sportinwla

Greetings, everyone.

Thanks for having me as a member here. I was hoping to get some opinions on an addition that had been added to a house. My wife and I are considering a Southern California home built in the early 50's. Within the past few years (I need to confirm the exact time), a master bedroom addition was added to the house, with an additional bathroom. It is a flat roof addition. More recently, central AC and heat was added to the home, and the unit appears to have been placed on the roof, close to the addition. Since the addition has a flat roof, there was no way to hide the ductwork, and it is visible from a certain vantage point at the rear of the home.

I'd be curious to hear people's thoughts on the addition.... anything worrisome stand out? More or less should be okay? It appears to be an otherwise well maintained home. We would prefer not having the ductwork visible, but are taking this into consideration with the other positives of the house. Things I'm keeping in mind: possible noise from the AC (I'm going to have them run the unit), the flat roof and penetrations in the flat roof from the AC, type of flat roof (asphalt? rubber?), and thickness of roof (if too thin, will get hot quick).

Homeowner will be showing us the permits as well. Items to look out for? Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Scuba_Dave

I think only a blind person would mount ducts like that
I'd put a new roof over them to hide it

Make SURE theat addition was permitted AND inspected
Another person on here bought a house with a non-permitted addition & may be forced to tear it down since it is too close to the property line & is a fire hazard

beenthere

You were robbed.

yuri

I wonder if those ducts are single wall uninsulated? Do they have double wall insulated down there?

sportinwla

Thanks for the input. Just looking at this house, have not bought it.

Can you indeed build a roof over this? I think they should have built a peaked roof in the first place. I'll ask about the insulation as well when we meet them.

kenmac

no offence, But, I wouldn't own any thing with flat roof. Water needs to run off the roof not stand on it

Scuba_Dave

Where did the picture go?

mjbxx

lol. Straight to the point. lol

sportinwla

Sorry, I had removed the images, thinking it better not to post images of another person's property that we did not yet own. The addition was built back in the 50's by a previous owner and the current owner has shown us the permits. The roof has a slight slope to it, not completely flat. The older AC/Heating unit that had been on the roof had died, and the unit was replaced by a new unit in 2008. The ducts are apparently insulated.

yuri

Not sure how well paint sticks to galvanized metal but you may be able to paint them brown and look better. The joints are sealed with mastic and paint won't stick to that. Some electric solar panels may be a good investment if you get lots of sunlight there. Check if there are any government subsidies to have them installed. They may block the view of those ducts also.

Good Luck

sportinwla

Thanks, Yuri. Paint is one of our options. The current owner was pretty forthright with information. He admits to painting them once a year. He chose white to keep the ducts cool. A light tan might be a better option.

I think ducts on the roof is more of a Southern California thing. I did a Bird's Eye map view of the neighborhood and spotted more houses than I thought I would with the AC on the roof and ductwork. Not that it makes it better, just found it interesting

Scuba_Dave

As far as posting a pic
Anything that is viewable from a public viewpoint can be posted
--even some things that aren't viewable
Posting pics of the inside I think would be wrong
- unless the house was empty

sportinwla

what would it cost to put a pitched roof on the addition and move the AC elsewhere? ;P

beenthere

You would need to get prices from local contractors to find out how much it would cost.