Level 3 survey - surveyor is 'very concerned about roof structure'

[Olive45]

Hi!

FTBs here. In the middle of a purchase on a 2 bed Victorian terrace. Our surveyor contacted us because he is concerned about the roof. I've detailed what he has said below.

- The existing rafters are relatively small and visibly bowing under the weight of the roof.

- One rafter in particular shows a significant crack, close to snapping completely. This poses a risk of localised collapse, particularly under additional load from wind uplift or snow accumulation.

- Numerous other rafters show evidence of historic repair, but these remain insufficiently strong for the load imposed by the current roof covering.

- The roof was originally constructed for lighter clay tiles. At some stage these were replaced with concrete tiles, which are substantially heavier and have overloaded the structure.

- The cracked rafter represents a localised structural weakness. While wholesale collapse of the roof is not imminent, the section in question may fail if subject to further loading.

- Remedial action is required before winter to prevent partial collapse.

As you can imagine, we were quite shocked! Now, we are totally unsure how to proceed. We cannot afford to fix this. I've approached a couple of roofers but obviously they can't really provide a quote of the cost without seeing it themselves, which isn't up to us as we can't let them into the house. The EA has said they will speak to the seller about the issue, and see if she will get roofers out to get quotes herself.

Has anyone experienced something similar? This entire process is so stressful! I wish I had some friends in trades but I don't - all the info I can get about this kind of stuff is online, so it's so out of my depth. Surveyor said it is pretty common for houses like this to have had concrete tiles put on the roof without proper weight being considered.

Is it worth seeing if the seller will fix this before exchange? The house is perfect for us otherwise, and there are other issues which we were already aware of and have budgeted for (classic terrace damp, etc)

Thanks for any help

X

I read your update and would just say theres absolutely no way I'd allow sellers to replace roof for me. They will choose cheapest quote and you'll be the one dealing with a poor roofing job.
There is no house perfect enough for me to take on this risk.

In these circumstances, I'd walk away. The current owners need to take the property off the market, and employ the services of a structural engineer. It's a problem that will be flagged up again, with another Buyer if they don't rectify it. Be very glad that your Surveyor has made you aware of the issue, before you went ahead and purchased the property. It's not your issue to rectify, and even if you did negotiate a hefty amount of the asking price, ask yourself if it's really worth the hassle/disruption/mess of having the work done? I don't think it is, and what if it turns out to be much worse once a structural engineer looks at it?? Nope, walk away!

Our roof had 3 cracked rafters, roofers and surveyors where not bothered and said it would take far more than 3 snapping to cause a collapse (as the load is distributed over more than that). Although we choose to have them 'sistered' (reinforced) back together, it cost under £200.

The house we ended up losing last year had serious roof issue. The new owner is currently replacing the whole thing which is an expensive job. My bigger worry with that house wasn't the cost of the roof but rather the damage caused by the weight on the roof forcing the walls to buckle and the floors to drop creating a major structural issue (probably made much worse by being detached rather than terraced).