Possible Legal Issue with New Roof

[AchillesLastStand]

I wasn’t sure whether to post this in property or legal matters, but I had a new roof put on my house last month and I’m having lots of issues with it. The company that did it is a member of the government’s Competent Person Scheme which enables them to self certify their own building regs and is a member of the NFRC.

After completing the roof I noticed I had frost building up on the inside of my roof space during the recent cold snap which has now turned into really bad condensation and isn’t evaporating. I never had these issues with my old roof. I’ve posted some photos of the problem. After going into the loft I have noticed that the roof space hasn’t got the ventilation that the building regs require. There is no ventilation at the ridge despite being told there was, and the managing director of the roofing company signing off the building regs for insulation and ventilation without actually inspecting the roof.

I have contacted the roofing company and pointed out these problems with photos and so far I’m being ignored. I paid them before Christmas when they finished the job unfortunately but surely it’s fraudulent to sign off government regulations without actually complying with them?

I think next step will be to contact the NFRC myself about this but can anyone advise on this issue or have experience of a similar problem. Thank you.

Do you have vents in the soffits? What does the contract say about ventilation?
How deep is your loft insulation?

Check with your house insurance provider, a lot of them have legal helplines

No vents n soffits but they were meant to be be fitting under fascia vents in the eaves and at the ridge. I’ve no idea if the eaves vents have been fitted because they’re not visible but I know that the ridge ones haven’t. My contract said ventilation would be fitted to building regs standards for a pitched roof which is eaves and the ridge. Loft insulation should be 30 mms but again I don’t know if they’ve upgraded it enough. It looks more like 20mms. Again contact says to building reg standards and it isn’t.

The problem is the company director has signed off the building regs paperwork when he shouldn’t have. He needs to put things right or I’ll have to escalate it with his trade body.

Sorry meany to say loft insulation should be 30cms not mms but it’s more like 20cms

A lot of these trade bodies only require someone to pay the subscription and boom, you’re a member. Like the Guild of Master Craftsmen.
When you stand in the loft, you should be able to feel a breeze or at least circulation.
You can measure the depth of the insulation to see what you have.
I agree with the PP, contact your insurer first. Sounds very shoddy not putting in the ridge vents.

But it’s not that they’re just a member of trade body, they have passed stringent tests to become a member of the government’s Competent Person Scheme. They have signed planning paperwork normally reserved for council officials saying something has been done when it hasn’t. It’s a serious breach of government legislation and could be considered a form of fraud.

Sadly I don’t have legal cover with my home insurance. I will have to take it up with NFRC that regulates the scheme. Firstly, I want to give the company a chance to put it right, but they’re not responding to my messages.

There is a breeze in the loft so I think the eaves vents are there but I need ridge ones as well. I’ll measure the insulation but I think that also falls short of what it should be.

The membrane is "breathable" & a dry ridge fixing should provide some ventilation, unless they used a tradition cement fixing, if so, you need vents in roof itself, which you may need in any case if the roof is large.

The dramatic change in weather from warm to cold recently has meant that condensation is worse when normal at the moment.

Yes, they used dry ridge fixing but my understanding is the felt/membrane should be cut below the ridge from the inside before the ventilated membrane is applied on top externally and ridge tiles fixed in place. I don’t know whether having the breathable membrane alone is enough ventilation. As I said, I can feel air moving in the loft, but I’m not a roofer. It’s a 5 bed detached house. Some tiles vents would probably help but I need them to sort it out.

This is part of the problem. I looked in the loft during the recent cold snap, the coldest it’s been since we’ve been in this house. I don’t think I’ve been in the loft before during cold weather and maybe we’ve had these issues up there before and the condensation didn’t show on the old felt because it was much darker. I had a look this morning and some of the moisture is evaporating which is good. But I don’t want it to be permanently wet up there during the winter. Some temporary condensation I know is unavoidable at this time of year.

You might want to look at how warmer moist air from the house is entering the loft space, if it is?

You ve a "breeze" through the loft, which should be enough in a well insulated ceiling.

I take you ve not any bathroom or kitchen venting into loft space have you?

I am no expert, but is it possible you've just got a build up of humidity due to the replacement and the fact the weather has been very cold and humid recently (my outside gauge has read pretty much 100% for a long time) which has not allowed the excess humidity to clear ?

If so have you considered dehumidifying it for a bit and seeing what happens ?

If the loft is very cold then you might need a dessicant dehumidifier.

Yes, it’s possible. I’m going to monitor it over the next couple of months. I have a dehumidifier that I run upstairs in the bedroom with the loft hatch. I’m sure there is some humidity going into the loft, it’s hard to avoid it especially this time of the year, but I don’t have any extractors that run up to the loft space.

You probably know this anyway, but ...

Remember that warm air can hold more moisture than cold air.

It may be that warm moist air will rise into the loft via the hatch, and then be cooled and not be able to hold enough water, which will condense out on the coldest place (inside of your roof) and then freeze.

It may been that the inside of your new roof is colder than the old one, because if you have new insulation it may be more effective at stopping heat from the house below warming the inside of the roof. Hence the frost ?

I am not sure what the short term solution is for getting rid of this humidity. I would probably get an extension lead and run a dehumidifier up there as soon as it gets warmer. But of course if it is a compressor type the loft will need to be relatively warm. A dessicant one should work better at lower temperatures.