Leak thro ceiling - please advise

Hmm_Messiah

Hi
during my cramming for last weeks exams I had also to deal with the upstairs apartment leaking into my bathroom!!

the water leaked down thro the electrical box for the shower on/off cord and also stained the ceiling and some small area of plaser crumbling.

seemed to happen every time they ran a bath. was a week or more before the landlord eventually rang and said he had it sorted (the upstairs landlord)

Now I need to decide should I pursue him/block insurance for repair to the ceiling.

I dont mind repainting it but what i want to know will the staining disappear or eventually show through even new paint?

I've attached a foto. already it has faded a little but the obvious outline is there. also some black spots i presume is mildew/fungal. i planned to wash these with a bleaching solution?

SECONDLY
my own bath also was sealed very poorly by the builders, its now leaking water into the room behind the bathroom (timber framed walls)
I felt the carpet damp , again last week, now exams out of way I plan to lift the carpet and dry area (maybe leave that rad on hours each day.)
WHat I am wondering is
1. its a concrete floor, should it eventually dry or is there more damage i should consider?
2. any chance this is covered under Homebond?
3. I did try to reseal the bath but it moves away , the bath has a lip wchich means when u us ethe shower a canal forms between lip and tiles !!! I have bought strips of L shaped plastic to seal it, but these are meant to be held on BEHIND tiling, i need to know what i can use to fix it to the present tiles?

many thanks, very disappointed 1st time buyer

Lex Luthor

I had a leak from my sink upstairs and it did something similar to your ceiling there...First you need to make sure that the leak is stopped. No point in doing anything.

Check with your insurance company as to what is normal procedure with apartments? Maybe the person living above is responsible.

As for painting over, the stain will always come through even after painting.

If you buy a small bottle of polybond and dilute it maybe 10-20 parts water to 1 part polybond and paint it on. It will be very watery but its doing a job of sealing in the stain. Just maybe paint it on twice after the first time is dried and then wait a day and paint over. The stain won't come through then.

dubtom

It's not a big job but that board should be replaced at upstairs expense. It basically involves cutting around the affected area to the joists and sticking in a new piece then skimming it. The board is wetted and brittle now and no amount of cleaning will make it look better, Follow it up I'd say.

karltimber

dubtom wrote:

skimming it. .

Not to be smart but he's in an apt - I have a strange feeling there is no skimcoat on that ceiling.

If not it will be an easier job to fix up.

wyndham

I wouldn't be happy with just having it painted in this case. Looks like it has had a good soaking and, particularly in a small damp area like a bathroom, will never dry out properly. You will get mildew/mould and it will smell. That plasterboard needs to come out. What is that corded switch? Is that directly over your shower?

Hmm_Messiah

thecorded switch is .. if you imagine the bath as a rectangle the the switch is below the bottom left maybe 6 inches on other side of curtain when its fully drawn.


I noticed lastnight that most of the ceiling is now showing black spots, though the obvious stain shown in the pic has faded.

I'd really prefer not getting into ome argument with the landlord above, as he made NO attempt to rectify the problem despite seeing what the celing was like !

Was thinking I'd contact the apartment management company re the block insurance (they already know there was a leak). If they say its not covered and to deal with him then Ic an do that more formally (Dear ___. I've been told by the Management Agency to contact yourself re repair of the water damage to.....)

I mean 3 days after he said he would deal with they were still using there bathroom and adding to the water damage !

thanks for all the advice so far.

BTW - any opinions on the problem with my own bath's seal ? leak on the concrete floor etc

GreeBo

Id take off that switch and see what I could find.
It might be that the leak was somewhere else and just running along the wires until it hit your ceiling... :eek:

You can get special stain block paint that should do the trick, just make sure its all dry etc.

Regarding your own problem, you can use that seal on top of your tiles, depending on what one you got it will look "ok" on top of the tiles...

Seal your bath when its full of water so it wont move as much (and will be sealed under full load, not empty)

Hmm_Messiah

good advice

cheers