LEAK DETECTION & PREVENTION
You’ve probably heard about leaky buildings in the media, but unless you’ve been directly affected, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. The problem has affected home-owners from right across the country, arising in many different property types including apartments, town-houses, stand-alone houses, high spec homes and commercial buildings.
There are many different reasons for a building to leak
but some of these include:
Incorrect installation of the monolithic cladding systems.
Design features which do not allow for deflection of water away from the building – for example “Mediterranean” style houses with no eaves.
Inadequate construction practices within the building industry, in particular inadequate sealing of penetrations through the cladding for window openings, decks, plumbing, etc.
Inadequate administration by Councils during the building process to ensure that appropriate standards are met.
Whether building/buying a new home or wanting to tidy up your current property – it’s important to pay attention to these areas where it’s more common to see moisture entering the inner walls:
Pergolas, handrails and cantilevered balcony decks joined to exterior walls.
Fascias and guttering that penetrate the cladding.
Flashings around windows and doors.
Meter boards attached to the cladding.
Electrical and plumbing penetrations through the cladding.
Solid cladding extending below the tiled surfaces of balconies or the surrounding ground.
Roofs with inadequate slopes to quickly disperse water, downpipe spreaders discharging water onto lower roofs or decks and inadequate overflows and drains.
Once water has penetrated the cladding it is retained within the monolithic cladding system, eventually causing damage to the structure of the building, especially in conjunction with untreated framing timber susceptible to rotting.
For confidence when fixing leaky building problems – Talk to platinum Pacific Group for a no-obligation consultation. We’re experts in leaky home resolution solutions.
