Repairing a leak starts not with a material but with the answer to "where is the water coming from". If the answer is a guess, the repair has to be done again. Here is how our inspection works, what you get and why we charge for it.
First, a conversation
For the first half hour the engineer doesn't touch the roof. They ask when the water appears: straight away during rain, a few hours later, the next day, when snow melts, or constantly, regardless of the weather. This matters more than it seems:
- Straight away during rain — the water is taking a short route: an upstand, a drain, a penetration right above the stain.
- Hours later or the next day — water has built up in the insulation or screed and is looking for a way out; the source may be far away.
- Regardless of the weather — most likely it isn't the roof: pipes, condensation or, in a basement, groundwater.
- Only in winter and spring — ice, snow against the parapets, frozen drains.
If you have photos of the stains taken at different times, show them. It saves an hour of work.
A map of the stains from below
The engineer inspects the rooms that leak and the neighbouring ones, marking every stain, efflorescence, peeling paint and mould in the corners. The map shows the direction the water travels: it follows the fall of the slab, and the stains line up from the source.
The roof from above, by checklist
Next comes the roof, or the courtyard over an underground level. We always follow the same list so nothing is missed:
- Falls and ponding: where water stands after rain.
- Every upstand to parapets, walls and the lift shaft: how high the membrane is carried, how it is fixed, the condition of the flashing.
- Every drain and gully: whether it is clear, the flange, the upstand.
- Every penetration: pipes, aerials, air-conditioning units, cables, equipment fixings.
- Seams in the covering: laps, welds, open joints.
- The surface: punctures, cracks, blisters, lost granules.
- The building's expansion joints and their details.
Anything in doubt is photographed and referenced to the plan.
Water test
When there is no obvious source, the roof is tested section by section: water is applied to one segment — an upstand, a drain, a seam area — and we wait to see whether it appears below. This narrows the source down to a few square metres.
Control opening
The most important part, and the one a "free visit from a manager" never includes. At one or two points the engineer opens up the covering and looks underneath: whether the insulation is dry, whether the old covering still bonds to the base, how many layers have been laid over years of repairs. The main decision depends on this: repair over the old layer, or rebuild the roof. Wet insulation cannot be saved by repairing over it — the water is already inside.
After the opening, the spot is closed with a temporary patch.
What you get
Within a few days of the inspection, a written report:
- where the water source is and how this is confirmed (photos, water test, opening);
- what needs to be done: the options, if there are several, with their pros and cons;
- which systems and materials suit this roof;
- an estimate per m² and indicative timing.
The report is your document. You can take it to any contractor or present it at a homeowners' association or management company meeting.
Why the inspection is paid
Because it is several hours of an engineer's work, an opening and a document, not a salesperson's visit with a price list. A free visit pays for itself in only one way: you get sold work, whether you need it or not. A paid inspection keeps the report independent: we earn from the report, not from "finding" as much as possible.
The fee is 100 ₾. If you order the work from us, we deduct it from the estimate.