Garage (in a separate block) concrete roof and rotted door posts

tniMXunil

So, my mother is elderly and in poor health and she recently asked me to check the garage, which lives in a separate row near her flat. She never uses it and I honestly can't remember the last time anyone opened the door. When I tried I managed to get the door open, but both posts are rotten and need replacing. More worrying is the state the concrete roof is in. The felt on the front 1/4 is gone, and about 1/2 of the roof has crumbling concrete under the felt. The good news is that there is solid concrete under that 'rubble' and there is no sign of damp in the garage. The bad news, apart from the overall state of it, is that the garages on either side are in the same or worse condition. The ones immediately adjoining my mother's are rented out and the owner of one is in Australia, so I have zero chance of persuading neighbours to have their garage roof repaired all at the same time. Isolating my mother's is going to be tricky...



My mother is obviously on limited income (disability pension) and I am a single dad, recently out of a very protracted divorce, so funds are not exactly abundant.

What are the realistic options ?

If it means saving towards a repair that will be long term, that is what I will do. I don't want to throw money at something that won't last five minutes only to have to rinse and repeat at some point in the near future.

Thoughts very much appreciated.

Thanks for looking

daivid

Remove anything of value. If the neighbouring garage owners are not forthcoming to chip in for repairs then it will end up expensive for you - either coughing up for the whole cost, or spending time and money to persuade them to chip in. Pointless fixing just the roof above one garage only. Do you have a need of the garage that makes it worth repairing?

twopenny

Would it help looking at the deeds to see how the responsibility is laid out? It's surprising what can be in there.

I'd be inclined to repair the posts as that's a simple job and not expensive. You and a friend might be able to do it.

I wonder if it's possible to repair the roof too just over your mothers part. A temporary fix could make it waterproof, stop the decay and hold for years. It's not a huge area. The steel mesh doesn't seem to be in the decayed part. Available from builders merchants.

Some BMerchants have a membership card that gives you a discount too though the materials aren't expensive.

Enough time to be able to relax and if the occasion should arise that your mother needs to sell it should help fetch a good value if the garage looks half decent.

tniMXunil

Thanks for the replies.
I will price up materials and options for the roof and see if I can rope in a willing accomplice to help with the door posts.

couriervanman

Both posts could be cut out 1/3rd  of the way up.new timber inserted/fixed to brickwork,give all wood a good sand down/filled primed/painted.The garage door just needs a good wash/scrub/sand followed by primer/paint,all you need is 1 tin of primer which treats wood & metal,any gloss paint that works on metal and wood (any old paint you find in garage might do) 2 metre piece of wood and a cheap tube of sealant.
It may sound daft but once all the wood is cut out/sanded/primed etc it will look half decent, as for the roof if its not leaking inside just leave it because garages either side will eventually start having problems and the owners will be keen to sort the roof out together.

tniMXunil

Thanks again everyone - a local roofer repaired to roof to a high standard and for an acceptable cost so that's all taken care of. Just need to get the posts sorted out now, and then sand and paint the door