Outbuildings and conservatories
The shed flat roof holds a pond and the house roof does not. Why must the shed pond not be written up as a house-roof failure?
The shed pond must not be written up as a house-roof failure because the house roof does not hold that water. Ponding on the shed flat roof is a defect of the shed covering, its falls or its outlets. The survey has separated the two roofs. It has not said the house covering has failed, and it has not inspected the house roof by looking at the shed. A pond on an outbuilding stays on the outbuilding.
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?
Flat felt holds a pond where the deck has sagged, the fall is the wrong way, or an outlet is blocked. That mechanism is local to the shed. The house roof is a different covering, often pitched, and the report says it does not pond. Mixing the two produces a house defect the visit did not find. The survey can still say the shed felt is holding water. It cannot, from that pond, describe slates, tiles or flashings on the house that it did not link to this water.
Ask a roofing contractor about the shed falls and outlets if you want the pond dealt with, and keep the quote on the shed. Tell the solicitor the house roof was not the surface holding water. Do not renegotiate the house covering on the strength of a shed pond. If the house roof has its own notes, read those notes, not this one.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the pond on the shed flat roof, and absent from the house roof?
- Have you kept the shed covering separate from the house covering?
- What of the shed falls or outlets did you actually see?
What are the typical next steps?
- Write the pond against the shed, not against the house roof.
- Ask a roofer about the shed falls and outlets if you want them repaired.
- Do not treat the house covering as failed because the shed holds water.
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
If water from the shed splashes the house wall, has the house roof failed?
Splash on a wall is a drainage or outlet question at the shed. It is not the house roof holding a pond. The survey says the house roof does not. A wet wall should be read as its own note, not as a failed house covering.
Does sound felt on the shed clear the house?
Sound or ponding, the shed felt is the shed. It neither clears nor condemns the house roof. This note is that the shed holds a pond and the house roof does not. Keep the two surfaces apart. Do not merge the two roofs.