Leaking roofs

I am not an expert, but I do live on the top floor of my building, and it seems to me that a 10 year warranty on labor only is really not very good. I think most roof warranties go for more like 20 years, and not just for the labor.

Perhaps "on labor" is not needed there. It is a 10-year warranty on the roof. I'll have more details shortly.

oh penthouselady, now columbiacounty will be all over you.

Roofing manufacturers warranty their products if they are installed correctly. There are also different kinds of roofing some with longer warranties. Firestone for example i believe has 10 and 20 year warranties and Manville has 10-20 and might even have a 30 year warranty.

I would make sure that whatever roofer you hire has a rep from either co come out to give that warranty as well as the labor warranty

Unfortunately the roofing work is being done by the sponsor, through a preferred contractor. We are signing the contract now, the work will be done in a month or so, and the closing will follow shortly thereafter. My biggest worry is shoddy work and the possibility of mold.

You must get money in escrow to back the promises of any seller of a condo. The owner / seller of the condo is likely an LLC. Now way to get money from an empty legal entity.

Have it inspected for mold & structural damage now so you know it's current condition.

You have obviously decided to buy the apartment so it's hard to understand why you are concerned at this late date. Roofs leak and top-floor apartments get water damage. I have seen this happen over many decades in all kinds of buildings. During the '60s and '70s, when I worked for our family RE company that owned many residential and commercial buildings in NYC, my father never let a family member live in a top-floor apartment. This statement may provoke disagreement among those who live in top-floor apartments, but I can only share my experience. In the single-family I live in now, which we keep in good repair, we have to fix roof leaks about once every 5 years.

If the price is right for this unit, you must buy it with the understanding that the warranty they are offering is inadequate, you will have difficulty finding the warrantors of the labor a few years down the road and the same probably goes for the sponsor. Even if you can find these folks, it will be difficult to enforce the warranty while you are having a water leak.

If you have faith that the building's management will address any roof problems promptly, and you don't mind living with the repair folks every once in a while, then you have the right attitude for this apartment. You already know it is prone to leaks in an area that will most likely leak again no matter what the roofers do.

The issue is not the main part of the roof itself, but any "joints" - i.e. where the roofing material connects to the building. You have to inspect them visually every 6 months, and make apply flashing material at least once annually. If there are any penetrations through the roof for A/C units, those need to be inspected and flashing material applied around them.

Look at the docs carefully, even though the roof may be a shared responsibility, your new neighbors may not treat any problems with the same urgency as yourself. I would set aside $1000 annually to deal with roof issues (conservatively).

I live in a top-floor brownstone apartment, and I can't tell you how much I enjoy not having anyone above me.

That said, we have some ongoing roofing issues in our building that were described in the architect's report from co-op conversion...... in 1982. In my opinion, they have been never been fixed despite at least 5 or 6 different attempts, including two normal re-roofings. Reading through the co-op's annual minutes, the even years' minutes declare the leak is fixed and the odd years' minutes declare the leak needs to be fixed. It's insanity! Fortunately (or not), the leak is in the hallway, so there's no one really screaming about it.

The problem, I think, is fairly complicated. The board does not want to spend the $$$ to hire a structural engineer and so instead takes a patchwork approach every few years. If this leak were inside my apartment, I think I'd have to pony up for the structural engineer and make the repair myself. If you're faced with a similar situation, where there's a "quick and dirty" option v. a "thorough and professional" option, expect the board to take the quick and dirty one. Especially in a small building, the board will push as much of this on you as they can get away with. There's no sympathy for penthouse owners. ;-)

Lad: if the water comes out in the adjoining hallway to your unit,and you are on the top - what are the odds of the water NOT having traversed somewhere close to your ceiling?

Lad Im in a similar type building and have had much smaller roof issues but def understand PH envy.
I have a mystery once in a very blue moon leak that's not evident from the roof as the flashing is impeccable.
I believe it it possibly coming from the seam between the roof and the brick wall which i'll find out as we do our local law 10 brickface work this year.
It seems to happen during super bad windy storms with heavy downpour.

But having had many buildings (warehouse) with a slew of roof conditions and situations, the greatest thing you can do is make sure those drains are clear. Sitting water will ruin any roof, no matter how old or new.
It sounds like a given but often do you check? Don't rely on the super. Open your roof panels each season and check yourself. It really is all the difference.

But will all that said, what's it take to put a concrete roof on a 100 year old building? Can you? Is it too heavy? Would it be a fortune from all the extra support beams you'd need?

truth - can you use a hose with decent water pressure and train the water on the area which you think is the problem? do it for at least 30 minutes and see what happens.

PH41
Ive been told by a few roofers never ever do this.
You never know if you have a section that's got 4 years left and have now converted it to a new problem.

Never ever train a water hose on the problem! Unless you are prepared right there and then to replace the entire roof.

It is also possible that the leak is coming from your neighbor's side.

Well, that is what was done (by the superintendent) in order to find the source of water coming through the kitchen ceiling in my apartment. I must say however, that that test determined that the water was not coming from a roof leak but from condensation from pipes above the ceiing. (The roof had been completely replaced within the previous five years)

Ah, different situation. Don't think one should do that in a small co-op.

But nyc and truth -I know that determining the source of a roof leak is difficult, but how long do you go on having your ceiling (and possibly other things) damaged without determining the source?

Depends on the situation and what it's worth. In a small townhouse co-op, it's not worth that much to the rest of the shareholders to figure it out. It may be worth a lot to the top floor shareholder, or given the nature of these things and one's tenure, almost nothing.

Which is why, going back to soyuiz, I would stay away from owning the top floor of a townhouse co-op.

@nyc10023, we tore down our entire ceiling as part of our renovation and didn't see any water damage from the hallway leak. We're half of the top floor, and thanks to the slope of the roof, the water from the hallway leak would flow away from us and not toward us.

Our other top-floor neighbors do have periodic leaks similar to truthskr10's that may be tied to this leak, though. And the neighboring building is almost certainly contributing to this leak. There's some funny business going on with the parapet.

The thing with small co-ops. where the shareholders are the board, is that many shareholders have a list of pet "co-op responsibility" projects that will benefit them and only them. It can be pork barrel spending at its finest. Unit A has a problem, and you have to throw a bone to several other units to get the fix approved.

Lad: it sounds like you're prepared and able to deal with top-floor issues as they arise - with or without the help of your fellow shareholders. Just wanted soyiuz to be prepared that it may not be his neighbor's top priority to deal with a roof leak.

roof leaks can be very tuff. sometimes, ya run the hose, but no leak. A few days later, it rains & leak occurs. What happened? the wind: wind blows the rain in a weird way & water gets in, in some place you'll never find. Solution: new roof & that's OK if you own the blg, but could be big prob in a coop/condo.

I think OP should have roof inspected now & make price adjustments if roof is in bad shape.

IMO, roof warranties are BS. They'll come back & say the prob isn't covered by the warranty.

"sponsor is offering another 3years on any internal damage"
Well, that's nice, unless sponsor goes BK or MIA. Just make sure you carry a lot of insurance.

Most roof leaks come from penetrations at abutments and pitch pockets. it is also very important that the flashing is installed correctly. I would ask the sponsor if you could bring out the manufacturers rep to check the work.

agree re: flashing. Also, pointing brick or thorosealing brownstone on walls surrounding roof. And, waterproofing or replacing coping stones.

Leaking roofs are a big problem to every homeowner , fixing it on time will prevent those leaks to convert into big holes. So hire a Roofing Contractor so that these minor leaks will not become a major problem.