Survey house I'm selling

[onewayoramother]

Good evening all
We accepted an offer on our house and recently have had an offer accepted on a new house to purchase.
Buyers commissioned high level survey on our house. Verbal feedback so far has raised concerns with out conservatory extension built in 2002 by previous owners.
Surveyor says glass roof will not protect from heat or cold. We have recently fitted electric blinds to glass roof to remedy the issue. They are very effective. Surveyor has said they won't help.
Buyer sending in contractors to quote for work recommended. I think also an issue with rendering needed on one side house. That can be remedied.
But I am a bit worried now about conservatory.
Should we be concerned? Conservatory extends across whole house so not just small area. Its a small terraced 3 bed house.

As long as it can be closed off from the rest of the house via insulated doors it shouldn't be a massive problem.

There is currently a real offensive against conservatories, most of what is being said against them being rubbish- badly built and badly specc'd ones can be problematic, just a any badly specc'd or built extension can be. The buyers must have seen it when they viewed. They either want the house as is or they don't, if they don't they should budget to change it or look elsewhere.
Inside blinds won't make a massive difference, but it is obviously untrue to say they make no difference. Thermal glass makes a difference. They could fit that if they like- once they have bought the house. Opening roof lights help massively. If they don't like a glass roof, they can make the conservatory dark and the inner room dismal by replacing it with a solid roof if they want. When they have bought it. At their expense.
If you do anything further to it, you might put off other buyers like me if/when these (possibly CFs) drop out.

You cannot always stick a roof on. Often the walls and foundations are not suitable for such an alteration. Blinds help with sun but don’t really keep much heat in. Often it’s better just to build an extension with roof lights and bifold doors! More expensive to build but lower running costs. What work has surveyor suggested?

This is why I won't do an L3 survey on a house I love, unless the bank insist. An L3 will always find problems. Currently buying a 1920s house with a lean-to sun room. Yes I know it will get hot in summer/cold in winter. I'm already looking at shade sails and awnings. But it's my choice and if a survey had raised this as an issue I wouldn't dream of expecting seller to pay for it.

I think when surveys find problems, and it's truly structural, then the seller can pay to get it fixed or get quotes and offer a reduction. Doesn't have to be a full reduction as this is a bartering point for the buyer.

Years ago the wall ties were being flagged on most houses being sold. They were the fashionable fail for surveys. We negotiated a reduction with the buyers and it was their bank who decided how much.

I would see what the buyers (or their bank) say. Conservatory windows aren't a survey fail imo, just an observation surely

I mean it's just stating the obvious to say the conservatory will not be well protected from extremes of temperature. That's kind of the point of them.
I wouldn't want one for that reason, but it's kind of ridiculous to complain about it.

I'd be inclined to push back on this one as it should be bleeding obvious that a conservatory built in 2002 is unlikely to be as thermally insulated as you would want it to be today. Is it flagged in the EPC? If so, I'd definitely argue that this is something that should have been considered in their original offer.

If there are no actual structural issues, I'd be inclined to argue this one.

I would really push back on this. Your buyers are trying it on.

We had a conservatory roof fitted, it doesn't depend on foundations or anything if you go for the right sort. 2011 brought changes to building regs allowing solid roofs on conservatories.
We had ours down a few years ago now, best thing ever. They are light weight tiles designed for conservatories and can be matched to your existing roof tiles.

If your buyer wants to purchase your house, they can do that. If they don't, well.... that's their problem isn't it? Buy another house then

Yes, our buyer came back with problems on the survey that would have been completely obvious to any sensible person looking around the house and tried to use them as a reason to drop the price. I closed it down straight away, the house was priced realistically taking into account the visible problems.
They did drop it.

@Roussette These new roofs need Building Regs approval. It’s also important to look at loading on the roof in snow and wind. It’s absolutely not just a case of adding tiles to any conservatory structure and thinking it’s ok. Only where walls, frame and foundations have been carefully assessed, should a roof be altered. The tiles are not the only weight added. They need a structure added to support them and this changes loads and performance in high winds.

Ours was checked out with building regs with the Co that did it, and accepted.

So it wasn’t a case of just adding tiles then, was it?

I don't understand.
I could link to the Co and what they do if you want. It was a replacement roof for UPVC. Plastered internally.

A 3 day job.

We had approval from Council because I am a complete cynic and wanted to make sure. It was unnecessary to check I was told. We worked with a certified Manufacturer and Installer.
The Building Regs changed 2011.

I completed on my sale on Tuesday. Thank God the buyers didn't bother with a survey.
It was obvious my house needed rerendering and other aspects not in great shape. I was not going to drop if they had done though. I believe the estate agents consider things like this when they set the sale price. If something like subsidence comes up on survey that is not obvious to the naked eye, that's different but they're certainly trying it on here.

@Roussette For the sake of clarity, I attach what is required. Just in case others think about having a new roof on a conservatory.

I really don't want to derail this thread with my experience of a conservatory roof. Needless to say, there are a fair few Companies out there who use these ultra light tiles (not traditional roof tiles) for replacement roofs and they conform to building regs.
Of course anyone with any sense would check out it works for their conservatory.

It is NOT about the tiles. It’s about how they are attached and how that can enter the load and wind resistance of the building. As DH is a structural engineer, adding load makes a difference!

enter …. alter!

As I said, anyone with any sense would check it out. And I did.
And it worked
And it transformed our conservatory

And I know other people who have done the same.