Buying older house - advice following survey

Nathan80

The property isn’t listed and the roof has been overhauled previously however it seems that second hand tiles were used which may now be causing some of the problems now. The surveyer mentioned some spalling tiles, different profile tiles and some cracked tiles, along with moss on roof and debris and mortar in gulleys. We are currently awaiting a quote for remedial works and also for full roof repair - will wait and see the outcome from this.

dunstonh

The surveyer mentioned some spalling tiles, different profile tiles and some cracked tiles, along with moss on roof and debris and mortar in gulleys.

Snap (apart from cracked). Par for the course with old properties. Easily sorted under routine maintenance and monitoring. Nothing scary there. In our case a few of our 150 year old tiles are showing signs of minor spalling. Surveyer believes that several will probably need replacing in the next decade costing around £1k. And whilst up there, probably take advantage of the tower scaffold to replace some others as the scaffold is the main cost.

Guttering had leaves and some grass growing in it. Moss on some sides of the building near the trees. Recommendation from surveyor was to get the guttering cleaned once a year.

The fear from a list of potential issues is often greater than the actual cost to get them sorted.

Is it just a handful of tiles showing signs of spalling or a lot?
Is the spalling in an advanced stage or just early indications.

Stephbaker

Such an informative post by Davsnave. Really liked how you have talked about everything mentioned in the question and been so informative. I guess some work is needed wherever you move but be cautious sometimes it can just be somebody trying get some money outta you by selling you fake information. All the best for the new place

Davesnave

Stephbaker wrote: »

Such an informative post by Davsnave.

...who, if he's honest, will admit that much of what he's learned came via this forum and 'In My Home.'

Madmel

Another old house owner here. Ours dates from sometime in the 17th century. Well, the front part does. There was a large extension added at the back in around 1880. it is not listed.

We had a full structural survey from an independent RICS surveyor done before we bought it. The surveyor spent 3 days here `(there is a lot to survey) and rang me before sending his report. From the nature of his call, you would think the place was about to tumble to the ground. No foundations at the front, damp, evidence of woodworm etc. etc. I thought ok, it's been a good investment of nearly £2k if it saves an expensive mistake. He then said that if I was his daughter, he wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as everything was liveable with or fixable. If he had been 20 years younger and over this side of the county, he'd be fighting me for it! We bought it.

Yes there have been innumerable issues. But as others have said, many stem from poor decisions over the last few decades. The house is built from cob at the front - rocks and mud with added straw apparently. It needs a lime mortar and lime render. That hadn't been done correctly, hence the damp as normal living condensation could not vent properly. Now we have addressed that, things are better.

8 years after we moved in we had all the Victorian part re-roofed. I have a friend whose son is a roofer so his boss came to look and quote. He gave me the addresses and contact details of previous customers so I could have a look at his work. The scaffolding required was not cheap but they did a great job.

Sometimes, it looks overwhelming, but I look at our house and think it's been standing since the days of the Stuart kings, so I'm confident it has a few more years left.