Caledonia wrote:
wrote:
Hi, i'm just having a hard time figuring out who is responsible for the
leaky roof. I really hope someone can help me on this.
The situation is like this...
We bought a house (about 7 years old) in Surrey, BC, and moved in about
4 weeks ago(at the end of October).
We did a house inspection(at the end of August) in the process of the
home purchase, turned out to be fine.
But the problem occured after it started to rain in this area.
The roof is now leaking, and about 3-4 feet of the moulding along the
bottom of the master room is swelled and wet.
The carpet near that part is soaking wet too.
So, we called the inspector again. The inspector said the vinyl
underneath the roof is probably ripped or something that.
And he was like ...........it's not like the roof is rotten or broken
somewhere, that's why he couldn't catch that, and no one can find it.
What did your roofing contractors say the issue was? Presumably, the
folks who repair roofs would be able to point out what the issue is
(e.g., it could be a rolled asphalt roof, your flashing may be poorly
installed, and probably a few other reasons that haven't happened to me
personally).
Our realtor says it's the inspectors responsibility.
The inspector's responsibility to do what? I guess what I'm unclear on
is 'what that kind of problem is' based on what your contractors have
said.
My gut feeling is that unfortunately this is one of those cases where
things happen.
Had there been prior evidence of water damage? Did the former owners
say anything when asked prior to purchase?
But the inspector says no one is able to catch that kind of problem
because the roof seemed fine from the outside and it wasn't leaking
when he did the inspection.(it wasn't rainy, that's why!)
The realtor said we could sue the inspector, but we really don't want
to take that kind of action.
I am really lost and don't know what to do and who to talk to. Who's
really responsible here? Any idea?
Again, my gut idea is that this is one of those not-talked-about joys
of homeownership. But truly, what do the contractors say?
Sometimes, in my experience, things happen -- although typically, the
roof only starts leaking after you've placed something really really
valuable/fragile under the point where it starts leaking....
Caledonia
First step is to get it fixed. If it's definitely traceable to the
roof, as opposed to possibly coming in around the siding, windows, etc,
then I'd call a roofer. If it's questionable, then a general
contractor that does all kinds of repairs would probably be better.
For this to be an error by the inspector, the problem would have to
have been obvious, ie shingles missing or badly deteriorated, missing
flashing, evidence inside of water damage, wetness, etc. Otherwise,
it's impossible for an inspector to be able to see everything. Even
then, it can be difficult to prove ans inspectors contracts are well
known for disclaimers that make it hard to go after them.
You might have a case against the seller, if they knew about it and you
can prove it. Don;'t know about the laws in Canada. The hard part, of
course, is proving they knew about it. Best evidence of that would
probably be evidence that the area of the leak was recently painted, or
that some quick patch was done somewhere. Make sure you take pics of
anything you find.
If you fix this quickly, the cost shouldn't be too bad. The roof is
only 7 years old, so it's likely a small actual repair to the roof,
flashing, etc, and then repainting. Make sure you use stain killer as
a primer.