Building Leak Investigations at a Prestigious Apartment Complex

Many of our contracts are ongoing, primarily due to the size of the site or age of the buildings. A case in point is a prestigious central London apartment complex built in the 1970’s, primarily of concrete construction with brick facades. This consists of approximately 300 apartments – studios and one or two bedroom flats – set in its own well established grounds and with an outlook over one of London’s largest parks. The architectural and design team was prodigious during this period with many examples of their work in evidence throughout the capital.

The roofs are generally waterproofed with mastic asphalt and whilst this can be expected to have a long life expectancy, problems can occur after decades of use.

We have been appointed by the Estate Management Company to undertake our building leak detection service for this project and to date have been instrumental in resolving in excess of 15 leaks.

Where the asphalt is exposed, it is possible to undertake an electronic leak detection test of the waterproofing to quickly establish its integrity and locate any breaches. Where issues have been found and the leak source confirmed, these have been repaired by approved contractors and resolved the leaks.

With a structure of this age, there are numerous other factors which can also be contributing factors to structural leaks. Throughout this project, issues have also been identified with planters, door thresholds and brickwork, to name a few. With such items, it is often useful to inspect difficult to access parts of the structure with a borescope or flexible camera. This can give an indication of possible detailing issues and establish whether more intrusive investigations are required.

Where items of concern have been found the source has been located by our technique of positive testing, whereby a selection of testing techniques are used to locate the point of water ingress.

Again, following our leak investigations, contractors have undertaken remedial repairs and the leaks have successfully been resolved.

Further information on our Building Leak Detection Service can be found on our website, or our team would be happy to discuss your individual situation with you. Please call 01342 410508 for further information.