Case Study — Green Roof
Darley Dale Extra Care, Derbyshire
Numerous leaks hidden beneath the green roofs of an occupied extra care development had resisted every attempt to locate them. Vector mapped them precisely — and repairs went ahead with minimal disruption to residents.
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Meadowside Extra Care, Darley Dale, near Matlock — occupied extra care development with residents in situ
Client
Balfour Beatty (post-construction)
Service
Buried Leak Location — electrical field mapping through the green roof build-up
The problem
Longstanding leaks under green roofs — above people's homes.
Numerous leaks had persisted beneath the green roofs at Darley Dale, and they had proved genuinely difficult to locate and remedy. The waterproofing was buried under the green roof build-up, water was travelling laterally before showing itself below, and every conventional attempt to pin the sources down had come up short.
This was not an empty shell awaiting fit-out. It was an occupied extra care development — every opening-up of the roof, every failed repair, every week of continued ingress directly affected residents. Balfour Beatty's post-construction team needed the sources found precisely, first time.
The investigation
Locate. Mark. Verify.
Vector surveyed the green roof areas using electrical field mapping — through the build-up, without stripping the roofs — and plotted each leak location onto the roof plan. Around each marked position we recommended a tight, targeted opening-up area, and once the roofs were exposed we attended again to confirm the defects and mark them precisely for repair by the roofing contractor.
That locate–mark–verify loop is the difference between a survey and a solved roof: the contractor repairs a marked defect, not a search area.
The result
Numerous leak locations identified accurately — repairs with minimal disruption.
The client's own words tell it best: the approach accurately identified numerous leak locations, allowing the issues to be resolved with precision and minimal disruption — much to the relief of both the client and the residents living below the roofs.
“Vector were engaged at Darley Dale Care Home to support the identification and resolution of numerous longstanding leaks hidden beneath the green roofs, which had previously proved difficult to locate and remedy. Their input, expertise, and experience enabled us to provide an innovative solution to our client. Once implemented on site, their approach accurately identified numerous leak locations, allowing us to resolve the issues with precision and minimal disruption — much to the relief of both the client and residents. I would highly recommend Vector and their services for similar challenges.”
Leaks under an occupied building's green roof?
We locate them through the build-up, mark the defects on exposure, and verify the repair — with the least possible disruption to the people below.
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