Adjoining garage roofs

[NaomiB]

A year ago I bought a run down garage with a leaking roof. I thought I would be able to fix it with Flashband but it was impossible. I got a new roof and door and let it out to a neighbour. The flats are managed but the garages are not.

Yesterday I got a text from the owner of the adjoining garage saying "Just wondering who done your garage roof? There is a gap between mine and yours and it’s leaking water though my garage.m which didn’t happen before?" Then I got a long text saying could they come back and sort it because she hadn't had problems before, she was worried because she'd got other people's stuff in there. I replied that it wasn't my problem and offered her my roll of Flashband.

She said "There is light coming though, that’s why I am surprised that the roofers didn’t join the garages when doing it. The wooden beams go onto yours and in time they will make yours wet too. I had a garage roof done before and the guy put some covering to the jointing garage to stop this happening. I am surprised the guys that done yours haven’t. Water will eventually travel to yours if not already."

Now I appreciate that fitting one new roof next to an existing roof is not ideal. They should ideally be done at the same time but we are where we are. As my roof was re-felted - actually it was rubber - a year ago, have I any responsibility for this gap? She is saying that if it isn't fixed the water will run into my tenanted garage. If it was my responsibility then she was worried about other people's things but if it's hers then "it's a problem for them".

Her roof is 14 years old. She says she hasn't got the money to fix it so she won't and she is going to move this year so it seems it will be a problem for the new owner.

I haven't been down to look at my garage to see if the rain is getting in. The tenants are away in America at the moment but will be back this week.

Do you have any advice for me?

[JK0]

Do you have any advice for me?

Go back in time and ask your neighbour if they want their roof done at the same time to avoid leaks. Then it would be solely their fault if they said no.

[Landyman]

Yesterday I got a text from the owner of the adjoining garage saying "Just wondering who done your garage roof? There is a gap between mine and yours and it’s leaking water though my garage which didn’t happen before"

Then I got a long text saying could they come back and sort it because she hadn't had problems before, she was worried because she'd got other people's stuff in there. I replied that it wasn't my problem and offered her my roll of Flashband.

She said "There is light coming though, that’s why I am surprised that the roofers didn’t join the garages when doing it.

The question to be addressed is whether your roofers have done the work correctly or not?

Was there, by design, a gap between the garage roofs originally or were the roofs continuous and a gap been created as a result of the way your roofers did the repair?

You need to go and see exactly where this light is coming through, not just take your neighbour's word for it.

[NaomiB]

The trouble is that her roof was re-felted in 2008 by the previous owners, that's 14 years ago and there has been no enthusiasm to get it done again. The roof is continuous, one brick wall for the two garages. Will go and get some pictures from inside my garage.

[AndrewDod]

It sounds highly likely that you messed up their roof while doing your roof. I suggest you get the job fixed. The fact that their roof is 14 years old is irrelevant if it was not leaking and you made it leak.

[Landyman]

The roof is continuous, one brick wall for the two garages.

Will go and get some pictures from inside my garage.

There's no point in taking pictures inside your garage.

You need to get a ladder and inspect properly. While standing on your roof, look at the join between yours and hers. And then be given access to her garage to understand exactly where the gap is that she can see.

[NaomiB]

Yes, it looks as if something has gone wrong and I will have to get my roofer back to sort out this bit

[NaomiB]

Here are a couple more. In the second picture you can see daylight. The beam looks wet.

[NaomiB]

one from inside with wet beams, one from outside.

[JK0]

Come on Naomi. Even if you get your roofer to come back, he's only going to bodge it enough to last a few months. (Flashband is a bodge.)

I think you need to discuss sharing the cost of all the roofs being redone. It looks like there's another 5 garages needing doing.

[NaomiB]

The roof is under guarantee having only been done last March. It does look as if he will have to come back and sort it out. I have emailed him. I'll attach the March picture.

So we've got six garages in that block. The first is the one which was re-felted 14 years ago, then there's my new rubber one. The one next to it is rented out to a flat tenant on condition he repairs the roof.. He's covered it with a large rubber sheet which is held down by battens and is temporary - he could take it with him if he leaves. It's a rather wonderful Man Cave with solar lighting. The other three have no owners and the freeholder won't pay out for anything if he can't get the money back.

So, looking at my pictures, I think my roofer will need to deal with it. My initial reaction, which was to seal the cracks with Flashband, was wrong.

I would have loved the whole block to have been re-felted in one go but with a landlord like ours that is never going to happen. It's a shame that out of the original 18 garages there are only 8 now occupied.

[nukecad]

Any bets that your roofer will claim that's 'exceptional' wind/storm damage, and not poor workmanship?

With some of the weather we have had this year that may be a valid point of view.

[JK0]

Frankly your photo of the new roof in March doesn't look very neat to me. I'm not surprised the wind's got under it. I think you should forget about that roofer. My decorator uncle used to tell me that roofers are the cowboys of the building trade.

Surely the freeholder should be organising re-roofing collectively, and then recouping that cost from the lessees in accordance with their leases, shouldn't he? That some garages belong to him just means that he has to cover their proportion. Though if he does a good job, he can let them out for a reasonable amount. I pay £28 per week for mine here in Reading.

[NaomiB]

One would think so. The lease says that the lessee should "Keep the Garage and all walls party walls drains ...in good and substantial repair". The freeholder says that this includes the roof. It also says the lessor should "maintain in good and substantial repair and condition the common parts". The flats are demised to us from the plaster in but the garages include the walls.

I took them to a property tribunal in 2015 which got referred to the County Court and it dragged on for a year then my son, not my solicitor, noticed that the lease also said the freeholder should "pending the grant of any such lease perform and observe such covenants as if it were the tenant of any such garage". This they clearly had not done so we reached a settlement in August 2016. The freeholders are so awkward that I still haven't got the two new leases that the Tomlin Order said I should have. That's five and a half years and I am now concerned that if things don't improve the Tomlin Order will run out after six years and where will I be then?

If I was in their position I would re-roof the lot, put new doors on and let them out or sell them. But they won't.

[JK0]

One would think so. The lease says that the lessee should "Keep the Garage and all walls party walls drains ...in good and substantial repair". The freeholder says that this includes the roof. It also says the lessor should "maintain in good and substantial repair and condition the common parts". The flats are demised to us from the plaster in but the garages include the walls.

I took them to a property tribunal in 2015 which got referred to the County Court and it dragged on for a year then my son, not my solicitor, noticed that the lease also said the freeholder should "pending the grant of any such lease perform and observe such covenants as if it were the tenant of any such garage". This they clearly had not done so we reached a settlement in August 2016. The freeholders are so awkward that I still haven't got the two new leases that the Tomlin Order said I should have. That's five and a half years and I am now concerned that if things don't improve the Tomlin Order will run out after six years and where will I be then?

If I was in their position I would re-roof the lot, put new doors on and let them out or sell them. But they won't.

I don't think things are going to improve by you sitting on your hands. You need to go back to the FTT for your Tomlin order to be enforced. What your son found, reinforces what I thought about the freeholder being responsible for the roofs on the unleased garages.