Would lack of flat roof guarantee put you off?

dai_bach

Hi everyone,
Hoping to see what peoples thoughts would be in this situation as a potential buyer of our house...

We need to replace an old (15+ yrs at a guess) felt flat roof on our garage/utility (joined onto the side of the house). We've had a few quotes in and all are coming in at £4-£4.5k and they all of course come with a "guarantee". Now, I'm personally not sure if these guarantees are worth the paper they are written on as I know my parents had issues years ago trying to make a claim... maybe things have improved since then, I don't know. Anyway, my question is: as a potential buyer would you be put off buying a house if we didn't have a guarantee for the new roof?

I am weighing up the idea of DIY'ing the roof with EPDM. I'm fairly capable with DIY and would have help from family (covid rules permitting) so I'm confident in completing the job to a good standard, but of course it won't then come with a guarantee. We are planning to sell in the next couple of years and if I DIY we are obviously looking at significant savings on the job.

One other alternative option - we had a 'traditional' roofer come and have a look and he offered us a price to replace the damaged boards and re-felt the whole roof for a reasonable price. But again, not sure how keen buyers would be to have a new felt roof, which I highly doubt will come with any sort of guarantee as he is a one man band. But I guess at least in this case you know it would have been done by a professional and not a DIY job.

Just looking to see what the general consensus on here would be...

Cheers!

davidmcn

Doubt it matters a great deal, people will be more interested in the current condition and how long they reckon until it needs done again.

ProDave

Don't replace with felt, lousy short term not fit for purpose.

Edpm or even better fibreglass.

greatcrested

Either DIY the job, and any future buyer (or their surveyor) will assess the conditon of the roof and gamble on how long it will last. Not unusual. Most roofs do not have warranties and are judged on their condition.

Or pay a reputable roofer and get not just a warranty from the roofer, but an insurance-backed one that will pay out if the roofer goes out of business. That will be a plus both for you (if the roof starts leaking), and for any future buyer.