Installation of new hopper head, re-fixing downpipe & clearing drain to restore rain water flow.
Sealing the fixing screw heads. When this roof was installed 10 years ago the fixing heavy section screws were over tightened or missed the beam. Consequently they have now started to cause roof leaks.
Open roof surgery. The chimney breast inside this property was soaking. As usual the only way to fix a leak like this is to take it all apart and start again.
Sealing the lead chase with polyurethane where the previous sealant was left short.
When this property was built approx. 150 years ago the gulley behind the parapet coping stones had good flow but over time the building has settled causing the gulley to lose it’s flow. Consequently the rain water has got into the building under the laps on the lead. The mortar chase for the lead apron in front of the coping stones on the string course has also failed. This has led to damp problems around the windows at the front of the house so serious that the plaster has collapsed. We have stripped out the slates above the laps on the lead in the gulley in order to seal them completely. Next we re-fixed all the slates, replacing any that were broken or damaged. Then we removed the failed mortar from the lead chase & sealed it using polyurethane. Finally we applied a PVA wash to the front of the property & re-pointed the bonds between the Ashlar blocks.
This downpipe was blocked solid due to the joint collars having an opening that was too small. Cast iron joints like this are now only manufactured with this smaller 45mm diameter at the sleeve which is too small & tend to get blocked easily at the off set bend. This is a prime example of the problems joint collars like this cause. We always use good condition reclaimed cast iron which has the correct aperture to allow unimpeded rain water flow.
This is a length of iron pipe that was lodged inside the downpipes.
