Unsure about survey result costs

[JessTheCat98]

We've had a survey done on a house we are looking to buy. I am unsure on how pricey some of the things it has thrown up will be, so just looking for some general advice if anyone has any please before we talk to the estate agents/sellers.

The 2 main things are the felt lining under the roof coverings is damaged "in places". It says therefore there is a risk of penetrating dampness and
repairs are now necessary, and that it may be that the only way to carry out the repairs effectively is for the roof to be
stripped and a new lining installed. Is this likely to cost an absolute fortune?

Also, it says the hot water is heated by the boiler but is stored in a cylinder with a supplementary electric emersion heater and I think something about coming to the end of it's useful life as it is "of some age" so we would need to anticipate repairs/replacement costs- again, is this likely to cost £££?

We really like the house and don't want to walk away. We've already paid out for searches and some solicitors fees, etc (twice, as our first purchase fell through) so I really don't want to throw more money away but equally if these things are going to be massive issues we may have no choice :(

TIA for any advice.

We can’t advise. Get a few builders around

Sounds like a typical survey. Largely useless (and I’m a RICS surveyor 😂).

An older roof with aged felt will
often have tears. Is it leaking? Are the timbers rotten? Is there evidence of damp? Are roof tiles cracked or missing?

The cylinder comment is bog standard. I’d not be bothered.

You think the output of your profession is useless?

The whole point of the survey is to highlight things that are not obvious to a standard buyer and the estate agent who valued it. This is where you find out costs and reduce the offer to cover those costs.

The roofing felt would come under that but you would need a roofer to check the condition and give you a rough cost. They are the experts in this area, surveyors are often belt and braces approach to cover everything that may need doing. However you are more than entitled to ask to look in the loft to see exactly what they are talking about and look for evidence of water on the joists or the floor.

The hot water is a standard system in UK housing. When we moved into this house our was leaking (thank you previous owner who hid it) so we needed the tank replaced. The cost of the tank depends on the size of the tank, which is determined by the number of bathrooms it feeds. This does require a plumber. There are lots of videos of plumbers showing you them replacing a tank so you can see the work involved.

Do you know if there is a header tank in the loft? There are usually 2, a small one that tops up the radiators/heating system and a much larger one that the mains cold water feeds into and this then feeds into that cylinder usually in a cupboard on the landing or in the bathroom, this then heats up via the boiler (cheaper) than using the immersion heater (think of this as a giant kettle) and feeds all the hot water taps both upstairs and downstairs.

Get knowledge, look on youtube, google for information or ask people you know who already own properties. Look online for information such as damaged roofing felt, water marks on loft timbers etc. Learn about hot water cylinders. Plumber Parts is good on Youtube for explaining this stuff.

Next steps, book to revisit the property, take a good torch with you and if you can someone who has owned a few houses hopefully a parent. We were incredibly lucky that we had older friends who could help us as we lived 4 hours away from our parents.

And when you are back there, have a look at the roof, get some binoculars, any cracked tiles? Any issues with the ridge tiles (those things that are at the very top of the roof) also look at the outside of the house, really look, bricks, window frames, sealant, mortar joints.

@AnnieApples thanks, everything from the outside was fine apparently, tiles etc ok, and no signs of damp or any leaks, timbers ok, just the potential for leaks as the felt was damaged "in places".

@WinchesterWanderer thanks, we'll arrange to get a roofer to have a look, I think. We don't have a water tank in our current house so I am not familiar with them (and I am no roofer, hence the cluelessness there, too). I don't know if there are 2 tanks. We need to revisit, I think. My FIL is pretty knowledgeable about most things so we'll probably see if we can arrange for him to come along.

I’d take any survey as useful but don’t panic. We’ve been in our house 28 years. The survey said it needed new wall ties and there was wood boring beetle in the attic. 28 years later it’s still standing and nothing has deteriorated. If you love the house don’t let it out you off. I’d only be concerned if there was subsidence or a major structural problem.

@JessTheCat98 I assumed that was the case with the water tank. Depending on the tank, depends on the cost. Mine is a "gravity fed" vented system to cheaper tank to replace, you can look costs of tanks up online, the internet is your friend. An unvented system is where the tank is fed directly from mains pressure water hence no loft tanks and costs more. The plumber costs won't vary much if it is a like for like replacement.

If there are no leaks, no signs of water ingress and just some ripped felt it might not be anywhere near as bad as it sounds. Are there not a load of photos accompanying the report?

First I would visit, get in the loft, look for yourself, you are about to become a homeowner so start learning what is normal and what is holy shit how much is this going to cost Then get your FIL to point stuff out. If he feels you need a roofer then try to get recommendations to look at the potential work.

Our survey was the same - torn roof felt in the loft, old but well-serviced boiler. These are 5-10+ year jobs, not immediate problems, and our surveyor "informally" told us as much.

@WinchesterWanderer thanks - I am already a homeowner 😂 though I know I probably don't sound like one from this thread. I know everything is generally pretty costly and anything building related is really not my area so I feel out of my depth. And we'll be wiping out about half of our savings by moving, so I am worrying about anything that might immediately cost a load of money before we have the chance to build up a bit of a buffer again.

Neither of those are a drama. My whole roof has no felt at all. It doesn't leak. The boiler thing is standard. No issue. Buy the house for the price you agreed.

@JessTheCat98 I got you confused with someone else saying they were a first time buyer, sorry. It is always a worry moving to a new house and the unknown costs. Our last house had had an incompetent DIYer, awful the stuff we uncovered and had to correct. We just prefer doing stuff ourselves because then we know it is done right. For some things we bring in the professionals but even then I try to find out as much as possible about what is going on with my house. I know not everyone is like me. I grew up with my parents fixing their car with a Haynes Manual as cars were much simpler back then.

@Sprig1 not sure what your getting at, I haven't once mentioned not paying the price we've agreed. I am just taking the first steps towards finding out how much things highlighted in the survey might cost us going forwards.

@WinchesterWanderer yeah, I think it the uncertainty and the unknown that is making me wobble. We bought the house we are in now 10 years ago and I feel like it I know it, if that makes sense, so I feel more confident when problems come up with it. And it was so long ago I really can't remember what happened when we had the survey done.

'coming to the end of useful life' in reality means it could have another 10-15 years if properly maintained. You could budget a grand for replacing it in the future (you only mentioned the cylinder so assume the boiler is newer?)

In my experience surveys are mostly written to cover the back of the person doing the survey

Yes, I think the same would be said of our current ancient boiler, but it is serviced annually and in good working order. But I am sure the survey of our house will regard it in the same light.

Yes, I believe the boiler is new(er).

Yes, this is the impression I got from reading it.

If you go into the roof in daylight and see light seeping through then you’ll be able to see for yourself if there’s a problem or not and where it is
Don’t turn any lights on in the roof space of course

I wouldn't worry about either of those things. I would maybe budget for a new boiler in a few years time especially if a more efficient one would bring your bills down. We patched up some of our own roofing felt from the inside. Easy job!

To give you an idea on cost we had a new hot water cylinder supplied and fitted plus extra pipe work and unblocking of our heated towel rail cost us £700 last year. Emersion element cost £45.

Boilers don't last forever, I would ignore that. The roof work sounds important to do quickly so get quotes. If the whole felt needs replacing that will be thousands. Good luck!

I agree and now we are cash buyers we are not going to pay for surveys in future, but instead ask a trusted builder to walk round with us spotting things and giving rough estimates.

Thank you, that's really helpful to know

Yes, I was worried that in a worst case scenario that it may end up being £££ if the whole thing needs replacing. We are going to view it again next week and we'll have a look in the loft, take some pictures then see if we can get the opinion of a roofer

First one leave it. Second one new boiler does water and heating take out old immersion heater. £2000-3000 depending what you want.

I'm in the building trade, as others have said, typical of a horse manure RICS plonker survey, see them every week.

In order:

The felt, parking felt to give the correct name, never used to be used, came into fashion in the 20th century, primarily to speed up construction and to inhibit condensation dripping from concrete tiles. The key is, is there any damage to the roof from wet, ie rot, damp, if not leave it. The felt in my roof (1963) is shredded, I have no intention of replacing it or repairing it.

The tanks, you can still have a hot water cylinder with a modern boiler, the traditional gravity system has pros and cons. If the pipework is copper and well done it has a very long service life - if the tanks are in good order they can have years in them, and can readily be replaced. Its best left, as its when converting from gravity to pressurised that any weaknesses show.