Water damage on 2nd floor ceiling of 3-story brickhouse
We have had water come through the ceiling on the 2nd floor, but no sign of water entry directly under the roof of the 3rd floor. After the heavy rains about 4 weeks ago, it happened for the first time. The contractor sealed something on the roof, but when the snow melted yesterday, water came through again. The spot is under the 3rd room bathroom, and I am at a loss what is the source of the water. It doesn’t seem to be happening when the water is running in the bathroom, so I am still inclined to believe it finds it way to the second floor from the roof. Does anybody have any idea? [IMG_4093](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:Ju85:img_4093.jpg.jpg) [IMG_4095](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:fTkr:img_4095.jpg.jpg)

michaelsaur67
in General Discussion 8 years and 5 months ago
9
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lmilder | 8 years and 5 months ago
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Does anyone have any ideas for tools to find leaks – like IR cameras or any other solutions? It is really hard with a flat roof!

lmilder | 8 years and 5 months ago
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Does anyone have any ideas for tools to find leaks – like IR cameras or any other solutions? It is really hard with a flat roof!

daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 5 months ago
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Glad you found it. Always a relief.

michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 5 months ago
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We found the entry. It was tiny opening on the roof. Water travelled down by the chimneny and then along the ducts.

rwood | 8 years and 5 months ago
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We have a similar issue where water is somehow coming on the bottom edge of a 1st floor shaft to roof skylight. Roofer could not find any entry, shafts walls are not damaged. We think we need to open the ceiling and check for waste line, partly wall issues, and monitor when it rains. Maybe I need to get binoculars to look up and down the shafts. Looking for a contractor for this plus other issues around the house.

southsloppy | 8 years and 5 months ago
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the leak was at first loosely correlated to rain, and we fixed some areas of the roof that looked suspect (alongside the party wall), without any changes, then finally decided to open the ceiling on the floor below and found the leak.

daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 5 months ago
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Sounds like it’s the roof. Most leaks are actually where the roofing material is sealed (flashed) to the paripet wall. The leak itself will “travel” and not just present itself along the wall all the time. A roofing guy can point out possible points of entry better than a contractor can.

michaelsaur67 | 8 years and 5 months ago
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Thank you, Barbibuleny. Was your slow leak active when it rained or snowed?

southsloppy | 8 years and 5 months ago
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fwiw, we had a similar issue that plagued us for several months: I was convinced it had to do with a leak from the roof, but ended up tracing it back to a slow leak from a waste line on the top floor. I would try to rule that out.