Leak from upstairs-where do I start?

40701085

Hi folks
My bedroom ensuite is above the utility & yesterday there was a small puddle of water on the utility floor that had dripped from the tip of the light bulb in the room.
It seems there's a leak somewhere in the ensuite & its trickling through the floor onto the wiring in the downstairs ceiling, then along the cabling, onto the light fitting in the utility below. I unscrewed the light fitting (power turned off!) & it was damp but the ceiling itself is dry.

So I go upstairs & have a look at the shower & WHB in ensuite - all looks ok but the shower drain has not emptied. I wonder if this is cos its blocked or because there's a trap built into the drain?

Could it be
a) bad tiling, so water getting through?
b) waste from shower is blocked - is there a way I can rod this? (drain cover is "grouted in" so would have to break it to get it off)
c) anything else I could check?

Am almost afraid to go looking in case of what I'd find...the house is brand new...:(
Thanks for any tips

Joey the lips

Start with the shower tray in at the corner or just outside the door at your feet. Either the grout of silicone is gone

Where do you live... If your near me I will have a look for you

40701085

Thanks, its not a tray but mosaic tiles laid with a fall to the drain in the middle of the shower area.
Will check the wall/floor joint anyway though - the grout all looks intact, is there a way of knowing if tis porous?
I'm way out west, you?

Buford T Justice

40701085 wrote: »

Thanks, its not a tray but mosaic tiles laid with a fall to the drain in the middle of the shower area.
Will check the wall/floor joint anyway though - the grout all looks intact, is there a way of knowing if tis porous?
I'm way out west, you?

Where in the west are you?

Joey the lips

40701085 wrote: »

Thanks, its not a tray but mosaic tiles laid with a fall to the drain in the middle of the shower area.
Will check the wall/floor joint anyway though - the grout all looks intact, is there a way of knowing if tis porous?
I'm way out west, you?

Sounds like a wet room with no tanking used... Worse case....

You will need to have a good look as i dont want to make assumptions without seeing.

Can you take pictures.

King Mallie

Sounds like a problem with the drain or else it is porous grout. Where in the west do you live ???

cubix

IF its a brand new house may be better getting the builder back. IF thats not an opiton and you need to do investigative work with the minimal amout of damage I would start by taking a small section of plasterboard out of ceiling in the utility room as this can be patched a lot easier than re-tiling.

antiskeptic

40701085 wrote: »

So I go upstairs & have a look at the shower & WHB in ensuite - all looks ok but the shower drain has not emptied. I wonder if this is cos its blocked or because there's a trap built into the drain?

You say the house is new but I'm supposing that this problem wasn't there from day one? In which case you could be having a cause-and-effect style problem.

1) Drain blocks (for whatever reason) and water backs up to areas of the drain pipe which aren't normally submersed in water.

2) Poorly sealing in these areas permit the water to overflow.


If the pipe didn't block (cause) then the water wouldn't back up and the poor seal wouldn't be submersed and you'd have no leak (effect). So the first thing to try to achieve is clearing the blockage. If successful, you won't have cured the poor seal but it wouldn't matter - as the cause of the overflow would have been eradicated.

There are various drain clearing tools based around thin, flexible brushes that can be poked through your floor drain without having to dig it up. The idea is for them to catch hair and goo and drag it back out. You'd need to search around for one. Something like this perhaps.

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-400-Drain-Cleaning/dp/B000BO9204

Buford T Justice

antiskeptic wrote: »

There are various drain clearing tools based around thin, flexible brushes that can be poked through your floor drain without having to dig it up. The idea is for them to catch hair and goo and drag it back out. You'd need to search around for one. Something like this perhaps.

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-400-Drain-Cleaning/dp/B000BO9204

Caustic Soda would be just as good. It'll burn out anything in the drain like sludge or matted hair

40701085

Thanks folks,

I'm going to try rodding it (thanks for the link antiskeptic) one of the days to see if anything comes out.

Job was done over 6mths ago but only started using this room lately so only seeing the prob now. This also suggests that the blockage is not gunk/hair as its only been lightly used thus far? The tiler seemed tidy so I was doubting it'd be leftover grout, etc but who knows? Can use the other bathroom meantime to avoid making things worse.

Joey, what is tanking?


PS I'm in Claremorris (Mayo)

Joey the lips

40701085 wrote: »

Thanks folks,

I'm going to try rodding it (thanks for the link antiskeptic) one of the days to see if anything comes out.

Job was done over 6mths ago but only started using this room lately so only seeing the prob now. This also suggests that the blockage is not gunk/hair as its only been lightly used thus far? The tiler seemed tidy so I was doubting it'd be leftover grout, etc but who knows? Can use the other bathroom meantime to avoid making things worse.

Joey, what is tanking?


PS I'm in Claremorris (Mayo)

The processes of applying a waterproofing membrane on the outside surface of a wall or in your case the marine ply to stop water entering the building or in your case the ceiling.

You will need to check if it was done. I guarantee if you just payed for a standard tiling job it is not done.

AckwelFoley

its 99% likely to be the tray.

Easy way to find out is to get a bucket of water, pour it down the waste trap... If you see dampness, you know its the wastepipe, if you dont, its pretty certainly the tray as joey said.

There is a small small chance its a weeping joint, but the chances of this is slim enough