Houses with flat roofs

[katcatkat]

We have found a house we really like in the area we like with lots of space and could be lovely once the decorating is done.
But it has a flat roof over the whole of the house, its in a street of houses with flat roofs im worried about the implications of this.
Does anyone have any experience.

Ask the neighbours?

One thing I remember from my UK teaching days was when considering a rebuild of a school, never have a flat roof.

What's the build, could you put in a pitched roof? In Au roofs are often corrugated metal, or less lovely Colorbond, but good. If you like the sound of rain, which I do.

Get a roofer to give it the once over?

If it is in good condition it will be OK. The implication is that you need to tell the insurance company when you get buildings insurance it is a flat roof. Some don't like it , others may charge you more , or may stipulate you ought to have an inspection. A flat roof in good condition and regularly maintained imho is fine.

Thanks will probably get it assessed before we buy am hoping the insurance wont be too much more money.

It would be worth ringing round a few insurers to check how much of a problem insurance could be - but there are specialist insurers who do it. It's more of a pain but not a showstopper IME. From a practical point of view the fact the roof is in good condition and drains is the main thing as what you don't want is water sitting on the roof, especially if the roof is compromised in some way. Anyway , not an expert but I do have a flat roof !

It really depends on the condition of the roof and what it's covered in.
Modern flat roofs are very reliable when fitted correctly - they aren't actually completely flat they just have a very slight fall that you can't really tell.
I'd be wary of a felted roof as it's not really great on houses - it's the cheap option but it's more likely to fail than a single ply membrane, rubber or metal roof.
You may need to check with insurers as they may count it as non standard construction.

Just an update we put our offer in and its been accepted and have spoken to both mortgage company and insurers and all is ok. The insurance premium is an extra 10-20 pounds a month which is manageable.
When we went to the second viewing we spoke to one of the neighbors and discovered that the roofs had been replaced only 8 years ago as the whole block got together and did it.
Hopefully the survey will be fine and we can move in soon.