Hi,
Sorry if i enter this in the wrong forum as there seems to be a number of suitable categories.
A couple of days ago we had some real heavy rain down here in the southeast and i noticed a small leak appear in my extended kitchen, above it is a flat roof with decking garden. This is the second time in recent years that i recall a drip in heavy rain.
As i am decorating a bedroom on the same wall upstairs i decided to investigate the probable area of the leak and decided its probably coming through cracks in some concrete 'flashing' down the side of the wooden slats on the external wall. After pulling away this old concrete (which literally fell away) i could see the vertical beam of wood that the horizontal slats are secured too. i removed a not very good slat and found that behind this wood there is simply nothing before the back of the internal walls plaster board.
This is my 4th year of living here and so i guess this discovery shouldnt alarm me quite as it has but i feel now i do know that i should do something about it, if not for the lack of insulation alone! Would it be as easy as buying some bricks and filling the gaps from the bottom of the upper wall to the roof line? i am assuming that the whole upper wall (about 15 feet wide) is the same but cannot be sure until i removed the external wooden slats.
Is this something i could do or should i have someone experienced do it and what is a ballpark cost? I have plugged up holes in a wall in the past but suspect this requires more skill.
Should i just replace the wood slats and forget the problem as i really dont have much money (using debt management as it is)? I have sealed it back up for now with new concrete hopefully better secured in the gaps but am unsure of the best way forward. The house dates back to at least 1872 (first transfer date on public record).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Nat
Sorry for the story, wanted to provide as much detail as possible.
