Foam in roof - thoughts?

breaking_free

Hi all. 

I'm buying a freehold house and just received these certificates from my conveyancer. I did a quick Google on the company warmroof and it states that they are "permanently closed".

Should I be worried and what would you do?

user1977

What's the second certificate for? Presumably not related to the Warmroof installation given Warmroof Systems Limited went into administration several years earlier.

What has your surveyor said about the roof/loft?

AdrianC

The first guarantee is that Warmroof Systems Ltd will fix certain probs for 25yrs from the 2008 install date... providing £240 is paid to transfer the warranty.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03163116
Warmroof Systems Ltd no longer exist, since 2013.
(There was also a Warm Roof Systems Ltd, from 2017 to 2019, also now dissolved - a separate company)
The warranty does not appear to be backed by anybody other than the now-defunct Warmroof Systems Ltd.

It's a useless piece of paper.

The second is 10 years from October 2013, so only has two years left. It doesn't say what the limited company was. There is, and has been, no "Nationwide EnergySeal Ltd" or "Nationwide Energy Seal Ltd". There are umpteen variants on the name.
It appears to just guarantee the products used against manufacturing defect, not the workmanship in applying them. It is voided without an annual inspection (can you prove they've taken place?) and by anybody else working on the roof.

It is similarly useless.

Your biggest issue is likely to be that the roof foam exists in the first place.

canaldumidi

AdrianC said:

.
Your biggest issue is likely to be that the roof foam exists in the first place.

This /\.

Find a property without foam.

breaking_free

AdrianC 

Your biggest issue is likely to be that the roof foam exists in the first place.

This may well be the case. Is there any type of surveyor who specialises in inspecting this stuff so I can get a professional opinion?

FreeBear

AdrianC said: Your biggest issue is likely to be that the roof foam exists in the first place.

If it is indeed that spray foam stuff sticking like poo to everything up in the loft, either negotiate a substantial reduction in price (something in the region of £40K) or walk away. It is possible that the mortgage provider will refuse to lend on the property until the stuff has been removed and any damage caused is repaired.

Although.... If that Nationwide Energy Seal guarantee is for a waterproofing agent slapped on the walls & tiles, you'd be best running away now before spending any more money on the legal stuff. Bricks & tiles do not need "waterproofing", and if anything, can trap moisture within causing them to spall in time. Oh, and the final paragraph of that guarantee locks the client in to a 10 year contract with the company and renders it void if anyone else so much as looks at the roof.

AdrianC

breaking_free said:

AdrianC 

Your biggest issue is likely to be that the roof foam exists in the first place.

This may well be the case. Is there any type of surveyor who specialises in inspecting this stuff so I can get a professional opinion?

The problem isn't with the foam, it's with the roof timbers - which can't be seen BECAUSE of the foam. If water gets in, then the foam will hold it against the timbers, rotting them - but you have no way of knowing.

Ref44

OP get youself to the Waiting to Exchange topic; there have a couple of recent threads on just this issue. One includes details of one of the very few comapnies that will work on this stuff.

breaking_free

^ Cheers Ref44 will do.
If anyone's interested I don't require a mortgage as I've got the money from my previous sale to fully cover the cost of this purchase.

canaldumidi

breaking_free said:

^ Cheers Ref44 will do.
If anyone's interested I don't require a mortgage as I've got the money from my previous sale to fully cover the cost of this purchase.

....which can be a disadvantage in cases like this. A lender refusing to lend protects you as well as them from potentially damaging purchase. And remember that although you might have no difficulty buying, using cash, when you come to sell in future your buyers might have problems with their mortgage.....

FreeBear

canaldumidi said:  And remember that although you might have no difficulty buying, using cash, when you come to sell in future your buyers might have problems with their mortgage.....

There are a number of lenders already refusing to lend, so it is quite likely that others will follow in the future. I think it safe to say, future buyers will have problems getting a mortgage.