because it wasn't up to a good standard for mounting solar panels. I agree, replacing one 3x times older is unlikely to be a waste of money.


I have amended my first post to make the meaning clearer.

AnotherJoe

I agree,I had a "roof replaced" on my first house (after the surveyor failed to notice the issue). Tiles were slipping, which you might think meant replace a tile or two but the fundamental problem was the nails used to fix them were rusting through and as they were all done at the same time they were all starting to go, so it was either continual replacement or get it all done in one go.

moneyistooshorttomention

By "roof replacement" on my last house (the Victorian one) I mean all the old slates taken off and binned. They were all replaced with completely new slates. I vaguely recall being told that the nails had had it and I knew I'd had a couple of cheapie repairs (ie just a couple of slates or so replaced) between getting the house and that complete replacement. Once a small patch of slates "went" on me at once and water was coming through into one of my bedrooms straight through the ceiling - then I knew the roof had just "failed completely" and the whole lot had to go NOW.

In the course of this - roof felt was put there and one "bit of wood" (joist?) was replaced and ventilation "thingies" put in the slates at intervals.

It was pretty clear to me (even as a non-professional) that I could see that a lot of houses on that street had had their roofs replaced over recent years and I could see mine was still an original one. So I could see myself that the house was going to need a new one at some point before forever.

So - I guess the moral of that story is "What are neighbouring roofs like on similar age houses?" and one can get some sort of idea from that about one's own roof.

csgohan4

Unlucky OP, I found a leaking bathroom sink had completely soaked the kitchen ceiling one morning and found out the hard way.

On closer inspection you could see the vendor had just painted over the yellowing of previous water damage.

It's life I'm afraid.