Survey issues with roof

[winewolfhowls]

We have had an offer accepted on a house which is a great plot but in need of modernisation as they say! We could see looking at it that it would need a new kitchen, bathroom and electrics but we felt that was reflected in the price. There's a LOT of other issues on the survey too but less vital like decaying timbers on rear doors etc.

The survey has come back with some issues with the roof. It apparently needs some supporting beams across the inside, and it needs to be a structural engineer involved, there is a lot of moss on it, the cement on top bits needs replacing and the chimney needs repointing (this bit is more expected). Along with a few other roof bits. The surveyor said that the roof was coming to the end of its life but could last a few more years if the fixes were done. However, I was wondering if it would be more cost effective to get the whole roof done instead now , especially as the scaffolding is a very expensive part of the job which we would need either way.

Can I gather opinions please, do you think it would be reasonable to ask the sellers to 'go half' and deduct c.4000 from the price or does that sound unreasonable? I don't want to be a CF. For context the house had been on the market for over six months when we made our offer.

Thank you.

Unless it's difficult to erect scaffolding, then it doesn't tend to be a big part of a roofing job. It adds of course but not a huge amount in my experience.
I'd be tempted to replace rather than repair especially if you plan on living there long term. But I'd be offering a good amount more than £4k off the accepted price.
Not only do you have the expense but the hassle of getting work done and you likely have to wait a considerable amount of time for a decent roofer and engineer.

Thanks for the info, Im actually surprised that the scaffolding doesn't rate as expensive, we had some gutters done over a decade ago and the scaffolding was 800 quid then (over a conservatory)

When you say beams, do you mean roof trusses or battens? I imagine trusses would make it a lot more expensive.

We've lived here for ten years. Spent about £1k chimney repointing and work to eliminate leak nearby. Another £500 for same leak. About £1200 for valley on dormer. Currently have a leak in corner of bedroom and bathroom other side, other valley and down upstairs central wall. Had three quotes £3600-£4500, but we've gone for a full re-roof this time at £10750. Absolutely sick and tired of finding another leak and lying there at night hearing tap tap somewhere in house when it's raining. In retrospect, we should have done something sooner.

As it's come up (unexpectedly) on survey, I don't think it'd be unreasonable to ask seller for a discount amounting to roughly half of repairs. They'll know another purchaser could have same issue, so hopefully will be willing to renegotiate to avoid losing you.

Thank you. I am not sure exactly the wording but it is lengths of wood that one puts in to stop the roof flexing (I think). According to the surveyor it's not a big job but it's important to get them in the right place, hence the needs for the expert.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had such roof stress and I guess I worry that we too will have niggly ongoing repairs in the future if we don't commit to a full new roof now.

On the positive side, if otherwise its a good house for you, if funds can be found, it'll look smart and you won't need to worry for years.

@winewolfhowls
I imagine scaffolding costs would be a significant percentage of guttering work but not so much roofing work, even if you don't go for a full reroof. Depends what you have done obviously but from your OP, it seemed costs were going to stack up.
I wouldn't go halves with the seller on the costs though, you've got all the hassle of getting it done.
I have no issues dealing with most trades but having had a bad experience with a roofer, I would never buy a house that needed roofing work again.
That's because of my experience obviously but it is something you should consider. Waiting times, hassle, disruption, the fact it's near enough impossible for you to inspect the work...
Not sure where you are or the the pp is, or how big/complicated the jobs are, but around £10k sounds cheap for a full reroof to me.