Hi everyone.

You have been so helpful recently, I'm hoping you can advise me again.

We had somebody come to plaster our toilet ceiling today but when he removed a panel he found that it was extremely damp inside and that no insulation had been used. The toilet is in a single storey extension that was already built some years before we bought the house 12 years ago.

We've just had a quote and it's going to cost £5000+ to have the entire extension re-felted.

My husband has called Swinton who arranged our insurance but they said it comes under "wear and tear" so isn't covered. We're not replacing something that's worn out, we're installing something that was never there in the first place - can they genuinely refuse a claim under this clause?

Please can you advise?

Thanks.

Lynette

Swinton are correct. Insurance is for the insured perils shown in the policy e.g fire, storm.

It does not cover wear & tear, maintenance or faulty workmanship. It appears that the single storey extension has been poorly constructed.

Swinton are correct. Insurance is for the insured perils shown in the policy e.g fire, storm.

It does not cover wear & tear, maintenance or faulty workmanship. It appears that the single storey extension has been poorly constructed.

Not the answer I was hoping for, unclebulgaria67, but thank you nonetheless. Just when we got our loan cleared too.

Not the answer I was hoping for, unclebulgaria67, but thank you nonetheless. Just when we got our loan cleared too.

Shop around for the work needed, as some contractors take the p*ss. You may be able to get the work done cheaper. £5k seems a lot to me. There may be cheaper better ways to roof the extension. I would suggest that you contact a few general builders who are long established in your area.

First off, you need to determine the source of the damp - It is possible that the felt has degraded and cracked as this type of covering has a typical lifetime of around 15 years. If the boards underneath the felt are chipboard, then it is likely these will need to be replaced at the same time. As a (very) rough guide, I had to reboard and felt a flat roof approx 8mx3m a few years ago. This cost me around £800. Allowing for inflation and rising material costs, I'd expect to pay around £1200 today.

Rather than going to a general builder, I'd look for a local flat roof specialist. If you are comfortable doing simple DIY tasks, you can work alongside the roofer to install the insulation.

Thanks for your advice unclebulgaria67 and Mr.P.

My husband went to the Which? comparison website and got another couple of numbers to call. We're guessing the first roofer didn't want the job because the other quotes we've had have been between £800 and £1100! Those figures are a bit more within our budget! Goodness knows where the first guy got his quote from - pick a number and multiply by 100, I think!