[geefree]

Hi,

Today i did a large conservatory roof, the type that slope down from the house, narrow but long in length,

a painter was inside and had just painted the main back wall, whilst i was on the ladder, pole in hand attached to customer hosepipe to get the main dirt off.

whilst i was blasting the top off the roof against the wall to get the leaves and dirt out with two jets on brush, he shouted to stop as water was coming down the wall, lots of little streams of water running down his wet paint.

Now, the top of the con roof, where it meets the wall has a tiny 2" little canopy and i jetted under it to clear the debri.... so it was in fact sheltered from the rain,

To cut it short the painter was fine, he re-painted and said no cost etc... and i then used an applicator and squeegy to get the rest out... then finished the job.

What if the customer had been sitting having afternoon tea in the conservatory when i was cleaning the roof and water started running down the walls....?  .. where would i have stood?

it seemed to have no seals, and was only protected from heavy rain by that tiny canopy thing.

would she have claimed against me ? or the people who installed the conservatory...

I Dare not do another one now.

Gary.

[simon knight]

My feeling would be that if you've been asked to clean a conservatory roof you're entitled to believe it's waterproof. She could sue the installers I guess.

[jeff1]

The little canopy as you describe if done properly should be in lead and be at least 6'' onto the roof, if not then it has been installed incorrectly and down to who ever installed it.

even when you come across correctly installed conservatories never spray water under the flashing, as most of the time there is no other seal between the conservatory and the wall.

[geefree]

Thanks guys..

i thought pretty much the same regarding expexting it to be sound,,,

no jeff, it wasnt lead it was a type of plastic canopy sticking out from the wall just above the top of con roof.... and under that ,continued the glass up to the wall.

Gary

[Helen]

A small percentage will leak.
Last week we did 7 conservatory roof cleans (came in on mass for some reason) out of those 7 the newest one did leak not only down the wall but somehow through the centre too.
The customer got onto the installers who (as expected) blamed us, so, how come using exactly the same technique on all 7 over that week did that one become the only one to leak.
It is best to prewarn the customer that there is a possibility of leakage so please cover/remove any important items.
But yes, never jet under any seals and don't aim jets upwards towards the top centre.

[Paul Coleman]

Hi,

Today i did a large conservatory roof, the type that slope down from the house, narrow but long in length,

a painter was inside and had just painted the main back wall, whilst i was on the ladder, pole in hand attached to customer hosepipe to get the main dirt off.

whilst i was blasting the top off the roof against the wall to get the leaves and dirt out with two jets on brush, he shouted to stop as water was coming down the wall, lots of little streams of water running down his wet paint.

Now, the top of the con roof, where it meets the wall has a tiny 2" little canopy and i jetted under it to clear the debri.... so it was in fact sheltered from the rain,

To cut it short the painter was fine, he re-painted and said no cost etc... and i then used an applicator and squeegy to get the rest out... then finished the job.

What if the customer had been sitting having afternoon tea in the conservatory when i was cleaning the roof and water started running down the walls....?  .. where would i have stood?

it seemed to have no seals, and was only protected from heavy rain by that tiny canopy thing.

would she have claimed against me ? or the people who installed the conservatory...

I Dare not do another one now.

Gary.

Well the tea would have got more diluted for starters.  

Personally, if I am imagining this correctly, I would say that the construction is not up to the job.
There should be some kind of "flashing" arrangement where the conservatory roof meets the wall.
When we used to b utt flat roof extensions against a taller house, we would chop out a length of brickwork and put a lead tray in with it bent up behind where the new bricks were to go.  The whole side of a house (outer skin only) would sometimes just be supported on three or four bricks.  When the new bricks were put in and had all gone hard, then the three or four that had been left in would be removed and the flashing moulded around where they would be returned to.  Not sure if that's allowed these days.  I've come across fairly new builds where the flashing is only emedded a centimetre into the brickwork.  I know because I've seen them come out and they can let in water.  If you were to go up onto a flat roof where the flashing has been done properly, you may not see the lead at all as the felt roofers would often cover it to give extra protection.
Conservatories don't have the same rigorous inspections that a more "permanent"  extension would have though.

[rp cleaning services]

i did one the other week and it leaked,i was using customers tap and there was too much pressure coming out,when i used the van system to finish off the job it was okay no more leaks,yours could have been the same as mine too much pressure coming out of the tap,also the customer told me when the last owner had the house he had cleaned the consevatory with a pressure washer this could also have done the damage.

[john tomkins]

I done one once and like you jetted under the top canopy and it got inside the conservatory running down the light fitting and dripping on the settee

I said the installation was obviously poor and if my water is getting in then just think wind will too, she then said "I've always found it cold/draughty in there even with the heating on" there you go I said get em back to do a proper job

[TVCS]

I did one a few months ago, it leaked onto a flat screen tv whilst the old lady of the house was sat playing the piano.  It was only noticed as it dripped onto her piano and as she turned round she noticed the the tv was getting wet.

I nearly soiled myself thinking that they were going to claim for the lot but they were really cool about ti.  After I dried the mess up the husband explained that they were in negotiations with the conservatory company about a refund as the roof always leaked.  Why they didnt tell me to start with I dont know and why they kept the telly in there was beyond me.  Now I always aks about any leaks and have a good look inside before I start  and any electricals I recommend they move etc.

I was supprised to see how many of these big conservatories do leak.  A regular customer of mine has had the company out 17 times to try and fix a leak. 

[niceandclean]

I never squirt any water up under those plastic canopy's as you never know. Lean-To style ones are normally ok, but some do have ventalation strips underneath at the back of the wall plates. If you spray water up and under, it will drip on the inside. Its the same with victorian/edwardian style roofs, the ones with the crestings, dont srpay a hard jet up underneath those as 90% of those have ventalated ridge's. 

[Highrise]

When ever i do a conserv roof I always ask if the roof leeks, And if doesn't then it is not my responsablity if it does. Always tell the customer it is not your responsabilty

[david68]

I have had one thats leaked, thought the worst .
But ended great with a new job flashing it in with lead.

Dave

[billozz]

i think the thing here is that you should not really spray against the run of any roof not even a house roof as they are designed for water to run down the slope not up it if you spray a house roof from the bottom water will invariably get under the tiles

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

From past experience I always tell the customer ther is a chance it could leak and would they be able to stand on the inside for a few moments to make sure it doesn't.  It's amazing the amount that say "no it won't leak" or "no it doesn't matter".  If it does leak it's not your problem then.

Be thankful that the painter noticed it before it got too bad.

Simon.

[steve m]

be careful, I think if you use pressure washers it can invalidate the warrenty

[Buckethead]

To be fair to the designers of conservatories, etc. - rain falls down, not up - and not under pressure either!

I understand why you would want to jet underneath but remember they are not designed for this treatment. Likewise the seals are not designed to withstand the pressure, they are only there to prevent rainwater penetrating.

If your nozzle has a shower facility then use it and make it fall (like rain) after all you only want to thoroughly wet or rinse with a hose.

Think of conservatory design in these terms and I don't think you can go far wrong.