On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 01:22:56 +0100, wrote
(in article . com):


wrote:
wrote:
I have looked at a terraced house and there is no felt under the tiles.
A couple of slates need replacing and others renailing. Does felt
have to be there? Would a building society refuse a mortgage on the
place if no felt under the tiles?

Its quite normal. It means the roof is old, as felt has been used for
many years now. Practically it means there is no backup waterproof
layer in case of slate loss. It is also a caution to check the
condition of the roof, as some of these old roofs are heading for
reslating time. Just look to see how many slates have been refixed with
lead tingles. If the roof is liberally peppered with them, you can
expect more slate to fall each year, ie time to reslate.

NT

Thanks. When you say "It's quite normal", do you mean to refuse a
mortgage because of no felt?


There are large numbers of turn of the (19th-20th) century houses around just
like this and they certainly change hands with mortgages.

A mortgage valuation survey might pick up a roof in really poor condition as
needing to be re-roofed at some point. However, deterioration is gradual
with slates slipping as nails eventually give way. It would be unusual for
this to all happen at once and mean immediate replacement. So this should
not mean anything more than a reduction in valuation assuming that the
lenders have money to hand out and it seems that they are falling over
themselves to do that.

However, having seen these in the past, I would look carefully in the roof
space and from outside at two aspects.

- Around any chimney stacks there will be either a lead flashing or mortar
benching from the stack onto the slates. Look around the timbers inside
for signs of water penetration or timber decay - typically wet rot and
perhaps weevil damage. From the outside with binoculars take a look at the
condition of the flashing/benching.

- If there is a rear extension, there will usually be a valley where the
roofs join, normally lead. Again look at as much of the timbers inside as
you can and the condition from the outside.

In both cases, look for signs of bodged repairs with painted on sealers.

The one to *really* watch out for is spray foam on the underside of the
slates. It's about the worst thing that can be done because it stops
ventilation and traps water. Not a good recipe. The solutions would be to
budget for a reroof or walk away.

If the house is otherwise in good condition, you could simply factor in
re-roofing costs into the financial decision.