Leaking conservatory roof

Soldato
Joined
5 Apr 2009
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6,161
Location
West Midlands
We have a large (4m long by 3m wide) lean-to conservatory with a glass roof with aluminium/plastic glazing bars. Because it is so long the glass is arranged into two pieces per span (2x2m) with the two panes adjoined by a joining or "Muntin" bar.

A bit like this:

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I've noticed that the roof leaks in a few places when it rains heavily and suspect the issue may be these Muntin bars. It is a poor design as when the rain runs down the muntin bars act as a bit of a dam and water can build up there.

I've had a couple of quotes from different people to do either:
a) jet wash the roof and seal externally around the muntin bars/anywhere else prone to leaking
b) replace the muntin bars, reseat and seal the panes with silicon in the muntin bars

Option b) sounds like the more thorough repair - my reservation is that because this is an inherently poor design, even if it is a good repair, will it leak again fairly soon after? Whereas option a) is more of a bodge, it may actually end up repairing the leak better and for longer.

Looking for some advice or if anyone has had any experience with similar?

Cheers.
 
From what i can tell you are describing the same thing, except that option B removes the chance of water build up, which might be the reason for the seal to degrade quicker.

I can't actually say myself with no real knowledge on life expectancy of various silicon outdoors vs some matting type join. The real question is cost.
 
Do NOT allow anyone to jet wash your conservatory roof even more so that the whole problem you have is leaks! Similarly, don't allow anyone to jet wash your windows for the same reason that the force of water will break through the window seals. Jetwashing a conservatory roof is cowboy behaviour so avoid those who suggest such a thing. It sounds as if you need the panes resealed rather than cleaned so I'd head in that direction.
 
Thread revival on this one.

Didn't end up going with either option and ended up supporting the roof and very carefully climbing up with some help and squirted some silicone in the joints. This kind of worked for a bit but has recently leaked and is obviously not a long term fix.

I'm moving towards the position that the whole roof would need replacing. The issue is, it's flawed in its design as current with the muntin bars. These will always leak eventually as water runs perpendicularly into them.

There seems to be a couple of companies who do offer 4m glass panes but these seem to be the exception rather than the norm. If a company would be prepared to replace the roof, rafter, panes etc with the 4m panes I would be tempted to go with that. I wonder what the largest "standard" pane I could go for would be? I wonder how difficult it would be to trim the brick walls back a bit to shorten the span. I suspect fairly difficult and costly..

The ideal I suppose would be to be go with the "warm roof" tiles and insulation that I've seen but my concern is that I would get into a whole lot of mess with planning permission as I suspect this conservatory as current probably needed pp due to its size but was never obtained. I don't really want to open that can of worms.

Keen to hear people's suggestions on this one. Feeling a bit silly for not getting into this detail prior to purchase but hindsight ey..
 
Conservatories, let alone the poorly built ‘lean to’ style conservatories have a limited life span for a reason and are often best put out of their misery with a very large hammer.
 
Can you not buy/ use poly carbonate sheets?
Much lighter in weight
Or do you hate them?
Glass is very heavy in the size you quoted
 
Can you not buy/ use poly carbonate sheets?
Much lighter in weight
Or do you hate them?
Glass is very heavy in the size you quoted
Lol, this... Something a bit 'final destination' about 4m glass sheets above my head.
 
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