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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.

The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?

Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?
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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below


"CM" wrote in message
...
Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

Rented or bought?


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM wrote:

Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.

The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?

Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?


I'm in no doubt others will be along to make other helpful suggestions but
reading what you have said suggests to me that it is a waste that is causing the
problem as it seems to be a problem only when the facilities are being used .

If it was a supply pipe then I would expect the problem to be there all the
time.

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .

I cannot see any alternative to uplifting the floor but can you ,in conjunction
with your neighbour below,operate each facilty on it's own in turn to try to
isolate which one is causing the problem .

When you say"new flat" I take it that you have bought this place and not rented
it.


Stuart .
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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .


One of two possibilities.

1. All the wastes go into the main soil pipe, which is leaking.

2. The toilet doesn't cause any problems. The basin and shower share a waste
and the OP is a washer, not a walker.

Christian.


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

Stuart wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM wrote:

Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.

The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?

Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?


I'm in no doubt others will be along to make other helpful suggestions but
reading what you have said suggests to me that it is a waste that is causing the
problem as it seems to be a problem only when the facilities are being used .

If it was a supply pipe then I would expect the problem to be there all the
time.

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .



Possibly a blocked stack somewhere.


I cannot see any alternative to uplifting the floor but can you ,in conjunction
with your neighbour below,operate each facilty on it's own in turn to try to
isolate which one is causing the problem .

When you say"new flat" I take it that you have bought this place and not rented
it.


Stuart .



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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below



On Oct 13, 11:21 am, Stuart wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM wrote:
Hi


We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.


On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.


The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?


Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?I'm in no doubt others will be along to make other helpful suggestions but

reading what you have said suggests to me that it is a waste that is causing the
problem as it seems to be a problem only when the facilities are being used .

If it was a supply pipe then I would expect the problem to be there all the
time.

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .


Only as far as the soil pipe. Which is a bit worrting if it's the
toilet flush water that is leaking.

MBQ

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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:30:16 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

wrote:

On Oct 13, 11:21 am, Stuart wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM wrote:
Hi
We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.
On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.
The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?
Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?I'm in no doubt others will be along to make other helpful suggestions but
reading what you have said suggests to me that it is a waste that is causing the
problem as it seems to be a problem only when the facilities are being used .

If it was a supply pipe then I would expect the problem to be there all the
time.

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .


Only as far as the soil pipe. Which is a bit worrting if it's the
toilet flush water that is leaking.


Could be that most people use the basin after flushing the toilet though..
MBQ

Yep, we've bought the place.

The strange thing is we continued using the loo between day one and
day four without apparent further problems. So either that particular
problem resolved itself or was never the issue.

Also, I've seen the water coming through the neighbour's ceiling - and
it didn't look like it had come from the loo, if you see what I mean.

We also did lay off using the sink for the intervening days. So maybe
that's it? Maybe there's a joint output pipe for the sink and shower?


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

Also, I've seen the water coming through the neighbour's ceiling - and
it didn't look like it had come from the loo, if you see what I mean.


That means nothing. Often there is a blockage that then backs up. You need
to put quite a lot of water down before it backs up to the leak. Solid
material (for want of a better word) usually drops down the blockage and
only relatively fresh water comes out of the leak.

We also did lay off using the sink for the intervening days. So maybe
that's it? Maybe there's a joint output pipe for the sink and shower?


Definite possibility.

Christian.


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

CM wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:30:16 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

wrote:
On Oct 13, 11:21 am, Stuart wrote:
On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM wrote:
Hi
We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.
On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.
The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?
Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?I'm in no doubt others will be along to make other helpful suggestions but
reading what you have said suggests to me that it is a waste that is causing the
problem as it seems to be a problem only when the facilities are being used .

If it was a supply pipe then I would expect the problem to be there all the
time.

What puzzles me is that both the shower/basin AND the loo are causing the
problem as I would have thought they had separate waste outlets .
Only as far as the soil pipe. Which is a bit worrting if it's the
toilet flush water that is leaking.

Could be that most people use the basin after flushing the toilet though..
MBQ

Yep, we've bought the place.

The strange thing is we continued using the loo between day one and
day four without apparent further problems. So either that particular
problem resolved itself or was never the issue.

Also, I've seen the water coming through the neighbour's ceiling - and
it didn't look like it had come from the loo, if you see what I mean.

We also did lay off using the sink for the intervening days. So maybe
that's it? Maybe there's a joint output pipe for the sink and shower?


Often is.

You tend to need a durgo somewhere though if this is the case on a
longish run.


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

The strange thing is we continued using the loo between day one and
day four without apparent further problems. So either that particular
problem resolved itself or was never the issue.


One other possibility is that it has been very wet weather recently. You may
find the leak is penetrating rain water, rather than grey water from the
bathroom.

Christian.


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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

CM wrote:
On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.


Have you had a look frm outside? Do the shower & basin wastes join the main
soil stack or do they discharge into a separate gully?

Next time it rains heavily see if the gutters are overflowing.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257


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CM CM is offline
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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM
wrote:

Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.

The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?

Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?


Bit of feedback, turns out it was a leak from the sink just below the
basin!

Unfortunately we'd got as far as making a few holes in the floor to
spot the leak. The outlet on the sink had been pushed out of place and
the water was just running down the outside of the pipe through the
hole in the floorboards.

At least the hole in the floor has let us check there's no more
leakage.

Any suggestions on how to patch up a small hole (about 3.5 inches
across I'd say) made in the floorboards before putting the tile back
down?

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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below


CM wrote:
Bit of feedback, turns out it was a leak from the sink just below the
basin!


I don't think I'd be very impressed with you if I were your neighbour.

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Default Just moved into flat, bathroom leaking to flat below

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:32:28 +0100, CM wrote:

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 10:47:21 +0100, CM
wrote:

Hi

We've just moved into a new flat that has been unoccupied for the past
4 months.

On day one we used the loo and the sink, and our downstairs neighbour
has told us there's water coming through his ceiling. It did stop
though, and there weren't any problems until day 4 when we used the
shower for the first time - again the leaking.

The neighbour has been there for years, this hasn't happened before.
What could have happened in the intervening 4 months? Could a pipe
have dried out and cracked?

Is there any sensible way of sorting it out before we take up the
floor?


Bit of feedback, turns out it was a leak from the sink just below the
basin!

Unfortunately we'd got as far as making a few holes in the floor to
spot the leak. The outlet on the sink had been pushed out of place and
the water was just running down the outside of the pipe through the
hole in the floorboards.

At least the hole in the floor has let us check there's no more
leakage.

Any suggestions on how to patch up a small hole (about 3.5 inches
across I'd say) made in the floorboards before putting the tile back
down?


Did you not say earlier that it also happened when you used the shower .?
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