New roof but still leaking

creditcrunch2023 · 2023-04-14T11:58:08+00:00

We had a new roof and new guttering and capped the chimney to deal with a leak from the chimney or old roof. Woken up today to find wet patches on the same wall! somehow water is still getting in. {mention:pigletjohn} please help or anyone else. Should we get the roofer back in? what a nightmare...

Houseplantmad · 14/04/2023 13:16

How depressing. We are doomed with regular water ingress in our house, despite having renovated the place from top to bottom with good quality materials. We had scaffolding up recently to fix a roof leak caused by the storms last year. Now the scaffolding is down, the first floor front bay window has just started leaking badly. So annoying.
Last month we had water coming in where are boiler vent goes through the roof - a contractor has been and is coming back as the leak is continuing. The joy of old houses!
You should definitely get the contractor and ask them their plan to fix it. .

johnd2 · 14/04/2023 13:51

Yes get the roofer back. Was the roofer contracted to fix the leak by replacing the roof, or were they just contracted to replace the roof? I suspect the latter, so unless it's related to the work done you might have to pay more, even if he/she works out what the issue is.
Is the water patches always related to recent rainfall? Are you attached to another property? Photos inside and out would help.

Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 14:00

it's an external wall next to a chimney. They were contracted to replace roof, new guttering and the wood underneath. The patches are in the corner next to the chimney breast. They also took down the chimney to roof level and capped it off. Have contacted him but he's not the most responsive.

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Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 14:01

patches appear after rainfall.

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alwaysmovingforwards · 14/04/2023 14:02

If you paid the contractor to sort a problem and it persists, of course you call them back.

CasperGutman · 14/04/2023 16:11

My money would be on the water getting in via the chimney stack itself, if the whole roof covering has been replaced.

Was any work done on the chimney? Are the chimney pots open or capped off? Is the cement "flaunching" around the pots in good condition? Does the brickwork need repointing?

thelma57 · 14/04/2023 16:15

Not sure if this helps but we’ve also had a nightmare with a leaking roof (to the point the ceiling fell in) we got a new roof and the problem is still there, it now looks like it’s rain getting in through the windows and running down the internal wall from above.

Our bedroom windows sit in a cavity above the bay roof where the leak is.

Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 16:21

The chimney stack was bought down to roof level and a lead cover put on.

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Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 16:27

Here's a picture. The leak is in that corner where the chimney breast meets the wall.

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Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 16:28

Could the water be getting in through the bricks in the chimney?

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CasperGutman · 14/04/2023 16:52

There will certainly be rain hitting the sloping side of that chimney, and if the bricks are a bit porous or the pointing is anything less than perfect then water will penetrate there.

I'd also be concerned about damp inside the flue if it's capped off without any means of ventilation. I seem to recall the internal surfaces of old chimneys have deposits of hygroscopic (sp?) salts that make them very prone to absorbing moisture from the air.

It might be a case of low levels of rain penetrating into the brickwork - just enough to keep the bricks damp - combined with the inside of the chimney absorbing water from the damp air trapped there.

Original poster

creditcrunch2023 · 14/04/2023 17:14

CasperGutman · 14/04/2023 16:52

There will certainly be rain hitting the sloping side of that chimney, and if the bricks are a bit porous or the pointing is anything less than perfect then water will penetrate there.

I'd also be concerned about damp inside the flue if it's capped off without any means of ventilation. I seem to recall the internal surfaces of old chimneys have deposits of hygroscopic (sp?) salts that make them very prone to absorbing moisture from the air.

It might be a case of low levels of rain penetrating into the brickwork - just enough to keep the bricks damp - combined with the inside of the chimney absorbing water from the damp air trapped there.

Thanks. any suggestions of how to resolve? the chimney has only capped off a couple of months ago. Would plastering the external brickwork help? feel gutted that we had the roof done to deal with this leak but the problem is still there

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CasperGutman · 14/04/2023 17:39

You could try getting a general builder/bricklayer to add an airbrick near the top and bottom of the chimney (or one in each flue, perhaps that should be) for ventilation, and to take a look at repointing any problem areas. It might not help, but would eliminate some possible causes of the problem and shouldn't cost much (certainly not compared to a new roof).

If the issue is due to the wall around the old chimney being generally damp, then fixing the problem may require a few different steps each of which will help a bit. It's still possible that there was a problem with the roof or guttering and that the work you've had done already will have helped somewhat, so I wouldn't despair that the money was necessarily wasted.

BumWad · 14/04/2023 20:40

Ah op I feel for you

Sounds like our chimney, have had lots of work done over the year, sometimes it’s dry and sometimes wet. We’ve had it capped and cemented but it’s still seems damp and have had the same advice as Casper re an air brick.

It really is gutting, might as well burn a load of tenners living in an old house..

PigletJohn · 22/04/2023 14:31

The colour of the bricks on the RHS of the chimney suggests they are wet. I would guess the capping of the chimney is not correct. Usually taking down the top of a disused chimney is the best course, putting a paving slab or similar on top. The detailing of the gutter should take away water from the roof so probably the gutter and the leadwork are not right. The lead tray does not look like it has been let into the mortar joints.

It might be that your roofer is better at roofs than at chimneys. These days they often use a specialist leadworker as it is a skilled job, working with toxic materials.

Soproudoflionesses · 22/04/2023 14:33

I could have written this😒

PigletJohn · 22/04/2023 14:34

And yes, disused flues (there may be two or more in a chimney) should be ventilated top and bottom to prevent damp.

Internal photos would help with diagnosis.

Do you know anyone with a drone to look at the top?

PigletJohn · 22/04/2023 14:38

P.s.

I think I can see a joint in the gutter just above the wet patch. Might be faulty?

N0tfinished · 22/04/2023 15:08

We had constant leaks around the chimney breast (bungalow). We had any number of builders, roofers replacing flashing, tiles, etc that didn't work. Eventually we had to get the chimney stack rebuilt & redesigned. This was an old 60's style house & builder said the design was so poor that leaking was almost inevitable. This pic isn't our house but the closest I could find. We had to rebuild it to a more standard format.

Nirvana27 · 14/11/2025 21:47

Hi, I just saw your post and I am in the same position. Did you fix the problem? I am not sure where is the water coming from after changing roof and cover the concrete gutter with fibreglass

Firefly1987 · 15/11/2025 03:23

@Nirvana27 me too, we had the roof replaced for thousands three years ago and this is the first time it's leaked since being done but also might be the only heavy rainfall/rain in a certain direction we've had since then. I'm so gutted (and worried!) and it's still bloody raining 😬

Nirvana27 · 15/11/2025 10:27

😓This is a nightmare. I don't have any idea what more to do 😭