What would you do?

[Overthinker89]

Hi all, having a nightmare with damp/leak but want to sell the house. Have paid for new roof and got a guarantee but when I asked the roofers back they said it's coming in from the neighbours side on their chimney stack. Neighbours disagree. Have had about 4 different roofing companies say it's multiple different problems so don't know where to start. Roofers who did the new roof say there is no fault on our side. Anyway, I want the house on the market asap but nobody can agree what the fix is for the roof and I can't seem to make any headway. Is it worth just getting the house on the market and accepting a slightly lower price saying it needs work or would any buyer run a mile? I'm at my wits end with it and want to get out as have baby and don't want to keep dealing with damp and mould while roofers argue about the cause and nothing get fixed.

How frustrating for you. Has it just been roofers you've asked to come out and look at it? You might need to engage a building surveyor instead. It's going to come up in the selling process anyway, so you might as well bite the bullet and find out the true cause.

Sorry forgot to post the actual pics of leak

Get a surveyor to assess. They will produce a report and pictures and outline what work needs to be done to complete it, and will give a guide as to how much repair work would cost so that you know if you’re being ripped off by builders/roofers quotes

I’ve just seen the pics. Is the chimney lined on the inside?

I’m not a roofer / bricklayer but The lead work on the chimney looks odd.

It looks like it would allow water to drip down and wick upwards and downwards into the chimney behind the lead work!

Yeah not a professional but I'd say there's quite a bit of flashing missing on that stack.

@citrinetrilogy thanks. If I engage an independent surveyor and they think it's an issue with the roof but the roofers insist it's not and that it's the neighbours side of the chimney stack letting in water (the neighbours say its dry on their side) what would the next step be? I have a guarantee just not sure how to get them to act on it if they disagree that it's a problem with their work. They have also said it may be condensation in the chimney stack if the vent at the bottom if the chimney breast in the bedroom has become blocked with soot over time. I guess maybe et an independent surveyor in then would next step be small claims if they don't honour the guarantee?thanks

Reddit r/diyuk can help you

Have a surveyor inspect the roof. If it's the neighbours chimney stack, and they don't want to or can't pay, just ask permission to have the work done at your cost, it wont be massively expensive to make the stack water proof. If its the new roof that's the problem and a surveyor points out the issue - they will likley follow his recommendation for a resolution, because you have a provable technical report.

I'd suggest that the surveyor is likely to be far more highly qualified than the roofer.