Survey. Removal. Roofing. Evidence. Completion.
Your spray foam was removed. So why is the problem still there?
If you paid to have spray foam taken out of your loft and you are still hitting the same wall, a stalled sale, a lender or surveyor who is not satisfied, or water coming through a roof that was supposedly sorted, you are not imagining it and you are not unlucky.
Removal deals with the foam. Remediation deals with the roof. They are two different pieces of work, and a lot of homeowners have paid for the first and been told they have had the second.
We survey what was actually done to your roof, tell you plainly what is left, and give you a documented record you can put in front of whoever is asking.
What do you need help with?
Removal deals with the foam.
Remediation deals with the roof.
Removal
- Accessible foam
- Internal surfaces
- Visible material
- May not expose the roof build-up
Remediation
- Roof build-up
- Membrane and battens
- Coverings and timbers
- Photographic evidence
Why removing the foam may not have resolved it
Work carried out from inside the loft reaches the surfaces facing into the loft
Removal from inside is a legitimate method and on some properties it is the right one. Its limitation is one of access rather than effort. An operative in the loft can reach what faces them. Depending on the property, that may not include foam bonded to the far side of the underlay, or foam that has cured against the backs of the tiles or slates.
Foam can remain behind the membrane, around the battens and on the backs of the coverings
Closed-cell foam is rigid and it bonds to whatever it touches. Where the felt had already torn or sagged when the foam was applied, it can have pushed through and set against the battens and the coverings above. Those surfaces sit on the other side of the roof build-up, so they can only be seen once the covering is lifted.
The roof build-up may never have been opened or inspected
This is the part that catches people out. If the roof was not opened from outside, then nobody has seen the build-up. Nobody has looked at the top face of the battens, and nobody can say what condition the membrane is in behind where the foam was, or whether it is still intact. A loft that looks clear from the hatch can sit under a roof that has not been inspected.
Original roof defects can still be there
Foam was often applied to roofs that already had problems, and it hid them. Take the foam away and the original defect is still present, and in some cases has quietly worsened underneath. Perished felt, nail sickness, slipped or cracked tiles, timber in a poorly ventilated space. None of that is created by the removal, but none of it is fixed by it either.
Residual foam may still be visible to a future surveyor
Where bonded material remains in the eaves, in a valley or around a chimney stack, a valuer with a torch may well see it. From their side of the transaction, foam is still present in the roof.
Removal deals with the foam. Remediation deals with the roof.
Second opinion
The second opinion roof survey
This is deliberately a small, defined piece of work. Booking it does not commit you to anything.
What we check
- Residual foam. Where it is, how much, and whether it can be reached without opening the roof.
- The roof build-up. What sits behind and above the foam line, so far as it can be established.
- Membrane and battens. Type, condition and fixings where they can be seen or reasonably assessed.
- Roof condition. Coverings, flashings, verges, ridges and valleys, including anything that would concern a surveyor independently of the foam.
- Moisture readings at rafters, battens and wall plates where relevant, recorded with the location of each reading.
- External inspection where safe access allows.
What you receive
- A written report with photographs
- Plain-English findings, not a specification you need a roofer to translate
- What we consider needs doing
- What does not need doing
- Indicative options and costs where relevant
The survey does not automatically lead to a re-roof. Plenty of surveys conclude that the roof is sound and no significant work is required. That is a legitimate outcome, we put it in writing, and that written conclusion is often exactly what a homeowner needs in order to move on. The report is yours either way.
Evidence
The Countrywide Remediation Pack
Most homeowners who have had spray foam dealt with are left with a single sheet of paper stating that the foam has gone. That is not much use to a surveyor, and it is not much use to you when you come to sell.
We are not selling you a certificate saying the foam has disappeared. We are giving you an evidence trail showing what happened to your roof.
Depending on the property and the scope of works, a Remediation Pack can contain:
- Survey photographs taken before any work was ordered
- Pre-work roof condition, written up and photographed
- Foam type and location, including the areas affected and what it was bonded to
- Moisture readings where relevant, with the location and date of each one
- The works specification as carried out, including anything that changed once the roof was open and why
- Strip and open-up photographs showing the build-up as it was found
- Timber inspection covering rafters, purlins and wall plates
- Replacement membrane and batten details, including specification and the extent replaced
- Roof covering details, including what was re-used and what was replaced
- Building Control records where the scope required involvement
- Completion photographs, taken from the same positions as the pre-work shots
- Guarantee documents where applicable
- Final completion record
This is not a mortgage approval certificate. It is a factual record of what was found and what work was carried out. Decisions on lending and valuation are made by lenders and their appointed surveyors on their own criteria, and no contractor can commit them to anything. What a documented record does is give a third party something they can assess for themselves, rather than asking them to take a contractor's word for it.
How it works
Why homeowners come to us for this
Roofing first
We are a roofing company first
Spray foam came to us through roofing rather than the other way round. When the answer to a roof problem is a roofing answer, we are already the people who do that work.
Access
We can inspect and work from outside where the property needs it
Where the build-up has to be exposed to establish what is there or to deal with foam at source, we strip the covering from outside, renew membrane and battens where needed, and rebuild the roof. That is a roofing job and it is carried out as one.
Scope
We will tell you when major work is not required
We would rather have an honest report in your file than sell you something you did not need. If the residual foam is limited and the roof is sound, that is what the report will say.
Evidence
The work is documented
Survey photographs, pre-work condition, what was opened up, what was found, what was replaced, and completion photographs. It is compiled into a single Remediation Pack and it is yours to keep.
Building Control
Building Control coordination where it is required
Some roof works are notifiable and some are not, depending on the property and the scope. Where the scope of a re-roof requires Building Control involvement, Countrywide coordinates the process with LABC as part of the project, and the records go into your documentation.
Guarantees
Guarantees, described accurately
Where the project includes a qualifying re-roof, the roofing works are backed by an insurance-backed guarantee. Full terms and cover are confirmed in your quotation and completion documents. Survey-only visits and smaller repair scopes are covered differently, so we confirm what applies to your scope before you commit.
Get a straight answer about your roof
You have probably had enough of being told different things by different people. A survey gives you one document, with photographs, that says what is actually there.
Please have to hand: roughly when the foam was installed, roughly when it was removed, who carried out the removal, and anything a surveyor or lender has put in writing. If there is active water ingress, say so when you call and we will prioritise the visit.
Common questions
I already paid once. Why would I pay again?
You would not be paying again for the same thing. The first payment was for foam removal. A survey establishes whether the roof itself has been dealt with, which is a different question. Plenty of surveys conclude that no further work is needed, and that written conclusion is often exactly what a homeowner needs.
Can you tell from inside the loft whether foam remains?
Partly. A loft inspection will find foam on the visible faces and in the accessible eaves. It cannot show you the back of the tiles or the top face of the battens, because those surfaces are on the other side of the roof build-up. Where that matters, the roof has to be opened up.
Will your report get my mortgage approved?
No, and we will not tell you otherwise. Lenders and their surveyors make those decisions on their own criteria, and criteria vary between lenders and between individual valuers. What our report does is answer the underlying question about the roof with photographs and findings.
My roof started leaking after the foam came out. Could that be connected?
It can be. Removing bonded foam can disturb the felt or membrane behind it, and where foam was in contact with the backs of the coverings, tiles or slates can be damaged or displaced during the work. It is also possible the roof had an existing defect that the foam was masking. A survey establishes which, and that distinction matters if you intend to raise it with the previous contractor.
Do I need a whole new roof?
Often not. The scope depends on where the foam was, what it was bonded to, and the condition of the covering and timbers. Some properties need a full strip and re-cover, some need one elevation, and some need targeted work. We would rather tell you it is the smaller job when it is.
Is Building Control involved?
It depends on the property and the scope of the works. Some roof works are notifiable and some are not. Where the scope of a re-roof requires Building Control involvement, we coordinate the process with LABC as part of the project rather than leaving it with you.
Do you cover my area?
We work across England and Wales.
What if the previous contractor did a decent job?
Then the report says so. That is a legitimate outcome and it is a useful document to have.
Can you document work another company carried out?
We cannot certify somebody else's work and we would not try. What we can do is survey the roof as it stands now and document what we find, which gives you an independent record with photographs of your own roof.
What should I send you before the survey?
Anything you have. The previous contractor's quotation, specification or paperwork; any certificate they issued; photographs they took; and the exact wording of anything a surveyor, lender, solicitor or estate agent has put in writing. That last one is the most useful, because it tells us what question we are actually answering.
