Please help. Constant leak on flat bay window.

[Jay201]

Hi all. I'm really getting frustrated by an ongoing issue and I'm hoping to get some advice before shelling out more money.

I have a semi detached house. At the back of the house, there is a bay window on both properties with flat roofs. There is a shared led gulley that runs at the back of both of them (seems a poor overall design).

The roof leaked last year into the back bedroom and after getting several roofers around who did various patch up jobs, it was advised to replace the original led roof on my side. This was done with a fibreglass.

This year it has leaked twice again. The roofer says it's the poor design of the gulley which can't manage in heavy downpours and backing up on the neighbours side (seems odd how it lasted previously) and the only long term fix other than constant cleaning (no trees in the area) is to replace the shared gulley on both sides and try and separate the two properties.

I'm a bit ****ed that the roof was replaced without addressing what I'm now told is the actual cause and also wary noting the neighbour is not having any leaks. Just my side.

I've had 2 other roofers out and none can see any issue with the roof itself, they just suggest the bog standard, slap a bit of fibre glass paint as there may be an unseeable crack.

Has anyone got any thoughts ? This is turning into a money pit !

 

[datarebal]

Pictures

 

[noseall]

Hi all. I'm really getting frustrated by an ongoing issue and I'm hoping to get some advice before shelling out more money.

I have a semi detached house. At the back of the house, there is a bay window on both properties with flat roofs. There is a shared led gulley that runs at the back of both of them (seems a poor overall design).

The roof leaked last year into the back bedroom and after getting several roofers around who did various patch up jobs, it was advised to replace the original led roof on my side. This was done with a fibreglass.

This year it has leaked twice again. The roofer says it's the poor design of the gulley which can't manage in heavy downpours and backing up on the neighbours side (seems odd how it lasted previously) and the only long term fix other than constant cleaning (no trees in the area) is to replace the shared gulley on both sides and try and separate the two properties.

I'm a bit ****ed that the roof was replaced without addressing what I'm now told is the actual cause and also wary noting the neighbour is not having any leaks. Just my side.

I've had 2 other roofers out and none can see any issue with the roof itself, they just suggest the bog standard, slap a bit of fibre glass paint as there may be an unseeable crack.

Has anyone got any thoughts ? This is turning into a money pit !

Probably poor detailing or execution of the pitched-to-flat junction and no amount of repair of the visible stuff will cure it.

 

[datarebal]

constant cleaning

guessing the layout, There are buildings hundreds of years old that unless good maintenance is kept on top of, leak every time there are huge down pours. The rain storms are getting heavier .
Gutters, gullies, box gutters are not designed to be forgotten.... replace the lead with GRP .. umm maybe they did a you tube course?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Pictures will help a lot. How does this gulley eventually drain- is the downpipe hidden in the structure somewhere? (I recently replaced the lead roof on a bay window- the original lead-welded drain pipe dropped inside the bay roof then emerged from the side of it. Took a bit of thought to make enough space on the roof so the new GRP downspout dropped outside the bay roof thus any problems there will now be visible and not cause internal damage)

 

[Jay201]

Will try and ask the roofer for some pictures today and then post back, thanks !

 

[^woody^]

Bays tend to leak at the wall or at the edge, not the roof covering itself. And it's rare for a lead covering to need replacing.

The cause of your leak may not have been the roof cover, else it's a poor quality work.

 

[noseall]

guessing the layout, There are buildings hundreds of years old that unless good maintenance is kept on top of, leak every time there are huge down pours. The rain storms are getting heavier .
Gutters, gullies, box gutters are not designed to be forgotten.... replace the lead with GRP .. umm maybe they did a you tube course?

A lot of issues can be attributed to 'compost ' clogging up the bottoms of valley runs. Especially dry valleys. Some just need the leaves regularly cleaning out.

 

[datarebal]

Useful piece of info...where did you get that from

 

[^woody^]

I'd like to add that often, you just need to clear valleys out twice a year.

 

[Jay201]

Roofer has been up today and shared photos. Looks like the neighbour has never bothered to clean his side out and there is a garden growing up there !

The roofer is planning to remove the original shared cast iron gutter, clean everything out, fibreglass paint the under tray and then put in a plastic gutter end to end. He's also going to replace the neighbours roof with GRP like my side.

Noting the above it looks like it will be a good idea to have an annual cleaning of the gulley.

 

[Jay201]

Also is it just me or does that look like a really poor design ? Why not have no gap between the tiles and house roof, and then the gutter running around the front.

 

[datarebal]

its not ideal ,
The gutter garden will cause a build up in water depth which will leak in. you and your neighbor should keep them clear.
It might have been good to see the far end of the GRP (grp is for boats)
If you had got together with next door you could have easily changed to gutter around the outside. But you still need to clear them
Some slate damage that needs sorting, shame about the gunk painted over what is a good slate.
Another option I guess is get together with next door , strip out some of the lower courses of slate do the whole lot up under the slate roof so you have no joins.
I hate to say it , this could easily be done in GRP or even EPDM.
Then put slates back.

It appears your guy hasn't gone under the slates

 

[noseall]

Useful piece of info...where did you get that from

Experience and houses I’ve roofed with trees close by.

 

[datarebal]