Colin Cockram recently undertook a survey on a detached former farm house tucked away in a rural location between Newquay and Chiverton Cross. When inspecting the rear left bedroom it was noted that there was very significant penetrating dampness evident between the junction of the ceilings and walls part of which is formed in a chimney breast.

The external parts of the chimney stack and roof coverings all appeared in good condition. The 8m pole camera was used and photographs were taken to the rear of the stack where it was found that there was not only a split in the lead cover flashings but also at the junction of the tray to the rear of the stack and soakers. It is likely that the hessian reinforced PVC roofing felt, which is designed to act as a secondary means of defence against rain penetration, has also deteriorated at the junctions of the chimney but also eroded at the roof edges.

To resolve this will require replacing the lead work around the stack and also stripping back the roof coverings and repairing the roofing felt before re-battening and refitting the slates.
This demonstrates how useful pole cameras can be in locating and diagnosing defects which are not evident from ground level.