House Leak - How Can I Trace It???
I’ve had a slow leak into my living room ceiling for many weeks now. I cut open the ceiling to see that it was near my walk in shower. However, now it appears to be dripping and the shower hasn’t been used for 2 days. So…I’m thinking its central AC condensation perhaps? I’ve already cut…
I’ve had a slow leak into my living room ceiling for many weeks now. I cut open the ceiling to see that it was near my walk in shower. However, now it appears to be dripping and the shower hasn’t been used for 2 days. So…I’m thinking its central AC condensation perhaps? I’ve already cut holes in my ceiling and in a couple of walls on the second floor around the bathroom. Is there any better way to try to trace to the source of this leak. It’s making me —-ing insane! Any thoughts?
good story John
Hello fellow bstoners ,just wanna give you willy a situation that when on with me .
i myself been in the construction industry for about 10 yrs.
My friend calls me about 11p.m.
john i have a leak in my basement water is pooling in the basement.
it was raining that night so i thought maybe that was the problem.
Next day i go we started in the basement always looking for a source where the water was coming from.tryin to keep the holes to a mininum.putting couple holes in the walls we found water dripping along the wall.
cheking another floor above in the kitchen .
Bottom line the drip we found was about two stories from were we originally started .
In the bathroom of an apt on 3rd flr.
Now remind you the house was newly built.
When they(the contractors) did there work .
They sent the DRYWALL SCREW Right into the
Plumbing.Ain’t that A REAL MOTHER______.
pardon.after tht we used some special putty that is used in situation like the one we were in with a pinhole in the plumbing.
At the end we fixed the leak everything Has been good since like 3 yrs now .
GOOD LUCK WILLY.
You don’t have to trace to the water spot from the roof- but you should always inspect the roof if you have a leak. The biggest clue for that would be if you only get the leak when it rains.
And for finding leaks you might want to call in an engineer instead of a plumber- especially one with access to newer thermal imaging equipment.
I have a similar problem, but as I live in the lower duplex of a four-family condo, tracing it from to roof down to the ground floor is problematic. I’ve also cut holes in my walls and ceilings looking for the source! Any suggestions for a good plumber to hire for such a job?
My vote is for the toilet. We had a leak from the toilet sending water into the wall in the living room and the source of the leak was really hard to find. The first plumbers didn’t find it but the 2nd one did. It was behind the toilet in the section of pipe that bends. He had to use a mirror on a stick to see it. Something the first plumbers didn’t bother to do.
The general approach:
start at the roof and work your way down. Personally I had a leaky roof hatch that only showed inside the house three floors down
any place you have plumbing- especially where fixtures are connected
any place you have cold metal exposed to air
anyplace where there is a hole from inside to outside: windows, doors, vents
The process of elimination you started with the shower was a good first step. A faulty closet flange or wax wing in the toilet is another potential culprit. If you have another bathroom, turn off the water shutoff for that toilet and drain the tank and bowl (stick a rag in it to stop sewer gases) and see if the leak stops.
Leaks can appear many lateral feet from the source so it can be aggravating.