Gastown Balcony Leak Repair

Case Study

We had the benefit of the owner opening the wall behind the leak area for complete diagnosis.

This corner was a tight one and the liquid rubber membrane didn't go far enough up and into the corner. With the height of the insulation and paving stones in the original roof assembly system any water that travelled along the top of the pavers, into this corner, was surely a leak. This was leaking since Day 1!

There were a couple areas of possible ingress. Cement board should not be long-term exposed to the elements

We patched all shortcomings in the original installation process during our repair efforts.It also helps now that owner is conscientiously lowering the water table level on his balcony by removing the whole system and installing a more efficient insulation and lower profile walking surface.

Customer: Pacific Quorum Property Management
Project Completed: March 2013
Type of Roof: Gutter repair
Materials: Soprema SBS membrane
Location: Gastown, B.C.

In this repair project we had to disassemble the existing roof system, to expose the membrane below, so we could inspect it for deficiencies. It was quite a job. There were paving stones to remove, filter cloth, 4 inches of insulation and drainage mat. It all had to come out before we could find the leak and fix it.

We discovered the leak was in a deep corner where the original installer hadn’t waterproofed high enough up the vertical. This job was leaking since the very beginning, but only showed up when the water could actually reach deep into this corner.

I love finding leaks. The challenge is always different and it tests my processes and logical thinking. Bring them on!