Thornton Consulting have recently completed another successful building leak investigation to a public transport building in Manchester city centre. Several leaks had been experienced which had been ongoing for a number of years. These were evident in a plant room and office beneath which had caused damage to decorative finishes and inconvenience to those who occupied the space.
Thornton Consulting have decades of experience in resolving issues such as this and our site team used their extensive knowledge to establish all sources of the leaks in an efficient manner. Any Building leak investigation requires a methodical approach to resolve and usually involve a number of different test methods. Initially, all leak locations are plotted on a plan and a correlation made with the roof or building above. An assessment can then be made of the most suitable tests to undertake for a specific construction.
Electronic leak detection of the waterproofing membrane is particularly useful to determine whether the flat roof waterproofing membrane is a contributing factor to the leak. In this particular situation no breaches were indicated and the waterproofing was functioning as required.
Subsequent tests indicated the primary source of the leaks to be perimeter cladding. The exact point of water ingress was established by simulated rainfall tests, repeated to confirm results. This process of positive testing is often used to recreate the leak and can be combined with other test methods to accurately establish a leak source. On this occasion the same items were also identified as contributing to leaks at a number of other locations.
Leak sites are monitored throughout the duration of the leak investigations process by a member of the site team and any changes in condition of the leak recorded accordingly. A full report of our findings was issued to our client which included plans of all areas tested and a photographic record clearly showing items identified as contributing to the leaks. This is also of benefit where remedial repairs are required as the contractor has a clear indication of the repairs required.
If you would like further information of our Building Leak Investigation service, please contact our office on 01342 410508, or visit our website at www.thorntonconsulting.co.uk
