Aberdeen Architect Struck Off for Roof Leak Designs

THE ARCHITECTS Registration Board (ARB) has struck off an Aberdeen-based architect after it found that the architect’s designs had caused a new build house’s roof to persistently leak, costing up to £50,000 to repair.

Neil Rothnie, of Neil Rothnie Architects was found guilty of serious profession incompetence, unacceptable profession conduct and was in breach of the Architects Code at an ARB hearing in Edinburgh on 1 November 2018.

Aberdeen Architect Struck Off

The ARB Professional Conduct Committee heard how Rothnie was instructed by a property developer to design two new build houses in Cults, Aberdeen, one of which was bought in March 2015.

The new homeowner noticed water ingress to the ceilings of an upstairs bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom ceiling had a hatch in it. The homeowner repeatedly tried to contact the architect, eventually instructing a surveyor to advise on the cause of the leak.

The surveyor found that the head of the property’s gable wall was incorrectly designed; the granite copes had dropped where they rest on a timber frame with movement and cracking at the mortar joints between the granite cope stones; and the detail used at the joints between the side wing pitched roof and the main gable was incorrectly designed and inadequately detailed.

Roof Leak Designs

An independent report commissioned by the ARB confirmed the surveyor’s findings, stating that the architect’s designs did not follow fundamental good practice and contained serious failings.

The report’s author “Referred the [ARB] Committee to the Rolled Lead Sheet Complete Manual. From that, and comparing it with [Neil Rothnie’s] design plans, he identified how the abutment flashing detail was defective in that the design permitted moisture and water to enter the property through gaps in what would otherwise have been a waterproof membrane in the wall around the flashing. He also noted that the cavity trays were not fully detailed.”

The homeowner also gave evidence to the ARB, saying that on asking Neil Rothnie why there was an unusual hatch in her bedroom ceiling, he admitted that the loft access hatch had been constructed to allow access to repair and monitor the damage caused by leaking from the roof before she purchased the property.

Neil Rothnie denied that his designs were responsible for the leaks, suggesting a number of other causes, including failings in the joints in the gable stones. When this was rejected Neil Rothnie said the water ingress was caused by failings in the cavity tray and then alleged faulty workmanship by the builder – both of which were also rejected.

In removing Neil Rothnie from the ARB register, the committee took into account that the architect had previously been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct in a similar case.

The architect has since told the Evening Express newspaper that he will appeal the ARB’s decision.