Water ingress and leak investigation.
A methodical approach to tracing where water is entering — and why surface remedies have not held.
Most façade leaks are not where they appear inside.
Water entering a building envelope rarely takes a vertical path. It travels along the back of cladding, follows the line of a slab edge, runs down a window frame and emerges in a different room or several floors below. By the time a stain shows on a ceiling, the actual route may run through several joints.
This is why a façade leak that has been 'repaired' two or three times often returns: the visible patch addressed the staining, not the entry path.
Our investigation aims to identify the path — which joint, which panel, which detail — before any remedial work is scoped.
Investigation techniques
Visual close-range
From rope access or gondola — examining joints, sealants and finishes on the elevation around the affected area, looking for breaches, ponding, debris and ageing material.
Controlled hose test
Water applied in a controlled sequence to specific zones, with internal observers watching for the moment ingress appears. Confirms entry zones empirically rather than guessing.
Thermal & moisture mapping
Where appropriate, thermal imaging and surface moisture readings help locate wet substrate behind apparently dry finishes.
Joint dissection
Cutting out short sample sections of suspect sealant or cladding joints to confirm backer rod, primer and substrate condition behind the surface.
Drainage check
Verifying that weep holes, drips, gutter beds and copings are draining clear, and have not been bridged by paint, sealant or biofilm.
Reporting
Written investigation report with photos, the identified entry path, contributory factors and a prioritised remedial scope.
Investigation, then repair
We separate the investigation from the remedial work intentionally. An investigation report stands on its own — you can use it to obtain repair quotes, to support an insurance claim or to feed into your engineer's assessment.
If you ask us to carry out the remedial work, we will price it transparently against the same report and document the post-work condition.
If the leak originates upstream of the façade — for example from a defective roof, planter, internal pipework or a slab penetration — the report will say so plainly. We do not over-scope work that will not solve the problem.
