Flat roof concerns

[RedMogg]

I needed to swap a dead CCTV camera out - we have four under the eaves in each corner. Dad came out with his ladders to replace the faulty camera (not something I can do) and whilst up there, he spotted the next door neighbour's TV aerial had rusted and broken off, landing on our flat roof.

When Dad climbed onto the roof to remove it, he spotted several huge "bubbles" in the felt and took a few photos:






It's a 1960's council prefab (PRC concrete/flat roof) box we're still in the ridiculously slow process of trying to buy (Right-To-Buy, but complicated by the fact it's been adapted for wheelchair access). Council sent out a surveyor in early 2022 to value it, but The Wife is certain he didn't inspect the roof at all.

We haven't noticed any leaks so far but I'd rather get the roof sorted before it creates any bigger issues. The drainage holes are clear of any debris and we don't get any pools of water sticking around on the roof after rain.

Obviously I'd rather get it sorted before we buy, so the cost doesn't come out of my pocket - should I be anxious, or am I worrying too much?

 

[RedMogg]

Do you know when it was last done?

We moved in October '21 and the property had been empty for at least 3 years before then. A friend's grandad lived in the property until 2009, when the council bought it back from his estate. So I imagine the roof was last checked/worked on some time between 2009-2018.

I've emailed the housing office with the pictures and a request that it's investigated promptly - we're about to rip out the upstairs bathroom & kitchen below, including ceilings & sub-floors. First floor subfloor is a major job - whenever the place was rewired, the council sparkies just sliced & diced wherever they needed to run cables, then just tacked the jigsaw of plywood back in place. You can't fart anywhere upstairs without making the downstairs ceiling squeak.

It sounds like a nightmare, but I'm looking at paying £110k for a property worth easily north of £240k (once it's put right). I can forgive a few messy/expensive jobs internally, considering the discount. The roof however, is definitely not something I want to be on the hook for.

 

[RedMogg]

Local roofing firm (sub-contracted to local council maintenance firm) came out on Monday, spent 10 minutes up there taking photos from all angles (even removed the next door neighbour's old TV aerial that had snapped off in the winter - which I appreciated).

Definitely the whole roof (68m²) needs replacing - that's before he's even had a chance to inspect beneath the felt - judging by how much our upstairs ceilings are bulging/sagging, I wouldn't be surprised if we're going to need major structural works.

It's a 1960's PRC council house (which we've been trying to buy since we moved in two years ago), so thankfully I'm not on the hook for the costs, but they'll try and get away with the absolute bare minimum to get the house fit to live in. I'd prefer the job is done properly, so I don't have the expense when we do finally buy it.

If it's a total roof-off, open to the elements for a bit, situation, then we have the option to stay with my parents, which shouldn't be to much of an embuggerance for a couple of weeks. However, their house is a 4 storey Victorian terrace, which doesn't fit my wheelchair in the slightest. I may send the Wife & Monsters to stay there, and I'll move into my study/den on the ground floor - meaning we don't have to worry about moving the animals.

Scaffolders coming on Friday to set up, ready for work to start next week.

 

[RedMogg]

Isn't it hard to get a mortgage on a house with a flat roof? Im guessing you've looked into this already, as you're in the process of trying to buy??

We're not using a mortgage - I'm a core participant in the Contaminated Blood Inquiry, so provided Gov keeps it's word regarding the compensation scheme, we'll buy it outright, then live in it whilst we build/adapt our forever home (5 bed, wheelchair accessible & complete level access throughout), likely somewhere off the island with plenty of space.

I'll then either sell it for full value or let it out.

 

[RedMogg]

Most lenders are reluctant to lend on PRC houses unless they have been repaired under the scheme and the adjoining houses also - has this been done? Otherwise they are very hard to sell

See reply above - the ideal plan is to hold onto it as a rental property (about £1600/pcm as a family home, or convert to 5 bed HMO at £600/pcm/per room). The most recently sold 4 bed property (PRC, flat roof) in the road went for £285k, but that has a flat above it. Ours is end of terrace, larger and no upstairs flat to worry about.

Whilst mortgages for PRC/Flat rooves aren't easy to arrange, they are possible, but chances are it would be snapped up by someone adding to a portfolio (I know the chap who already has three houses in my road).

As I said - it's all subject to getting the house in a fit enough state to even complete the Right To Buy process, then we'd need to hold it for at least 5 years to avoid paying back the pro-rata'd discount.
If the Contaminated Blood Compensation scheme pays out sufficiently, then I may just build somewhere without the potential future headaches of being a landlord.

 

[RedMogg]

Well, scaffold went up four weeks ago, but due to typical council contracting/sub-contracting miscommunication, the actual roofing firm didn't get assigned the job until last week.

Chaps got started Tuesday, removing all the old felt and assessing the sub-roof (apparently fine and dry/zero rot).
Weds, Thurs, Fri was spent installing new felt, but my Dad couldn't get round to take photos until this morning (I considered using the goods pulley, but the Wife wasn't too keen to lift me up it...).









Everything looks clean & tidy - I particularly appreciated the extra touch of securing all the CCTV/Network cables (outdoor rated Cat6) around the edge of the roof, with "straps" of felt and heat-bonded into place; I'd only asked that they be mindful of them (and to let me know of any breaks/snags), so I made sure to leave a positive review on their Facebonk page.

The Old Man couldn't fault their work - I half-expected a patchwork of sliced & diced felt, but the firm's boss said it was actually much, much faster to just replace the lot.

 

[RedMogg]

very lucky the roof under the felt wasnt damaged

not a fan of flat roofs, know two people who's flat roof leaked inside

Sadly, 90% of council housing in/around Portsmouth are PRC/Flat Roof boxes, due to the huge demand after the devastation of WW2. The city is quirky: we've got £1M+ Georgian semis sharing postcodes with 1960's blocks of PRC maisonettes. There's a £5M converted Tudor sea defence tower, nestled between new-build townhouses...

Buying a period/properly constructed house *without* a flat roof (or Asbestos making up 50% of the building materials) is bloody expensive now. My parents' paid £75k for a 5 bed, 1 bath, 4 storey Victorian terrace in 1992 - it's now 6 beds, 4 baths and worth over £1M (off street parking adds a huge amount of value).

As rough as this estate is, we're on the very edge of it and don't really see much of the shenanigans going on (except for the occasional police helicopter/Rapid Response chase).
Provided the surveyor doesn't find anything else too horrific once the current works are done, I think we will go ahead with buying it, if only to flip it in 5 year's time and double (poss. even triple) our money.