Water ingress from verge of roof

[nick_noal]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on what could be the cause of a damp patch on the inside of the roof verge in a three bedroom terraced house.

This is in the outrigger part of the house if that makes a difference...

It’s been an ongoing issue with me since I bought the property and have recently had new eves trays fitted to the gutters as well as repairing some cracked tiles on the roof.

The problem persists and a different Roofer has said the problem is that water is running down the verge of the Outrigger (see first image).

There is also no ventilation in the loft area directly above which has caused the underside of the felt to become saturated.

They have recommended striping the outrigger roof and re-doing this with breathable felt and a few vent tiles.

My question is, would condensation in the loft cause this much damp to get in the bedroom?

Also would the recommend works stop the water from running down the verge of the wall?

I appreciate it’s difficult to judge by photographs but would appreciate any help.

Thanks

 

[He who knows]

That is indeed pretty grim looking damp.

To cut to the chase, I have no relevant expertise in this area, but intuitively I can't see how lack of ventilation would cause that much damp penetration into the rooms. Or felt to get saturated? You haven't got a bathroom fan venting directly into the roof space, have you? That wall looks thoroughly soaked. How much of an overhang is there?

Also to my untutored eye the brickwork and pointing look in poor condition - is it a single skin wall or cavity?

Ask friends/neighbours/relatives if they can recommend any reputable builders or roofers. Sadly roofing seems to attract more than its fair share of chancers.

 

[nick_noal]

Hi,
Thanks for your thoughts.
Yes this was my opinion is that how can ventilation cause that much damp. Surely it is rain getting in from outside?

Although the bathroom is next door there is no fan blowing steam into the loft.

the pointing is standard for a Victorian terrace so no cavity, but I think it may be more than a single skin.

I was wondering whether a dry verge system would stop the water from draining over the edge and onto the brickwork?

 

[He who knows]

A verge wouldn't hurt, I imagine, but probably best done (or not) as part of any work a reputable builder/roofer advises. For all you know the problem lies elsewhere in/on your roof...

 

[CACJL]

Are there vents in the soffit boards, when the weather gets warmer drier so that the bricks dry out, then apply wall seal.

 

[piglet11]

Verges quite often have holes you can see daylight through and taking a guess from the photo, the overhang is narrow and slates?

That damp looks a lot more than condensation, but I wouldn't rule it out.

I looked at a neighbour's roof space once when water was coming through bedroom ceiling.
It wasn't the roof leaking, but the condensation was like a tropical forest. Everything was saturated including all the insulation.
The owner liked to keep really warm and as well as the gas central heating, he had propane heaters dotted around.
Plus his missus would do a lot of of really steamy cooking.
What does cause a lot of trouble is adding a lot of insulation - roof space gets colder - and then not improving the ventilation.

In answer to He who knows, the brick pattern looks like solid wall, no cavity.

Impossible really to be sure what the problem is. The solid wall won't help, but if the verge is holey then a good wind blowing will take the drips under.

Another thing you could try is getting a moisture meter and prod it into the roof space brickwork. Also, try taping some paper towels (blue is best) on the brickwork inside and see if it picks up water.

Some sort of drip edge under the tiles/slates could help.

Good luck