A Property Management Client required advice on a defect in a property in Southwick Place London.
Our Client managed a prestigious residential 4 storey terrace building in central London. The building included a basement, ground, first and second floors with the second floor set within a mansard roof structure. A long-term tenant recently vacated leaving the property in poor condition. One defect left was water ingress in the first floor front bedroom. The damp was on an internal party wall wall adjacent to the front elevation. Our Client believed this was a roof leak. We undertook an inspection to provided reported on our findings.
The first floor bedroom was below a parapet gutter which served the second floor mansard roof. We surveyed the parapet gutter from the second floor mansard windows. We noted that the parapet gutter drained via an outlet located on the party wall junction. There was no external drainage pipework confirming the downpipe was run internally.
The damp area on the first floor was directly below the parapet outlet. We tested the party wall which was of solid construction. Our inspection confirmed that the area of damp was plasterboard lining indicating this concealed a vertical riser which housed the internal downpipe. We advised the Property Manager that the defect related to the outlet or the internal downpipe.
The Property Manager instructed a contractor open up the riser and round the the internal downpipe had corroded and cracked. The cracked pipework was replaced internally and no external repairs were required which saved expensive scaffolding costs.
Tim Greenwood and Associates understand buildings and defects. We carefully consider the defects to offer the most measured and cost effective solutions.
