Flat roof/wall seal - does this look okay?

Glastoun · 10 Dec 2015

Probably like a lot of people, we discovered a leak in our flat roof last weekend.

Photos of the flashing/seal between the wall and roof:

The little grey strip looks to have crazed every inch or so, and in the second image there is a small section missing - is this the culprit? How do I repair/replace this?

At the end of the guttering, between the guttering and the wall, there is some grey stuff that is kind of soft, like putty - is it supposed to be like that, or has that got damp? Does anything need repairing here:

Thanks for any advice,

catlad · 10 Dec 2015

That flashing should be protected quite well by the bell cast if its lead and in decent condition, impossible to tell from those photo's

ree · 10 Dec 2015

"the little grey strip" seems to be a remedial measure of caulking applied because of some past difficulty. Its not working. You could rake it out and lift the lead to look for water penetration. Pic behind the flashing.

Is that lead or lead substitute flashing? Max length for lead is 1500mm - 1600mm.
The felt should have been run up behind the "lead" cover flashing.

Pic 1. lower left, shows an odd detail, a drop, and then a flat bit before turning down into the gutter.

Pic 3. shows water stains/rust behind the gutter end cap. Why not pic "the soft grey stuff" from above?
Is that a brick projection level with the gutter? Another pic, from further back, of that end of the roof and fascia would help?

OP: Bear with me - my computor is acting up a bit esp. for pics.

^woody^ · 10 Dec 2015

Is the leak running down the wall below the flashing?

Glastoun · 10 Dec 2015

^woody^ said:
Is the leak running down the wall below the flashing?

Its congregating under the ceiling wallpaper of our bay window, but it seems to be level with and running along where the external wall is. So underneath the flashing, yes, is the long confused answer.

^woody^ · 10 Dec 2015

Lol.

The felt would normally run up the wall behind that flashing, and that felt should be the waterproof layer and not the flashing.

You'll need to investigate behind the flashing.

The black mastic is Roofers Mate, which is a great product for sealing and jointing along edges

terrypin · 10 Dec 2015

It could be tracking from anywhere.
If you're going to try a repair yourself start with the obvious.

The lead(as mentioned)looks pretty much protected at the top and the felt upturn should be well covered by the lead.

It could be one of those leaks that will never show again unless the wind and rain are exactly the same as during the recent storms.

Glastoun · 30 Dec 2015

Been dry since the 10th December, but showed itself again last night (very windy again, probably not a coincidence).

The felt seems to run up behind the flashing, so looks like that is in order. I'll renew the mastic between the felt and the flashing, just in case.

We have had problems with our gutters not draining properly, and from the photos it looks like the guttering actually goes up behind the felt - could this be where it's getting in? You can see the felt looks damp where water level had risen up:

Otherwise I'm at a loss. Was squeezing a good-sized saucepan's worth of water out of the ceiling paper this morning.

terrypin · 30 Dec 2015

The water would run over the side of the gutter before it could rise above it. If the rainwater was not flowing to an outlet it would still retain some of water. Your gutters look empty(ish)

Where is the ingress in relation to the gutter?
Flat roofs can leak well away from the point of ingress.
If the leak is close to the gutter it could be the drip ledges.

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Flat roof/wall seal - does this look okay?

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