Building Survey_Asbestos and Bowing of Roof

[IAmMyBelovedsAndMBeloveIsMine]

Hello All,

Today I received the report for a building survey I had commissioned on a property I'm purchasing.
Among other issues were two main ones that really concern and I am not quite sure what to do hence your input would be much appreciated.

First one involved asbestos. In the roof of the house there are concrete interlocking tiles with concrete round profile tiles bedded in mortar to the ridge. The report states; the cement boards (undercloak) located beneath
the tiles and mortar could contain asbestos. Also, the ceiling and bathroom walls are reported to have a textured coating called Artex which is also supposed to contain asbestos.

Second one involved the roof where the report states bowing or deflection has been observed and hence needs to be further inspected by a structural engineer/roofer. It goes on to say any repairs to the roof could potentially be very expensive and require scaffolding.

Has anyone had any experience with such issues before during a house purchase? What approach did you take ?

Thank you.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of houses have cement fibre undercloaking that may have some level of asbestos in them. You can ignore that one.
Artexed bathroom walls you say? Depending on when they were artexed, may or may not have asbestos. Sounds like you’ll be removing this so best to get a quote. Was it actually tested for Asbestos?
The roof bowing is more of an issue, and depending on the problem, may well cost thousands to fix. Maybe a supporting timber has been removed in the loft, or the roof tiled in heavy concrete tiles when it was designed for lighter tiles, or something failing, or it’s just a poorly designed roof.
Get a roofer round to check first. Is the roof original or has been replaced?
Artexing walls was something from the 1970’s. How is the rest of the property for upkeep or modernization? Renovating nowadays costs a fortune.

@HellsBalls thank you for your response. You make a god point. The survey report also states that the roof appears to have been replaced at some point and asks that I should request for certification/building control approvals for the works carried out and that if the new tiles are heavier than the original, the roof will not be designed to support the extra weight of the tiles, which can lead to structural issues over time.
No, the survey did not specifically test for asbestos however, they surveyor says because of the type of the Artex coating, asbestos is highly likely. Is asbestos testing/removal also expensive?
The property was constructed somewhere between 1930-1950 and the current owners moved in 40 years ago perhaps they did some redecorating and that is when the Artex could have been introduced?
The property is in a livable condition although very dated. The estate agent did tell me the entire wiring will have to be redone.
The report also states the garage (detached but on the same grounds) is generally of age and I should consider having it restored as the roof covering is defective with exposed timber with heavy water staining to ceilings and walls. So in essence the entire structure will have to come down.

Testing Aretex for Asbestos is cheap enough. It can be steamed off as a sludge (safe) or just removed with mechanical means (need PPE and more expensive to dispose of).
You can ask about certificates for the roof but it’s unlikely anything exists if it is 30 years or older. Best bet is to get a roofer to take a look inside, or a structural survey. Sounds like a typical old persons house. Will you need to replace the kitchen? A dated kitchen is definitely a negotiating point as well.

@HellsBalls yes kitchen will certainly need updating. It's all clean and kept well but it's also very old. I will explain situation to estate agent tomorrow and hopefully we can come to some agreement. I really want the house but I hadn't budgeted for a new roof 😞

You need to remember that a survey is basically an exercise in backside covering by the surveyor. Hence why there are lots of statements saying this ‘could’ or ‘might’ be a
problem.

Regarding the asbestos in the artex. Virtually any survey of any house constructed before the 1990s will have that comment. It doesn’t mean there definitely is asbestos. Even if there is, it only becomes a problem if it’s disturbed - i.e drilled into. Millions of houses in this country have artex ceilings that ‘may’ contain asbestos. Most people just leave it undisturbed, or get the ceiling skimmed by a plasterer to seal it in if it really bothers them.

In the context the asbestos warning would not bother me as it is free moving asbestos fibres that kill.

The roof warning would have me walking away. We had a roof bowing caused by heavy concrete tiles laid on a Victorian roof designed for slate ones. The solution was a whole new roof.

@FelixtheAardvark thank you for your response.
Do you recall how much roughly the new did cost ? The property concerned here at is 3 bed semi chalet style.