Advice sought on how to achieve an inspection of roof parapet or other ideas

Hello all,

Without going into (much) detail, my ground-floor flat in 1970s brick-wa lled self-contained block, had damp in one corner of a room. With the asse nt of maintenance company, I had some work carried out (Sika injection) on the external and internal walls. Currently I am not sure 1) if the wall if "drying out", 2) whether the work done was irrelevant or 3) (sleepless nigh t scenario) the work done has made the problem permanently worse, since dam p has re-emerged internal on one (very rainy) day.

My question is: what "rights" do I have to have the roof inspected and can the freeholder / maintenance company refuse access for inspection?

I am trying to locate a competent, impartial, experienced building inspecto r / surveyor in North London to advise on any recommended further actions. I am in discussion with one surveyor as how to proceed.

Is there a specialist building / damp or legal forum I could go to for advi ce before I start paying large amounts in professional fees? I accept the i nformation I gain through forums may be ill-informed opinion but I am hopin g someone who reads this can give me advice based on knowledge or personal experience - or at least point me in the right direction as to where to get help.

My current issue is that the parties concerned have different positions on how to proceed

1) The builder wants access to the roof to inspect the coping stones at the top of the parapet as he feels that could be the source of water ingress. Ok, if that is true, how come the damp is not experienced by the top floor flats? I have asked the occupants of the top floor flats - I have only esta blished contact with one flat owner at the moment - if they experience damp , and they say no. I have left my phone number at all flats asking for any information on symptoms of damp. Those I have spoken to say the have tempor ary condensation issues fixed by opening windows.

2) The building manager will not permit my builder access to the roof citin g insurance concerns/ restrictions. I understand this concern.

3) I have had a phone conversation and sent an email with some attached pho tographs of the problem to a local building surveyor. I have asked the surv eyor for his fees.

My great concern is the work I have had done has actually made the problem worse and is irreversible. My more immediate concern is if I pay for a surv ey (one could argue it is the collective responsibility of the block for su ch issues to be investigated - but I just want the problem understood and f ixed) without access to the roof any survey might not locate the probably / possible source of the problem.

Any suggestions on how I can proceed?

Clive

Reply to
clive.r.long
Loading thread data ...

walled self-contained block, had damp in one corner of a room. With the as sent of maintenance company, I had some work carried out (Sika injection) o n the external and internal walls. Currently I am not sure 1) if the wall i f "drying out", 2) whether the work done was irrelevant or 3) (sleepless ni ght scenario) the work done has made the problem permanently worse, since d amp has re-emerged internal on one (very rainy) day.

n the freeholder / maintenance company refuse access for inspection?

tor / surveyor in North London to advise on any recommended further actions . I am in discussion with one surveyor as how to proceed.

vice before I start paying large amounts in professional fees? I accept the information I gain through forums may be ill-informed opinion but I am hop ing someone who reads this can give me advice based on knowledge or persona l experience - or at least point me in the right direction as to where to g et help.

n how to proceed

he top of the parapet as he feels that could be the source of water ingress . Ok, if that is true, how come the damp is not experienced by the top floo r flats? I have asked the occupants of the top floor flats - I have only es tablished contact with one flat owner at the moment - if they experience da mp, and they say no. I have left my phone number at all flats asking for an y information on symptoms of damp. Those I have spoken to say the have temp orary condensation issues fixed by opening windows.

ing insurance concerns/ restrictions. I understand this concern.

hotographs of the problem to a local building surveyor. I have asked the su rveyor for his fees.

m worse and is irreversible. My more immediate concern is if I pay for a su rvey (one could argue it is the collective responsibility of the block for such issues to be investigated - but I just want the problem understood and fixed) without access to the roof any survey might not locate the probably / possible source of the problem.

sounds like a classic case of turning a molehill into a mountain. Get a deh umidifier with humidistat and most likely the problem will disappear.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

If water is getting inside a cavity wall, it could appear almost anywhere. Although it would seem odd that it travelled several floors before becoming noticeable.

Why not use a decent drone and camera to inspect the top of the wall?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Get a drone and photograph it. :)

Reply to
FMurtz

I am running a dehumidifier at the moment near the dampness but what was concerning me was the wall was getting wet rather than damp (maybe a subtle distinction) after the work was done.

I like the suggestions of a drone. I will investigate that.

Clive

Reply to
clive.r.long

If it's not condensation, the pattern of the damp sometimes tells a thing or 2.

A camera on a pole is often simpler than a drone.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Except that he said it is multistory and he was not on upper one or I would have mentioned that

Reply to
FMurtz

I'm pretty sure he can choose his options himself based on how near he can get access. I doubt we need advise on that point. Nor do I need point out that in a percentage of cases one can get fairly near.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

How many storeys in the block?

You can hire cherry pickers very reasonably to go up the outside and look without actually getting onto the property.

If you are worried about legal/insurance issues then I would hire someone who is licensed to do a drone survey. In this case DIY is almost certainly illegal as you are flying over other peoples' property.

I can't initially see a major issue with a builder inspecting a roof (they do that kind of thing as a job) so I wonder if the Building Manager knows that there is a problem and is trying to avoid it being discovered; especially if it would mean a new roof.

Oh, is it a flat or pitched roof? That could make a difference in ease of access if it is 8 storeys up and a pitched roof. Still, cherry picker.

One alternative is to remove on or more bricks/blocks from inside the wall at the main point of damp. That would at least establish of there is mortar on a wall tie bridging the gap. As you are on the ground floor you could also remove a brick from the outside.

As far as I know cavity walls are expected to have some water running down between the cavities at times. What should not happen is that the water bridges across the cavity. So to me it is less important if the water is coming from above or from directly outside. In either case it should not be able to get from the outside to the inside. Of course, if there is a problem right at the top which allows water to run all the way down the inner wall then you could have problems, but even then the water should run past your room and into the foundations.

Main thing is that if you have had the inner wall waterproofed and the water is still coming through the area that has been treated then the treatment has not (yet) worked.

Cheers

Dave R

Reply to
David

Is there a bathroom or kitchen above the room affected or a radiator? I hav e seen leaks between storeys where only the wall has been affected and the ceiling unaffected. The fact that you feel the damp has got wetter after th e damp proofing work in my opinion supports an internal issue.

Richard

Reply to
Tricky Dicky

It might be that being a 70's build, the brickies threw the snots down inside the cavity wall, so you have a solid wall from DPC up about 3 brick courses. My 76 semi was like this.

If the coping stones have suffered thermal creep over the years then water may well be running down the inner face of the outer leaf, which would explain why the upper flats don't have a problem. The water hits the bridged cavity when it gets to you. The wall ties will also be covered with lumps of mortar from the brickies actions (mine are like that).

I would insist on having a couple of corner bricks removed from DPC up and a flexible camera poked in to see what the cavity is like.

Also use a pair of binos and look for mortar damage. Has an upper flat had a new boiler fitted into the wall above where your damp appears ?. Are there any leaking gutters or downpipes or overflows. Are there any leaking appliances in the flats above that could be tracking around their concrete floors and entering the cavity some way from where the appliance is ?.

Reply to
Andrew

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.