valley

[spx]

Hi, Im realy looking for some advice before I invite a roofer around as I don't want to get caught again.

I live in a terrace house and the house next door had a two story extension on the back. Almost 3 years ago I decided to do the same and I found out that next door had built right on the boundary line. Before I put the extension on I just had a single storey extension with a flat roof.

The builder I had said we had a problem as because I was so close to next door they had to install a valley between us. I said make sure that you brick up higher than my neighbours roof to ensure that no rain would drain into my home but they said this was not possible. They have installed a 'flat' valley between us and every winter it gets blocked and leaks through my kitchen - I have to getup onto the roof to clean it out. Can someone advise what type I should have as I'm getting quite old and don't want to climb up there for the rest of my life!

The vally is over 5m in lenght and made from lead.

Builders are usless - told me it's all they could have done and just said to keep cleaning it.

Sorry it's a long explanation I'll try an attach pictures if you need them.


Thankyou.

 

[chappers]

picture would be handy,
Are you saying that you have an identical extension to next door, why didn't your builder butt up to theirs, if they built up to the boundary , and then tie the two roofs together

 

[ladylola]

If it's done properly then a lead valley should outlast most of us on here. You say that it's 5m long, please tell me this isn't done in one single piece of lead. There should be a couple of drips or steps thet rise about 2 3/4" to a little over 3" to the next bay. The fall should be 1 in 80 , if it's less than this water may end up sitting in the valley.
What does the valley empty into? I'm presuming there should be some sort of hopper head and a down stack which should be around 3" in diameter. Is the lead dressed into this hopper?
Does your neighbour have problems with water entering his property as the valley will of course be half on his house too?
As chappers says , pictures!

 

[spx]

Thankyou for your replies I was hoping the weather would be better today so I could get up there and get some photos for you.

It about 4m long in one length and two joints right where I think the leak happens when it gets blocked (where the two roofs meet)

My neigbour is ok at he valley spans the gap between my two wall skins and is getting in that way.

We did originally have problems with the downpipe it is a hopper and most of the hole was covered in lead which I had to shape/cut as the water was pouring out of it in bad rain.

Where you said they should have tied the two roofs together as we are so close - what does that mean please? They shouldn't have put a valley in?

 

[ladylola]

I still think we need pictures.
I'm not 100% sure what you mean when you say It's 4m long and has two joints. If you have a single piece of lead 4m long then that's too long, it will crack and leak with the expansion on such a lenght.
One thing , re reading your original post , Im not clear wheather you have a flat or pitched roofs as I can't see how the valley could be wholy on your side if they are pitched.
If you have flat roofs then it should have been possible to tie the roofs together to form one continous roof without the need for a valley. What is the covering if the roofs are flat, felt?
If the roofs are pitched then again the rafters are tied together with horizontal timbers to form you flat valley gutter.
If as you say the valley spans your two wall skins then it's possible that it is very narrow and will block easily with leaves and water is sucking up any joints.

 

[spx]

Hey guys,

i've uploaded the files to my images, hopefully you will be able to view them.

My house is the red tiled one. I think theleak happens where the valley's from the two main roofs meet - this is where al the dirt and devry keeps buliding.

Where you can see my nieghbours gutter is where my extension ends so I think there is a max 3"/4" gap between us. That's why i wanted to go higher than them and have my own gutter above thiers - but thebuilders said this was not possible?

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[joe-90]

Is his gutter over your land then?

 

[ladylola]

You have said that builders are rubbish-
I have to disagree there, but only because I can't believe any proper builder would do a job like this. It's quite frankly an appalling mess!
Firstly one lenght of lead is wrong , it'll crack and split with the expansion.
Secondly , how on earth has it been weathered onto your neighbours side? That plastic guttering shouldn't be there, the lead work should be sat onto a flat wooden "platform" or bay that is formed by fixing 3x2s to both yours and your neighbours rafters and boarding. These bays shouldn't really be over 2.5m in lenght and the joint between them is formed by raising the next bay (i.e. away from the downpipe end) upwards by 65mm minimum. This also makes the second bay wider and it will sit higher onto both roofs.
I'm also not impressed with how your tiles are sitting flat onto the lead either there's potential for capillary action to draw water into your roof.I'm also unclear what I'm looking at in the first picture, why can we see the edge of a tile? The whole thing is unfinished.
As I say not done by a builder, did he wear a stetson and ride a horse by any chance?
I'll try to post some pictures of what you should have.

 

[Nige F]

Hi, Im realy looking for some advice before I invite a roofer around as I don't want to get caught again.


Thankyou.

You need a proper carpenter to lay a whole new tapered flat roof and a proper leadworker to cover it with lead - and maybe a roofed over scaffold to keep the rain out while work is done - or a good summer next year. A lot of "roofers" are as bad as your " builder". Maybe ,just maybe your neighbour will contribute £

 

[htgeng]

It's quite frankly an appalling mess!.

The way it has been designed will always have the potential to leak. Imagine if that valley is full of snow waiting to melt. The neighbours side would probably cope as that was done first and it was naughty of them to build right up to the boundary edge.

Its unlikely the neighbour will want to contribute,but when the OP's extension was built they should have discussed bringing the roof pitch up on the boundary line so there wasn't a valley at all in the middle.

Perhaps this was the lowest of the three quotes for the job?

 

[spx]

As I say not done by a builder, did he wear a stetson and ride a horse by any chance?
I'll try to post some pictures of what you should have.

Thanks for you comments some picture would be great just for me to have a visual idea. They builders were recommeded by the guy in the local builders merchant - but halfway through the job I could tell their work was bery poor, but I'd already paid them half and couldn't then afford to change them as they had already pulled all the roof off.

 

[spx]

[/quote] You need a proper carpenter to lay a whole new tapered flat roof and a proper leadworker to cover it with lead - and maybe a roofed over scaffold to keep the rain out while work is done - or a good summer next year. A lot of "roofers" are as bad as your " builder". Maybe ,just maybe your neighbour will contribute £[/quote]

I don't think I am allowed to have a flat roof , I think it's in the rules set down by the planning office. That would have made it far easier

 

[spx]

Is his gutter over your land then?

Hi, yes,

 

[spx]

I found some images of when it was being built, guess I always knew it would be a problem...

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[Nige F]

www.leadsheetassociation.org.uk/html/2503.html That`s what you should have as Ladylola described