Common cause of a leak ceiling.
Whenever there is an enquire about a leaking ceiling the first question the come to mind is, what fixtures are in the room above, i.e. a bathroom? It’s quite common for a leak to appear in a bathroom. Because a bathroom contains more plumbing fixtures than any other place in most homes. One of the most likely candidates for leaks that affect ceilings are, leaks under baths. However, this is not always the case. Leaks can also be found at the wash-hand basin toilet or radiator. Either of these fixtures can be susceptible to leakage at some point.
Water will find the easiest way down.
Some leaks become apparent immediately after either the bath basin or toilet has been used. This is a sign that the sanitary pipe work has sprung a leak. Over time rubber seals will become perished, a fitting that was once water tight will then leak. This may start out as a minner leak, but in time will progress and become much worse. A leak coming through a ceiling is often the progression of an ongoing problem that has now reached the stage where the buildup of water has become significant enough to penetrate the ceiling.
Water stains on a ceiling show a problem with leakage. The location of water stains may not identify the exact position of where the water is coming from. Water will find the easiest way down so the penetration may occur meters away from the point of the actual leak. A ceiling rafter can easily absorb small amounts of water like a sponge and then, when saturated droplets are released elsewhere.
Plumbing repairs to leaking ceilings most be permanent .
A leaking ceiling can simply be identified by the removal of a bath panel where the leakage can be observed. However the leak could be elsewhere, in a area of plumbing that is not related to the hot, cold water or even the sanitary waste. Some plumbing repairs require investigative work i.e. the removal of carpet floor boards or even approached via the ceiling below.
Difficulties encountered when accessing plumbing repairs within ceilings require extra precaution when closing joints. This is because after repairs have been carried out and floors board, ceilings are back in place any leaks found at this point would be costly.
Isolating a stopcock may not always shut off the water supply to a leak. If the leak is coming from a damaged central heating pipe connected to a combination boiler the loss of water will only subside after the central heating system is empty. A noticeable sign of this will be the boiler not coming on and zero displayed on the pressure gauge.
