New roof affecting value of neighbour's house?

Fijay

My house is an 85 year old semi-detached with its original roof.  In the loft, I can see specks of light coming through between the tiles.  My adjoining neighbour and I had talked in the past about having the roofs replaced at the same time, but she has evaded having it done.  Roofer came to deal with hip tiles that had slipped and mortar fallen out between them during the recent storm.  He used a drone to look at the roof, but when the scaffolding was up and the work just started, he told me they were having problems with tiles breaking and, whilst they could deal with just the hip tiles, I needed a new roof sooner rather than later.  I asked if it was ok just to do my roof as the new battens will be higher than the original and hence the new tiles would be too and the roofs are built as one in regard to tiling.  He said they deal with this and no, it won't leak through the join, but my neighbour's roof needed doing too.

She said no, so I said to my roofer, carry on.  She now tells me her son (aged 40) has been told that there will be a leak where the roofs join and she's not happy.  (There is another quibble, which is appropriate for a different part of the forum).  I pointed out I'd already raised this with my roofer, but she is still doubtful and unhappy.  We have always got on well and I really do not want to fall out with her.  Is it, as she seems to think, inevitable that there will be a leak where my part of the roof meets hers?  Any comments please?

Fijay

Messed this up and can't see where to edit - sorry.  She is convinced that a surveyor for a potential purchaser isn't going to notice her roof is in poor shape and a potential purchaser will think there's something wrong with her roof if I have a new one.  The result will be this will £20,000 off her value (my roof is costing £9,000).  Again, any comments advice please?

user1977

Sounds a load of rubbish to me - perfectly commonplace for the different halves of a semi to get their roofs replaced at different times. Yes, it might highlight to her buyers that her roof is older than yours - but that's not going to change the objective market value - it's the same roof.

FreeBear

Fijay said: She is convinced that a surveyor for a potential purchaser isn't going to notice her roof is in poor shape and a potential purchaser will think there's something wrong with her roof if I have a new one.  The result will be this will £20,000 off her value (my roof is costing £9,000).  Again, any comments advice please?

If the next purchaser wants a £20K reduction because of the roof, that is her problem, not yours. She has the opportunity to have her roof done at the same time as you (but not necessarily the funds).

The roofer should be able to slip a strip of felt or lead under her tiles to act as a hidden soaker - If done right, she will not get any leaks from that section of the roof.

Oh, and a bit of advice for you. Do not have a dry ridge system installed - They just don't last. In getting a few quotes for my roof, several roofers were telling me they had loads of call outs to fix ridge tiles after the last couple of storms. They were all dry ridge systems...

youth_leader

I lost the flat roof off my lounge/kitchen in Storm Arwen and had a lot of difficulty getting the insurance company to pay, but luckily it was only two years old, and they finally settled.  Looking a TrustPilot they had refused a lot of roof damage claims due to 'lack of maintenance'.

Your neighbour sounds around my age, I'm 65.  I'd encourage her to get a loan and get her roof replaced at the same time. If we continue to have stormy weather with wind speeds like Arwen - mine was 78 mph - the insurance company won't pay her as it hasn't been maintained.

[Deleted User]

Fijay said:

Messed this up and can't see where to edit - sorry.  She is convinced that a surveyor for a potential purchaser isn't going to notice her roof is in poor shape and a potential purchaser will think there's something wrong with her roof if I have a new one.  The result will be this will £20,000 off her value (my roof is costing £9,000).  Again, any comments advice please?

I mean, that's true isn't it? Her roof does need replacing and people will of course expect a discount.

That's her problem, it's not your fault. The fact that yours was fixed makes no difference, any buyer is likely to notice that kind of thing regardless if what you do.

Section62

Fijay said:

She now tells me her son (aged 40) has been told that there will be a leak where the roofs join and she's not happy.  (There is another quibble, which is appropriate for a different part of the forum).  I pointed out I'd already raised this with my roofer, but she is still doubtful and unhappy.  We have always got on well and I really do not want to fall out with her.  Is it, as she seems to think, inevitable that there will be a leak where my part of the roof meets hers?  Any comments please?

It isn't inevitable that there will be leaks at the join between your roof and hers, but it depends entirely on the join being correctly detailed and executed.

What building control/building regulations involvement have you got?  This is the best way of assuring the neighbour that both the design and execution of the work on your roof won't cause them problems with leakage.

For your own protection, you also need to ensure the weight of the replacement roof covering doesn't exceed the capacity of the roof structure, and that the roofer doesn't muck up the insulation and ventilation arrangements.

Fijay

Section62 said:

Fijay said:

She now tells me her son (aged 40) has been told that there will be a leak where the roofs join and she's not happy.  (There is another quibble, which is appropriate for a different part of the forum).  I pointed out I'd already raised this with my roofer, but she is still doubtful and unhappy.  We have always got on well and I really do not want to fall out with her.  Is it, as she seems to think, inevitable that there will be a leak where my part of the roof meets hers?  Any comments please?

It isn't inevitable that there will be leaks at the join between your roof and hers, but it depends entirely on the join being correctly detailed and executed.

What building control/building regulations involvement have you got?  This is the best way of assuring the neighbour that both the design and execution of the work on your roof won't cause them problems with leakage.

For your own protection, you also need to ensure the weight of the replacement roof covering doesn't exceed the capacity of the roof structure, and that the roofer doesn't muck up the insulation and ventilation arrangements.

Thank  you.  I'll raise these points with the roofer.

Section62

Fijay said:

Section62 said:

It isn't inevitable that there will be leaks at the join between your roof and hers, but it depends entirely on the join being correctly detailed and executed.

What building control/building regulations involvement have you got?  This is the best way of assuring the neighbour that both the design and execution of the work on your roof won't cause them problems with leakage.

For your own protection, you also need to ensure the weight of the replacement roof covering doesn't exceed the capacity of the roof structure, and that the roofer doesn't muck up the insulation and ventilation arrangements.

Thank  you.  I'll raise these points with the roofer.

So are building control already involved in the project?  From your description of the work I'd say it very likely requires approval.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/roof/building-regulations-re-roofing

If nothing has been done so far in relation to BR I'd be sceptical if the roofer says the work doesn't need approval, and seek independent advice.

Fijay

The roofer is local and has a good repuation.  He did say something about him dealing with all the paperwork, but I'm afraid I didn't question it or really take it in so will double check with him.  Thank you.