Help and Advice Needed on Leaking Replaced Conservatory Roof Conservatories are a great all-round addition to any home. Find help, advice and information on all aspects of this area.

[K L M Hart]

A replacement conservatory roof has leaked almost since installation 5 years ago. The installer has tried a few things to fix but has said that it is down to water ingress through the rendering and brickwork, and because the house was built around 1962 the type of lintel used then(the kitchen window looks into the conservatory/utility room) the water that is soaking through the render and the brick is hitting the lintel and then passing under the point where the Conservatory roof joins the original outside wall and dripping into the conservatory. One thing I don't understand is that the old roof did not leak , it was replaced to give better thermal insulation at a cost of £2000 and uses the same line where the old roof lead flashing was.Does anyone have an answer to this quandary thanks.

[thedoctor]

Hi. If the first roof did not leak at all and all this only started with the new roof....Providing they are on exactly the same height line, then my money is on a poor seal between the new roof and the wall. Whether this seal has been made in lead flashing (preferable) Flashband (just about acceptable) or sealant (not at all acceptable) it should be completely watertight and the area that usually causes the most problems is the chase which is cut into the wall to accept the lead flashing. If this is not sealed properly, or the instaation of lead flashing has caused the surrounding render to crack this can let in water very easily.

There is a chance the installer is correct. In this case a tray dpc should be installed retrospectively. This will take the water out of the cavity and let it escape through the wall ABOVE the roof line of the conservatory. This link here will show you how a retrospecive cavity tray works: http://www.tomspriggs.com/Tom_Spriggs_A ... Trays.html