leaking conservatory - damp internal wall

[adamd100]

Hello all - I know there are lots of posts on leaking conservatories, but I am not sure they answer my issue, so hopefully someone can help! My conservatory is leaking on the wall that connects the house to the conservatory on the external (conservatory) side, which I understand is quite common – the conservatory is 14 years old and this has only become an issue in the heavy rain of the last 2 months – it has never leaked before. This is what I have tried to do to fix the issue:

1. Lifted the lead flashing and sealed it down to the conservatory pane using leadmate. Re-sealed the lead flashing into the brickwork (it is cut in to the mortar as it is supposed to be).
2. I had a builder come out who was convinced the issue was cracks in the mortar on the brickwork around the conserve – he told me my sealed lead flashing looked fine and said I just needed to re-point the mortar – I have done this (using silicone for brickwork) but this hasn’t improved things either.

Please see photos of the damage and the conservatory/flashing below:
//www.diynot.com/network/adamd100/albums/19717

I doubt there is a cavity wall tray fitted, but I don’t know for sure, as I didn’t own the house when it was built. I had cavity wall insulation fitted around 5 years ago, so I guess that the insulation in the cavity must be waterlogged – but I can still see the marks on the walls getting worse realtime during heavy rain – so it seems there is still a leak that I haven’t fixed - any ideas where to look? And once I have fixed the leak how can I dry the insulation – will I have to have it removed?
Any advice would be appreciated...

 

[ree]

The pointing doesn't look to be in great shape but i'm judging it from an angled pic with shadow.

Pic the "cracks" referred to, please.

You'll have to determine if you have cavity trays or not. I didn't see cav tray weep holes.

The PVC cills are giving good projection cover.

The lead flashing, in my experience, is not meant to be sealed to the glazing.
I'd suggest that you fold it back so that you can get a clear pic of the glazing bar near the wall.
Do this on both sides from a position tight to the wall and looking up.

Also a pic out of the bedroom window showing how the ridge meets the saddle flashing.

What kind of cavity fill was used?

Are damage signs showing inside the main house?

Is the yellow stuff lichen?

 

[Gazman16]

Check the sealant for gaps and cracks around the windows above it too

 

[Alastairreid]

Without fitting cavity trays! get it all repointed and a liberal coating of a decent waterseal.

 

[adamd100]

Thank you all for your replies. I have added some more photos as requested:

//www.diynot.com/network/adamd100/albums/19725

Ree – you are right about the quality of the pointing – it is not the best, but I have siliconed all the visible ‘cracks’ in the mortar – I have added a photo to the link below which highlights the cracks I could see which were deep into the mortar – the builder who inspected it thought these I have highlighted were the root cause of the leak, but water is still coming through even now they are sealed.

With regards to sealing the lead flashing – it wasn’t originally sealed to the glazing – my old man suggested this was something I could try! This may have been bad advice – should I break my seal? The yellow on the lead flashing is some kind of lichen or mould – it certainly won’t come off - a few years ago I tried scrubbing the hell out of it, but to no avail.

Whether I have a cavity drip tray – I really don’t know. There are weep holes littered throughout the brick wall – in fact I found one that had been installed the wrong way up, so will have been funnelling water into the cavity for 10 years (highlighted in one of the photos)! I just siliconed that up too – as although I know they are needed for ventilation, there are plenty more of them along the wall.

The cavity wall insulation is Supafil BBA I think, but there is no sign of any damage at all on the inside of the house.

I have also resealed in both the window sills to both bedrooms above the conservatory.

I can certainly try the waterseal - for £20 I am sure I can do all the brickwork on the affected side in no time. Anything else to try - I don't see any more holes in the pointing, so would re-pointing the lot not be a last resort?

 

[tony1851]

You have dot-and-dab plaster finish internally? The stains seem so prominent lower down that it looks as though water is getting behind the plasterboard itself.
The conservatory is unlikely to have a cavity tray fitted - these things are built to a price and trays are rare in these instances.
But if you are sure you have sealed up all the mortar joints above, then the lack of a tray should not be a problem.
Are you sure it's not just getting under the lead where it sits flat on the roof?

 

[Alastairreid]

The pointing looks soft!!

 

[adamd100]

Hello Tony1851 – I don’t think there is any plaster board on the wall – I think they plastered straight onto the brickwork as far as I can see. The wall is flush with the brickwork outside – there is no obvious sign of the 9mm step that would indicate there is plasterboard. The reason that the ‘leaks’ are so prominent is that they are coming through from the holes that were drilled when they put the cavity wall insulation in – I then polyfilled these holes – all these holes are clearly visible as leak holes – I guess because through the polyfill they are linking through to the other side of the brickwork?

Does this in itself show that the leak is from the other side of the brickwork (cavity side), rather than water somehow leaking behind the lead flashing (which would be on the outside of the brickwork)?

I don’t think the water is getting under the lead flashing on the glazing panel – if it was I would should see leaking or damp on the inside of the first glazing panel closest to the wall – and I don’t...