Age and type of house
The closet wing has a felt flat roof and the main roof is slate. Why should stains in the closet not be blamed on the slates first?
Stains in the closet should not be blamed on the slates first, because the closet wing has its own felt flat roof. That small roof sits over the closet, while the main covering is slate on a different slope. Marking on the closet ceiling is more likely to have crossed the felt above that room than to have come from slates further away. The survey has recorded both coverings and the stain. It has not opened the felt, and it has not proved which layer let water in.
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?
A Victorian closet wing is the small rear projection, often a former scullery or water closet, and its felt is a separate covering from the pitched slate roof. Felt fails at laps, at the upstand against the main wall, and where water sits. Slate defects show on the main slope and in the main loft, not automatically on the closet ceiling. Matching the stain to the nearest covering is the first reading. The survey has not lifted the felt and has not taken slates off.
Tell a roofer the closet wing is felt and the main roof is slate, and ask them to look at the flat roof before they price slate work. Tell the solicitor the stain sits under the felt, not as a proved failure of the main covering. Do not accept a quote that only renews slates if nobody has looked at the felt over the stained room. The survey has separated the two roofs. It has not chosen the repair or named which layer is open.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the closet under a felt flat roof rather than under the slates?
- Where is the staining relative to the closet wing, not the main loft?
- Have you left both coverings unopened, so neither leak is proved?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the closet stain as a felt-roof question first.
- Ask a roofer to inspect the closet wing before pricing slates.
- Do not brief the solicitor that the main slate roof has been proved to leak.
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
Does even slate on the main slope prove the closet is dry?
No. Even slates describe the main slope, not the felt on the closet wing. A tidy pitched roof can sit beside a flat roof that is marking the ceiling underneath. The survey has not opened either covering, so it has not cleared the felt and it has not blamed the slates. The stain still needs the nearer roof looked at.
If the felt looks recently laid, can the stain be ignored?
Not on this note. A new-looking felt can still fail at a lap or an upstand, and an old stain can remain after a covering was changed. The survey has not dated the felt and has not proved the stain is historic. Looks from the ground are not a test of the layer over the closet.