Flat roof help!

kzzhar0

Jeepers_Creepers said:

"I have been told that there flat roofs can be s nightmare and with the picture showing air bricks too they think that it could be leaking/have damp" - that sounds like laymen/friends talk and not a report from a survey! What does the actual survey say?

Yes it's not from the report, we've only just had the offer accepted so haven't done a survey yet but will wait and see what it says. I was really excited about having the offer accepted and this friend was really negative about it which put a bit of a downer on it! 

kzzhar0

Jeepers_Creepers said:

It's almost certainly as you say - it was the easy way to maintain headroom over as much of the bedroom as possible. 

Personally, I think it's stunning. I'm stunned.

(Only kidding - it ain't that bad, and could be made a feature using cedar cladding or summat, if wanted)

Anyhoo, are flat roofs bad? I hope not - we've just had one on our extension. Also, that roof area will not be large, so the worst case scenario would be a few £k for having it GRP'ed - if that's actually required. Is it?!

Products like ResTec FlexiTec 2020 (wot we had) can even be applied to existing surfaces and will be fully secure. 

Provided the existing roof is in decent order, you should have no concerns. If it isn't, factor in a recovering. 

And that vent brick is likely to vent the old garage roof void - so I'm not immediately concerned about that either; ie it doesn't 'suggest' there's an issue. 

I guess of more concern is whether the garage ceiling meets fire regs now that it has a habitable room above it?

Thank you this is all really helpful and good to know people are still building flat roofs and it should be ok. We are going to have another look at it this week so going to see how the temperature feels in that room, there are two radiators in there so hoping it's not too cold. Will have to inspect closely!

lincroft1710

I have seen thousands of extensions in my time and that ranks as one of the ugliest, it ruins what is quite an attractive house. The design looks very 1930s Modernist. Rebuilding it sympathetically will cost thousands but it would add even more thousands to the house's value. I would be putting the value of that house currently at little more than the value of an identical house without an extension.

kzzhar0

I've just had a look online and couldn't find the planning documents for it - is that legal?! 
It is ugly and we'd probably rebuild it eventually if there were no problems, do you think it's worth getting a local roofer to have a look at it and get us a quote?
Also - does anyone know what the deal is with getting a builder to come out to view a property with the idea of getting them to work on it for us? Do we have to know someone or can you ask someone that's been recommended? 

lincroft1710

kzzhar0 said:

I've just had a look online and couldn't find the planning documents for it - is that legal?! 
It is ugly and we'd probably rebuild it eventually if there were no problems, do you think it's worth getting a local roofer to have a look at it and get us a quote?
Also - does anyone know what the deal is with getting a builder to come out to view a property with the idea of getting them to work on it for us? Do we have to know someone or can you ask someone that's been recommended? 

There is no law that says planning documents have to be online! The extension could be so old that it predates online records or the relevant authority has not computerised all their planning applications. I dread to think of the state of mind of the planner(s) who passed that monstrosity, so it may never have been the subject of a planning application.

What is the point of getting a roofer in, if you plan to rebuild eventually, or a builder? Only if you are going to do work in the very near future, should you ask a tradesperson to view. It will need major work to make it blend in with the existing house. That extension needs thoroughly checking by your surveyor when he does your survey. The worst (or best) scenario would be complete (or near complete) demolition of the extension and subsequent rebuild. In any case budget for replacing the flat roof (perhaps a couple of thousand) if you don't intend doing major work on the extension.

kzzhar0

lincroft1710 said:

kzzhar0 said:

I've just had a look online and couldn't find the planning documents for it - is that legal?! 
It is ugly and we'd probably rebuild it eventually if there were no problems, do you think it's worth getting a local roofer to have a look at it and get us a quote?
Also - does anyone know what the deal is with getting a builder to come out to view a property with the idea of getting them to work on it for us? Do we have to know someone or can you ask someone that's been recommended? 

There is no law that says planning documents have to be online! The extension could be so old that it predates online records or the relevant authority has not computerised all their planning applications. I dread to think of the state of mind of the planner(s) who passed that monstrosity, so it may never have been the subject of a planning application.

What is the point of getting a roofer in, if you plan to rebuild eventually, or a builder? Only if you are going to do work in the very near future, should you ask a tradesperson to view. It will need major work to make it blend in with the existing house. That extension needs thoroughly checking by your surveyor when he does your survey. The worst (or best) scenario would be complete (or near complete) demolition of the extension and subsequent rebuild. In any case budget for replacing the flat roof (perhaps a couple of thousand) if you don't intend doing major work on the extension.

I was referring to there being no planning documents... But I guess maybe they're just not online if they're really old. 
Haha I think monstrosity is a bit of an exaggeration but each to their own! 
We are looking at extending the property anyway which is why we'd be getting a builder to look at it with us. 
Ok thank you, I guess we won't know whether it needs knocking down and rebuilding until an actual survey is done by someone who has actually seen the property. 

lincroft1710

If you are thinking of extending a house which already has a dodgy extension, wouldn't it be better to buy something already the size you are looking for? Extensions don't come cheap. 

kzzhar0

lincroft1710 said:

If you are thinking of extending a house which already has a dodgy extension, wouldn't it be better to buy something already the size you are looking for? Extensions don't come cheap. 

Understand your point but that's not what my initial post is about.
Any house we move into we are going to want to do work to to put our stamp on it as it's a home we will be in for years to come. Thanks for your input though. 

Jeepers_Creepers

Yes, as it stands, that is an ugly extension :-) From the front, tho', it's a pretty house.

If your future extension would be added to the 'ugly' side, then there's all the opportunity in the world to integrate the ugly original extension in the new design and come up with something completely acceptable; as I said before, this could involve cladding in all sorts of materials and colours - it'll just take a half decent architect.

Meanwhile, you can bet that the current 'look' will put off many buyers, so make sure the house is priced accordingly. 

If the extension is around 20 years old and if it's still the original flat roof covering in place and if that material is mineral felt, then almost certainly it'll be approaching the end of its life - if it hasn't already done so. Big deal - just factor in a recovering - a few £k. If the felt is 'sound' but starting to show deterioration, then get it cleaned and FlexiTec'd - again a few £k at most, but it won't need touching again for a couple of decades. If the roof is clearly lacking insulation, then double the sum in order to have it done properly. (But don't get fixated on conforming to current standards unless you are obliged to - anything you add will make it great. Anything over say 100mm Celotex-type insulation gives virtually zero extra benefit, and that 100mm will already make it the best insulated ceiling in the house...)

In other words, don't let the flat roof put you off - just wait for the survey and factor the result in to your offer. 

What is it about this house that attracts you (I mean apart from its general attractiveness from most elevations, the nice corner plot, the bright sunny aspect, etc).  Is it good value for the space offered? It must have something that appeals when compared to others? Is it keenly priced?

couriervanman

God that's horrendous