Leaking flat front bay roof - Victorian house from 1880

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Hello, Another leaking bay roof! The downstairs bay window has a felt roof and when it rains heavily, the water is dripping constantly and fills a bucket within a few hours. Above the bay window is nothing except sky though on the next floor up is a window that is flush with the cavity wall of the house. One roofer wanted to replace the felt on the bay window roof (he didn't do any inspection). The second roofer wants to take some tiles off the roof of the house, re-felt there, attend to the flashing where the bay window joins the house, and also put 'Aquaseal' on the bay roof. It is expensive, whatever I do. Is this a familiar leaking scenario?
 
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Thanks. I will post some pics probably at the weekend! There is single brick between the house and the next-door property (shared wall), the side of the house is 'British Bond' and I assumed there were cavity walls elsewhere? Is this unlikely for Victorian era?
 
It isn't impossible for it to be a cavity wall, but is is very very unlikely. They weren't common until the 1920's.
 
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'Finger' cavities do exist on buildings of that age but as said are not particularly common. A small gap between the inner and outer brick leaves but nothing like a true cavity as we know them today.
 
Is it possible for water to enter at the roof of the house (even though the attic and roof is dry) and run down between the bricks (even though there is a window on the upper floor) or is it more likely that water gets in where the front bay joins the house (where the flashing is quite shoddy and worn). I will of course post pics but that strikes me as more likely.
 
Dear friends, Today I poured buckets of water over the flat bay roof and gave it a good soaking to see if any would leak through and none did. I suspect it is to do with the flashing/cavity wall - not quite sure.

Please take a look at a range of photos of the problem at //www.diynot.com/network/lordbeau/albums/19275 and I'd be grateful for any advice!
 
Have you checked the window for leaks if you can rule that out then its almost certain to be the main roof.
 
<snipped>Today I poured buckets of water over the flat bay roof and gave it a good soaking to see if any would leak through and none did. I suspect it is to do with the flashing/cavity wall - not quite sure.

Well the flashings are a mess and really need doing properly just to eliminate them! In particular the gaps in the pointing where the flashing is tucked in are an invitation to water ingress behind the flashing - With a bit of luck it may solve your problem.

Giving the roof a good soaking was a sensible idea, next time throw some water on the wall and see what happens!
 
/cavity wall - not quite sure.
You don't have a cavity wall. That is Flemish bond brickwork and is a solid 1 brick thick wall.

For what it's worth, I'd redo the flat roof and the flashing just to make a decent job of the lot. The flashing is definitely suspect although I can't see how that would cause a leak at the front of the bay, so I'd strip it and redo it all.
 
You can sometimes find cavity walls built with Mock Flemish Bond, using snapped headers, especially in Victorian properties.
 

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