The second leak is a different problem from the first.

The roof above an occupied asset has leaked again. A repair was done; it may or may not have been in the right place; nobody can prove either way. The occupants anticipate water every time it rains. The contractor says the roof is sound, the landlord says it is not, the service charge is in dispute, and the insurer or warranty provider wants evidence before it will engage.

Vector is independent of the roofing contractor, the membrane manufacturer and the sensor manufacturers. We locate the defect through the build-up without stripping the roof, put it on a plan, witness the opening-up and the repair, and verify the result. The output is a report that all parties can rely on, rather than another opinion.

The location survey needs the roof to be leaking while it is measured. The leak is recreated by watering the deck with leak diverters in place below. Where the party responsible for keeping the roof watertight is not the occupant, and especially where there are several occupants under the roof, that takes liaison, clear communication and written permission from everyone affected. It is often the biggest practical task of the exercise and the one most worth starting on the day the leak appears. We can give you the guidance and the equipment list; the permissions are yours.

When the repair is being done and the build-up suits it, retrofitting a moisture sensor is straightforward and not particularly expensive. The win is confidence: with an intermittent leak, the loss of confidence is the real cost, and the constant anxiety of occupants, landlord and agent is what a sensor removes. The next time water reaches the deck the system says which zone, with a date and time, and the question of whose defect it is has an answer before it becomes an argument.