Leaking basement

Victorian House Extension – UK

This project involved the construction of a new basement extension to an existing Victorian terraced house under a traditional form of procurement.  The basement walls and soffit of the basement roof developed leaks, and condensation was also occurring on the roof soffit.

The building owner launched a claim against the designers and the contractor.  WJM&P were engaged as architectural experts by the contractor to investigate the cause of leaks and condensation.  We concluded that shortcomings in the architect’s design of the waterproofing were the most likely cause of the leaks through the walls and that poor workmanship was the primary cause of leaks from the roof soffit.  We also concluded that the architect’s design of the roof soffit was a cause of the condensation.

The matter was settled by negotiation prior to any formal dispute resolution.