Leaking Roof

Bergaspeed

Our roof has started leaking . There are no loose or missing tiles but the pointing around the velux window is cracked. We have only just noticed this as water started dripping through the attic hatch (due to the volume of rain we have had) and has ruined the carpet . On closer inspection it seems that it has been leaking for a while and has been dripping onto a cross beam which has started to go mouldy. We do not use the attic - only for storage

The roof was replaced and the velux window added before we bought the house (we bought it 3 years ago)

What should we do - call the original roofers and get them to look at is - would there be a guarantee? Or call the insurance?

naijapower

You should contact the roofers first. They may offer some initial advise or even come out for free to carry out a full check

chrisg1985

naijapower wrote: »

You should contact the roofers first. They may offer some initial advise or even come out for free to carry out a full check

Hi,

Is the home new? Have you a reciept of the actual work completed? I suspect because the velux is not faulty however the pointing/sealant is defective they will charge you to solve the problem. I would probably get up there when it's dry. Get a good silicone and seal it myself. Treat the beam straight away with cuprinol 5 star.

Bergaspeed

Ok, we have just had the surveyor in who says that the roof is leaking because it was not made properly. When we had our survey done when we were buying the house they said (and I have it in writing) that there was nothing wrong with the roof. I do not know who did the roof in the first place so am unable to contact them. The surveyor who came out today said I need to get in touch with the company who did our home buying survey as the may be liable - Obviously if they had found a problem then we wouldnt have bough the house.

Legally where do I stand?

olias

If you only had a home buyers survey, then I don't hold out much hope for you. Even with a full structural survey, they normally include clauses for roofs etc which they can't see or get to to inspect.

You mention pointing? A velux window would normally have a flashing kit to make it watertight. Can't imaging why there would be pointing around it?

Olias

macman

Can you be more precise about the surveyor saying 'the roof had not been made properly'? If it's just the flashing going around the Velux then it's a very minor job to put it right.
But if there's some other problem with the roof generally then that's rather more serious.

27col

I posted this in response to a very similar question a couple of days ago.

My neighbour has just had two Velux windows replaced, and they were done entirely from inside the house. So it would appear that it is not necessary to get out on the roof. In view of this is it not possible to have a thorough inspection of the flashing adjacent to the window and thereby establish the cause of the leak and then to affect at least a temporary repair.

Bergaspeed

Sorry, just to clarify - the roof is not leaking because of the crack in the pointing round the window - its not leaking from the window at all.

The surveyor has said that the tiles on the roof do not over lap enough, they should overlap by 2 - 3 " and ours only overlap by 1" therefore when it rains heavy the water is forced through the overlap and then leaks into the attic (only in one place though) If the person who did the original survey had gone up into the attic (which he did as he had to do a report on the beams ) and looked out of the window - he would have seen the overlap of the tiles also he could have opened the window and stuck his head out!

27col

I don't see what it's got to do with the insurance. Why would they pay out for something that is obviously badly constructed. If you have only got 25mm overlap then the tiles have definitely been wrongly installed. Even if the water was being blown back due to strong winds and a poor overlap, the roofing felt, if properly fitted, should stop water getting into the loft space. It sounds as the whole job is a complete bodge. There may be some way to get at the people who did the original survey but I would not hold my breath.