Conservatory roof leaking

[mike.sendrove]

Hello all - I've done my due diligence, so please forgive me if this has been addressed previously: We've recently moved into a house which has a lean-to conservatory attached - in the recent strong wind and rain, we've noticed leaks from the point at which the PVCu joist runs along the side of the original house - it's worst is at the apex of the roof. I've decided that I want to get on top to replace the flashing - I've no idea how old the conservatory is, nor how good a job has been done of the current flashing (not that good from the looks of things!). I've never done this before, but I've checked around and found this:

Has anyone any experience of this? I'm 18stone, and I don't know that the joists in the roof will take me - they seem to be fairly flexible - any alternatives for getting access to the join between the conservatory roof and the house wall, with minimum load on the roof joists?

Also, and sorry to harp on, but am I right in thinking that I just need to get something like this and stick it on? As well as some sort of sealant to apply to the join between the flashing and the house wall?

It's probably far more complicated than that, but any pointers appreciated.

Thanks for any help, Mike

[Handy]

It's impossible to advise without being able to see the roof and what is wrong with it. If it's a glass roof, with double glazed sealed units, and you fell through, then you could be badly injured and face a large repair bill. Even if you could safely access the roof there are several possible defects that can result in leaking, some of which may not be fixable with flashing tape and sealant. If the flashing is lose in the joints between the bricks you would normally rake out the lose mortar then re-point with fresh mortar. If there are gaps between overlapping strips of flashing then either flashing tape or silicone sealant should seal those. If the flashing has been cut wrongly then it might need replacing. I would get some estimates from conservatory repair firms. The estimates will indicate what the problem is and how they will fix it, then you can weigh up the pros and cons of DIY versus the non-DIY approach. The safest method of access would be to remove a roof panel; if that's possible then a repair firm would probably have the skills to do that. Good luck!

[mike.sendrove]