Surveyor says New Roof needed - what would you do?

Bigphil1474

We were quoted £11k to replace our slate roof like for like (but with additional fibre glass cover and pvc cladding to dormer which added about £1500). It's a mid terrace up north. The roofer who is a mate of a mate said it would have been about £6-7k before covid.

Removing asbestos tiles shouldn't be hugely more expensive than removing any other roof if they can take the tiles off whole. Might be a bit longer in worker time, and a bit extra for disposal costs, but other than that it's the same job. Asbestos removal indoors is very expensive as it has to be done in airtight enclosures with full RPE protection. Can't do that on a roof. 

If it was me, I'd bung a decent roofer a few notes to go and have a look and give you an estimate. 

stuart45

Stripping an asbestos slate roof normally adds a couple of grand on.  With a normal slate roof the old ones are useful, even if the customer thinks they're getting dumped.

warwick2001

There's also disposal costs of the asbestos. Usually has to go to a specialist landfill site, not the local tip. This can add a few quid to the job

lincroft1710

Even if you don't replace the roof, when you come to sell in 5 years time or so, your prospective purchasers will be in the same dilemma as you are now and a new roof is likely to be disproportionately more expensive.

TheJP

Firstly you need to determine is 'likely' is in fact 'certain' to be asbestos. If you are really keen then have an asbestos survey on the tiles carried out to help you know for sure. Then you'll be able to look at what the costs may be and if you want to proceed/negogiate.

patrick194

The surveyor said he's as certain as possible that the tiles are asbestos. Our main concern is the cost, even if we got 5 years without doing anything, we'd have to be putting aside £5k a year to cover it and then living with the worry for the 5 years.

Of course, nothing might happen but it's a 'legacy' problem - every buyer inherits the same issue until somebody fixes it.

And although all buyers are impressed by a new roof, nobody pays you extra for doing it - basically everyone expects your house to have a roof - so a new one is a bonus but nobody will offer to pay more for it.

So a house valued at £400k costs us £425k but remians worth £400k - even if the market doesn't fall further.

A new roof has a value but not necessarily the same monetary value as it costs.

FreeBear

patrick194 said:And although all buyers are impressed by a new roof, nobody pays you extra for doing it - basically everyone expects your house to have a roof - so a new one is a bonus but nobody will offer to pay more for it.

So a house valued at £400k costs us £425k but remians worth £400k - even if the market doesn't fall further.

A new roof has a value but not necessarily the same monetary value as it costs.

If the house is valued at £400K when you come to sell with the original roof, the buyer may well expect a £25K reduction in price. So whilst replacing the roof doesn't increase the value, it does remove one major negotiating point for reducing the price.

As for house prices falling, yes, in the short term, there may be a reduction. But historically, house prices go up over the longer term. 8 years ago, mine was valued at around £185K, last year, ~£320K. Today, a realistic price would be £300K, perhaps even £310K. In five years time, who knows, it may well be north of £400K, maybe pushing £500K. But this is my long term home, so any debate over value is purely academic as I don't intend to sell.