Can Bricks Leak?...Am puzzled

[Tingly]

I have a flat balcony roof, with a layer of blue bricks around the edge.
We have some water ingress, which bizarrely seems to be coming from the bricks, down into the garage, and also into the adjoining room.
We have had 3 roofers who have said different things...
Roofer 1....top bricks surrounding balcony are letting water in possibly, so can reflash and put flashing over the bricks
Roofer 2..a number of random guesses , but in the end said take the top blue bricks off , put flashing UNDER them and replace
Roofer 3... he didnt blame the bricks at all, but said it was to do with the felt/flashing that goes up the side of the wall to where the bricks are...

HElp! How do i know who to believe? I do think it is the bricks though because there are tall brick pillars around the balcony too, and they are not near the flashing and they have gone a dark colour.

 

[Tingly]

So, i have marked up the photo now...is it 1...leaking bricks?..or 2...leaking grey spotty stuff (flashing?/felt?)
And how would you solve this?
And heres a video of it dripping into the garage below.

 

[datarebal]

We can't see the felt up stands very well.
But I'd go with roofer 2. Lead tray through the brickwork.
You could lay some plastic over the top of the brickwork and see if it stops ..
The bricks on edge won't let in. It's missing something else, probably a tray

 

[Tingly]

Thanks datarabal. I will do a pic of lead upstand in a mo. I guess you mean that grey spotty stuff. Whats a tray?

 

[^woody^]

Has this just started or been damp forever?

 

[Tingly]

View attachment 184992 View attachment 184992 View attachment 184992

 

[Tingly]

Notice how the bricks seem to have a black staining coming down. Thats why i wonder whether it is just the blue bricks or flashing/grey spotty stuff thats the problem.

 

[Tingly]

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[Tingly]

Good Morning,
I have posted this on a roofing thread too, but not sure if the problem is roofing.

I have a flat balcony roof, with a layer of blue bricks around the edge.
We have some water ingress, which bizarrely seems to be coming from the bricks, down into the garage, and also into the adjoining room.
We have had 3 roofers who have said different things...
Roofer 1....top bricks surrounding balcony are letting water in possibly, so can reflash and put flashing over the bricks
Roofer 2..a number of random guesses , but in the end said take the top blue bricks off , put flashing UNDER them and replace
Roofer 3... he didnt blame the bricks at all, but said it was to do with the felt/flashing that goes up the side of the wall to where the bricks are...

HElp! How do i know who to believe? I do think it is the bricks though because there are tall brick pillars around the balcony too, and they are not near the flashing and they have gone a dark colour.....the roofers seem to be ignoring this though, even though on the side where there is a full brick wall we are still getting damp

 

[Tingly]

A smell arrived in the garage 12 months ago, the black marks about the same time, but the water ingress became visible just about 6 months ago.

Has this just started or been damp forever?

 

[^woody^]

With parapet walls like that, there should be a DPC across the wall, and level with where that felt is turned into the wall, and this stops water moving down the wall. On the other side of the wall, flashing should be brought up the face of the wall to meet the DPC, so that no section of wall is exposed to let water get below the DPC. That's the concept.

The problem with putting a DPC across a wall such as this one is that it reduces grip of the capping (those blue bricks), so it needs careful thought and specification of suitable products.

Generally, water will leak into a room below a parapet for two reasons; bad design or wear and tear. With bad design, the dampness would tend to be there from day one (although gradually getting worse). With wear and tear, dampness will occur only after many years of dryness. This should help to narrow down the potential cause.

Initially and barring any obvious felt or lead defect, I'd consider thoroughly coating the blue bricks and any exposed masonry with a clear silane-based waterproof compound. This will be least invasive and obtrusive and will perform as DPC/capping/flashing all in one. The better products will brush on as a white cream so that you can see what's being treated, but will dry clear. Clean off any algae first, and point any gaps or cracks.

If that fails, then the wall will need a redesign with suitable DPC, trays and flashings. Including those piers.

 

[tony1851]

Ideally you need to post a few pics taken from ground level as well, to show context.

 

[Tingly]

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[Tingly]

With parapet walls like that, there should be a DPC across the wall, and level with where that felt is turned into the wall, and this stops water moving down the wall. On the other side of the wall, flashing should be brought up the face of the wall to meet the DPC, so that no section of wall is exposed to let water get below the DPC. That's the concept.

The problem with putting a DPC across a wall such as this one is that it reduces grip of the capping (those blue bricks), so it needs careful thought and specification of suitable products.

Generally, water will leak into a room below a parapet for two reasons; bad design or wear and tear. With bad design, the dampness would tend to be there from day one (although gradually getting worse). With wear and tear, dampness will occur only after many years of dryness. This should help to narrow down the potential cause.

Initially and barring any obvious felt or lead defect, I'd consider thoroughly coating the blue bricks and any exposed masonry with a clear silane-based waterproof compound. This will be least invasive and obtrusive and will perform as DPC/capping/flashing all in one. The better products will brush on as a white cream so that you can see what's being treated, but will dry clear. Clean off any algae first, and point any gaps or cracks.

If that fails, then the wall will need a redesign with suitable DPC, trays and flashings. Including those piers.

Thankyou for the advice...it makes good sense. It looks like i need a builder first the. To to repoint, then the compound painting on by a decorator to see whats happened.
The brickwork has been there 30 years and has been good this far, so therefore suspect wear and tear as you say.

thanks again.