Is this roof in need of fixing, if yes how much?

James_D

Hi there, I'm about to make an offer on a terraced house in London that will need an overhaul. The first thing I think I'd want to tackle if I secured it is the exterior / roof. Can anyone tell me how serious a problem these loose roof tiles might be, and any idea of how much it might cost (London prices) / if it is something I should look to tackling immediately if I end up with the place?

I'm also concerned that the piece at the front of the roof supporting the guttering seems to be sagging ... although judging from the roof tiles it might have had work done to it quite recently?

Thanks in advance!

stuart45

It's difficult to see exactly from the photo, but it looks like the verge has a couple of courses of oversailing bricks to form a corbel, and then a tile undercloak. Looks like the tiles have come away and bent down the lead soakers 
It does need to be repaired, but in London could easily be £500 or more.
Worth getting a few estimates.
Does look an odd method of construction having that bay roof right next to the verge.

James_D

stuart45 said:

It's difficult to see exactly from the photo, but it looks like the verge has a couple of courses of oversailing bricks to form a corbel, and then a tile undercloak. Looks like the tiles have come away and bent down the lead soakers 
It does need to be repaired, but in London could easily be £500 or more.
Worth getting a few estimates.
Does look an odd method of construction having that bay roof right next to the verge.

It is quite a long road, and each house along it have the same construction. Agreed a little out of the ordinary from what I've seen at least.

£500 isn't so bad. If anyone thinks it might be a bigger job, please do chime in!

stuart45

£500 is really an optimistic starting point. Could easily be a lot more, depending on what has caused the undercloak to fall away.

stuart45

Looking at it again, it looks more like it has bricks forming the undercloak, which may be why it's failed as they don't have the support that further up the verge has.

FreeBear

stuart45 said:

£500 is really an optimistic starting point. Could easily be a lot more, depending on what has caused the undercloak to fall away.

I would say that £500 would just about cover the cost of scaffolding. In London, I'd suggest £2K would be closer to the mark as long as there isn't any serious underlying structural issues.

James_D

stuart45 said:

Looking at it again, it looks more like it has bricks forming the undercloak, which may be why it's failed as they don't have the support that further up the verge has.

FreeBear said:

stuart45 said:

£500 is really an optimistic starting point. Could easily be a lot more, depending on what has caused the undercloak to fall away.

I would say that £500 would just about cover the cost of scaffolding. In London, I'd suggest £2K would be closer to the mark as long as there isn't any serious underlying structural issues.

Thanks both .. on that note, what damage could be lurking underneath that caused the visible damage do you think, if we were being pessimistic?

FreeBear

Absolute worst case - There is a timber bressumer beam just above the bay opening that has rotted and the gable is collapsing. If this were the case, the ceiling internally would be heavily cracked or falling down - As I say, absolute worse case.

In all probability, heavily weathered mortar coupled with storm damage from recent high winds.

James_D

FreeBear said:

Absolute worst case - There is a timber bressumer beam just above the bay opening that has rotted and the gable is collapsing. If this were the case, the ceiling internally would be heavily cracked or falling down - As I say, absolute worse case.

In all probability, heavily weathered mortar coupled with storm damage from recent high winds.

Well that sounds absolutely terrifying! I did ask for a pessimistic view I suppose. Luckily there is no sign at all of any cracking near the bay, so hopefully its not that!

stuart45

FreeBear said:

stuart45 said:

£500 is really an optimistic starting point. Could easily be a lot more, depending on what has caused the undercloak to fall away.

I would say that £500 would just about cover the cost of scaffolding. In London, I'd suggest £2K would be closer to the mark as long as there isn't any serious underlying structural issues.

I was thinking in terms of the lower end of the market. I know a few lads who would still repair the verge of the ladder, providing it's a simple repair.
With a scaff then obviously the price is higher.

stuart45

James_D said:

FreeBear said:

Absolute worst case - There is a timber bressumer beam just above the bay opening that has rotted and the gable is collapsing. If this were the case, the ceiling internally would be heavily cracked or falling down - As I say, absolute worse case.

In all probability, heavily weathered mortar coupled with storm damage from recent high winds.

Well that sounds absolutely terrifying! I did ask for a pessimistic view I suppose. Luckily there is no sign at all of any cracking near the bay, so hopefully its not that!

Looks to me like it could be down to a poor design. Might be as simple as whipping out about 20 bricks and rebedding them and pointing up the verge. Where the bricks have failed could be due to them overhanging too much and sitting partially on the mortar covering the flashing.
If you can find someone prepared to work off the ladder it will be much cheaper.