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

James_D

stuart45 said:

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.

Thanks! If I do secure the house I'll be sure to ask around for someone willing and able.

stuart45

A lot of builders will tell you that it can't be done off a ladder, or that they won't do it like that, which is fair enough. Now I'm older I would want a scaffold myself, although it might be possible to stick the tower up there.
As regards the work with a scaffold I reckon it would take me about half a day to whip out the bricks, relay the new ones, possibly set them back a bit and bed on an undercloak board and fill in. 
 Couple of hours next day to finish pointing up. Gives you an idea of what you should be paying. 
This is of course the best case scenario, the brickwork below could be damaged, as could be the leadwork.
Working off the ladders would take a bit longer.

James_D

stuart45 said:

A lot of builders will tell you that it can't be done off a ladder, or that they won't do it like that, which is fair enough. Now I'm older I would want a scaffold myself, although it might be possible to stick the tower up there.
As regards the work with a scaffold I reckon it would take me about half a day to whip out the bricks, relay the new ones, possibly set them back a bit and bed on an undercloak board and fill in. 
 Couple of hours next day to finish pointing up. Gives you an idea of what you should be paying. 
This is of course the best case scenario, the brickwork below could be damaged, as could be the leadwork.
Working off the ladders would take a bit longer.

This is good to know. However I went back and took a closer look at the facade today .. doesn't look good. Found more issues below the roof. Any thoughts on these? Seems to need quite a bit of repointing work on these bricks above the windows that seem to be sagging and crumbling, and I'm quite concerned about the gap appearing between the brickwork and window frame as well as some of the cracks generally ... is this a sign of something rather expensive to fix structurally do you think ?? The inside walls and ceiling don't seem to show any sign of damage, it's just to the exterior (from what can be seen at least).

Thanks again for taking the time to advise, greatly appreciated! 



 

stuart45

It looks a lot worse in the latest photos. Looks like the bay has suffered some excessive movement which has caused the arches to fail and probably the brickwork at the verge. I would guess that the front of the brickwork of the bay is starting to lean out.

James_D

stuart45 said:

It looks a lot worse in the latest photos. Looks like the bay has suffered some excessive movement which has caused the arches to fail and probably the brickwork at the verge. I would guess that the front of the brickwork of the bay is starting to lean out.

It doesn't look good for sure. Do you think a decent surveyor would be able to find out what the cause is if I proceeded and got a good one in to look? 

stuart45

Structural engineer would be better.  Cause is probably inadequate foundations, but the SE would give you an idea of the remedial work required and costs. It does look like the bay is pulling away from the house.
There would be a certain amount of rebuilding including the arches.

James_D

stuart45 said:

Structural engineer would be better.  Cause is probably inadequate foundations, but the SE would give you an idea of the remedial work required and costs. It does look like the bay is pulling away from the house.
There would be a certain amount of rebuilding including the arches.

Sounds sensible. Although, while I'm all for getting stuck in to some restoration work that sort of structural issue might be just beyond what I'd be prepared to take on, so I may well just pass on this property completely.

stuart45

Would depend.on the price of the property as well. Could need underpinning under the bay. Lots of bay windows older houses have this problem, but that type of arch fails easier than a lintel with movement.
At least you can pull out of it now if you want to before getting too involved.

James_D

stuart45 said:

Would depend.on the price of the property as well. Could need underpinning under the bay. Lots of bay windows older houses have this problem, but that type of arch fails easier than a lintel with movement.
At least you can pull out of it now if you want to before getting too involved.

Certainly food for thought. Thanks again, you've been really helpful.