WA 1977 Built house added-on room water leaking

Hi guys, got my first maintenance/repair issue for my first IP. The house is a 1977 built 3x1 and it has the added-on room as you can see in the photo at the back of the house. The tenant has notified the property manager that the roof is leaking and provided the photos. the gutters for the whole home were replaced April 15 and the carpenter who installed them advised that the back room was never built correctly, let alone water proofed and sealed correctly. Has anyone had any experience with these types of rooms with leakage? anyone repaired? What happens if I can't repair in regards to the tenancy agreement?

 

It really depends on how the water is getting in - it could be a relatively easy temporary fix though. I'd be surprised if it was "unrepairable".

 

Thats just a cheapo sunroom with a metal skillion roof, they leak like sieves.

You would need to determine the source of water, most common is capilliary action from the gutters running back into the windows, or poor seal from slab to base of wall where the towels are.

 

Better to replace the roof and replace damaged areas?

 

Better to replace the roof and replace damaged areas?

 

Thanks guys didn't really know where to start. The carpenter who replaced the gutters for the house a few months ago basically said there is no fix and the room is just a nuisance.

 

From the pics it looks like a dodgy job, seen plenty of them.
It looks like the only leaking is around the outside edge of the patio roof (nothing in the centre of the roof?) i.e. where it joins the house and below the rear yard facing patio window or screens (which is it?)

For the house join;
From the rear yard pic it looks like the patio is fixed to the fascia under the main roof guttering, pretty standard however it doesn't look like they've installed any flashing to stop the water running or being blown back (by wind) under the gutter then down between the fascia and patio roof onto the slab etc?

You could rivet flashing from the top front lip of the guttering down to the patio roof (using suitable silicon between the flashing and patio roof) >see here< (In your case the patio roof is flat so ob don't have to cut it out like he is)

Window section;
Either the gutters/downpipes are full or the rain direction or wind is blowing it onto that wall.
Imagine the water hitting/splashing the lower panels or concrete under the windows, where's it gunna go?

Personally I'd fix some 45 angle flashing to the lower outside >see here< (using silicon between slab) then fix some different panelling over the top of the current panelling (perhaps corrugated iron sheets running horizontal, lots of options), or replace the entire lower section with something else (like the coolroom sheets on the roof)

Another consideration is the patio roof run-off sufficient? If not you could possibly lower it

If there's any leaking in the centre of the roof remove/replace the current silicon as it may have deteriorated

 

Was it advertised as part of the indoors of the house? i.e. Did you advertise a "games room"? If not, I'd be inclined to tell the tenants that it's a sunroom not intended to be waterproof; it's indoor/outdoor space, not "indoor".

If they choose to put non-waterproof items in there, it's at their own peril.

 

Thanks again for your help guys, really appreciate as I am completely new to dealing with this sort of thing. West Oz I cant answer your questions as I don't know the answers, I'm going to try an organised a time to see the property with my old man to see exactly what the problem is - I will have your suggestions in mind when I'm at the property.

 

To hard to judge by the photos but why is a carpenter installing your gutters?!

I have a property which looks just like yours with the same bricks and add on room.
I had leaks but the gutter and fascia were rusted.

If you get someone who is experienced with gutters they should be able to tell you how to fix it.
If you need a gutter person I can let you know who fixed mine.

 

The gutters were replaced before I purchased the property.
Can you pass me the contact of your guy?

 

I have sent you a message.
Depending on who replaced them their could be a few things wrong.
Like they might not be angled to fall to the down pipe and are overflowing

 

It's not a habitable room so is entitled to leak but that doesn't solve the problem.

The roof may be too flat, a flashing may have failed or shifted. The pm should be getting a roofer or roof plumber to look at it.

 

My house has the same type of add on room and does exactly the same thing, in big storms it leaks from everywhere. I thought it was because my downpipes and gutters were blocked. I made sure they were completely unblocked and next storm the same thing. I thought it might be because the gutters weren't deep enough or not enough downpipes so I drilled out the gutters with 10mm holes every 1m or so but next storm the same thing happened.
The next time there was a heavy downpour I got up on a ladder out in the rain and watched was was going on. The roof started leaking and the gutters werent' even filling up.

I put it down to the fact these old rooms are poorly designed and don't have enough downwards slope on them. In the heavy rains they flood and find the way in the though somehow. The only way to solve the issue is to rip it down and build a new room which isnt going to happen.

I now rent this house out and my tenants complained during winter that its leaking. I just said its an old house with a poorly designed add on and there is nothing that can be done about it. If they don't like it they can move out. After all they are old houses and they are add on rooms which technically aren't under the main roof. In my case it might only happen 4-5 times each winter, its a bit inconvenient but my tenants have been there 3 years now so it cant be that bad.

 

It should take no more than a DIY day to drop the pitch

Perhaps, however in the end no one can give a life time warranty on sealing compounds facing the sun/weather everyday which is used to seal the joins between the panels, it will naturally deteriorate.
Scrape/remove the old sealant, clean well, apply new sealant.

Another option is to cover the existing with trimdek or colourbond

 

Thanks guys, going around today to have a look...

 

Hey guys see the link for some new pictures from today.
http://imgur.com/a/JJ5Mu

You can see there is flashing installed.
At the moment I plan to just run a down-pipe from that open gutter which would just splash out water and wouldn't help. I also just plan to put some silicon in the obvious cracks of the wall, not sure what else to do?

 

This one is my concern.

http://imgur.com/a/JJ5Mu#6

There is no turn up on the ends of the roofsheet - where does the water go if it is windy? The flashing covers the end of the sheet but doesn't do a great deal.

 

Lol which one?

OK that's not the upper profile I thought it was from the initial pics. That's a very old girl, check out the guttering lol.

That flashing will do FA, you'll also note the tek screws have been put in the valley rather than the crest, you can see by the dirt around the screw heads water has been sitting there, judging by the filler either the screws never had washers however for age they would have deteriorated therefore allows the water through

The whole thing is a mess, from the 4th pic it doesn't look as big as I first thought, if it were me I'd strip it back to the cool-room biscuits (if possible and assuming that's whats under it) and replace it with trimdek, cut and end cap the house roof guttering, run flashing from under the tiles onto the new roof allowing the water from it to a new decent box gutter with a decent downpipe running either into a soak well or new garden bed.

Cut that tree (and any others) hanging over filling the guttering with leaves back. By rights tenants should be looking after that but in the end they'll be long gone and your fixing the damage.

Where's the property @nevernotspurs ? if your down Mandurah way I'll come have a proper look for ya

 

The property is in Forrestfield mate but I do appreciate the offer. When you say 'cool-room biscuits' what are you referring to?
A pic of the inside is attached below;