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Outbuildings and conservatories

Should the flat roof of an attached garage be read as part of the house roof?

It is a roof, and it often sits against a first-floor wall. It deserves its own sentences: covering, upstand, outlet, and whether anyone could see it. It is not automatically included in a comment about the main tiled slope. A home survey from the ground may see only the edge.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Garage roofs are commonly felt on a low deck. They pond, they blister, and the flashing into the house wall pulls out. Water then enters the room above or the garage ceiling. That pattern is a flat-roof defect. It is not nail sickness of the main roof, and it is not a reason to retile the house.

RICS surveys do not give a remaining life in years for felt. If the rating says the covering needs replacing or investigating, ask a roofer what they could see and what the outlet does. There is no RICS felt price. Access may be as simple as a ladder or as awkward as a neighbour’s fence. The survey fee did not include the repair.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • Did you get onto or above the garage roof, or see it from a window?
  • Is the flashing into the house wall intact?
  • Is this rated separately from the main roof?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Ask for a quote on this deck only, unless the roofer finds the same covering elsewhere.
  2. Check the outlet. A new felt skin over a blocked outlet will pond again.
  3. Do not ignore it because the garage is “only a garage” if a bedroom sits over it.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Is a balcony over a porch the same kind of roof?

It is still a flat covering with an upstand and an outlet. The survey should say if it could not be seen.

Does a garage conversion make this roof a room ceiling?

The covering is still outside. Conversion papers do not reseal felt.

Sources