Ongoing leak through cavity from soffit and weatherboard interface

[spencerpj]

Hello, I have a 1970s house which the previous owners renovated a decade ago, and I have had water pouring in under a suspended cavity wall for the past two winters. I have had multiple roofers and surveyors look at it without success, so after ideas as to what I could do next.

The water only drips during driving rain directly against the wall. The verge has just been replaced and the battons were very wet, but still leaks. The cladding (Cedral) and UPVC facia and soffits have also been replaced and a waterproof membrane installed. If I spray a hose against the verge area where the cladding meets the soffit, it leaks.

Cavity trays haven't been fitted, so I can take this route to retrofit, but wanted advice before doing this as has only been a fairly recent issue, and expensive if not the solution. The lack of flashing and poor condition of the flat roof is also a concern, but couldn't get it to leak from these areas with the hosepipe test. Thank you

 

[ree]

OP,
I'm sorry for all your troubles - it must be very disheartening when there is so much potential for summer evenings on your glass fronted roof.
But yes, without being on site it would be difficult to try & analyse the complex of materials and design shown in your pics.

Just a few things that I noticed.
1. In pic #3 theres a horizontal crack in the render.
2. Pic #4 shows a suspicious abutment thats been previously treated with some kind of sealant - plus the guard rail post could have been fitted differently/better.
3. On the very left of Pic #5 some of the trim is displaced & perhaps water damaged?

The re-newed verge looks to be in good condition but it's still leaking - maybe tiles need lifting before that can be inspected.

If you approach a professional eg. RICS then email to them what you've said & shown above, and ask that they find the causes and provide solutions - plus their costs.

 

[spencerpj]

OP,
I'm sorry for all your troubles - it must be very disheartening when there is so much potential for summer evenings on your glass fronted roof.
But yes, without being on site it would be difficult to try & analyse the complex of materials and design shown in your pics.

Just a few things that I noticed.
1. In pic #3 theres a horizontal crack in the render.
2. Pic #4 shows a suspicious abutment thats been previously treated with some kind of sealant - plus the guard rail post could have been fitted differently/better.
3. On the very left of Pic #5 some of the trim is displaced & perhaps water damaged?

The re-newed verge looks to be in good condition but it's still leaking - maybe tiles need lifting before that can be inspected.

If you approach a professional eg. RICS then email to them what you've said & shown above, and ask that they find the causes and provide solutions - plus their costs.

Thank you, very helpful.

When the verge was replaced they lifted the tiles and replaced the wet/rotten battens.

I did use a RICS surveyor to help find the cause, who suggested first trying to retrofit a cavity tray, which I will do, but wanted to rule out other possible causes first, especially as a relatively new issue and I found that if I spray a hose at the edge of the cladding and the soffit, water leaks through the ceiling, so wondered if this is expected or has been fitted incorrectly. A breathable membrane was fitted.

 

[jj4091]

It doesn't look like they have taken the sealant into the rebate on the soffit boards. Could it be somethiing as simple as that. And can't see any at all on the bottom.

 

[noseall]

It doesn't look like they have taken the sealant into the rebate on the soffit boards. Could it be somethiing as simple as that. And can't see any at all on the bottom.

It shouldn't leak even without the cladding.

I doubt it's coming in from where the OP thinks it is. It's probably something daft like the window and the cavity.

 

[datarebal]

Shouldn't need a cavity tray and it'll make no difference
It looks like it's showing more on the inner skin.
Battens wet ...difficult to see exactly headlaps look skimpy . Id revisit the roof .
Check gauges on each course check the underlay is correctly fitted,

 

[spencerpj]

Shouldn't need a cavity tray and it'll make no differee nce.
It looks like it's showing more on the inner skin.
Battens wet ...difficult to see exactly headlamps look skimpy . Id revisit the roof .
Check gauges on each course check the underlay is correctly fitted,

Thank you, what do you mean by "headlamps"?

 

[ajrtd]

He meant "headlaps" the overlap of the tiles.

 

[datarebal]

He meant "headlaps" the overlap of the tiles

Yes fat fingers

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

He meant "headlaps" the overlap of the tiles.

Looking at the edges of those tiles, the headlaps appear to be absolutely tiny. OP, could you post a photo of the roof and tiles in that area? Your mention of needing to replace rotten battens, also supports the idea of rain penetration, via the roof tiles.

You also mentioned spraying water against the soffits/cladding, I would be surprised if that didn't cause ingress. It's not normal for rain to hit that area, so hardly a fair diagnostic test.