Hi, any idea why a lower floor will have water leaks on the ceiling (while upper floor doesn`t) - I heard water vapor indoors freezes in winter & thaws out with the rains & mild weather - here in Ontario the rains are coming with the mild weather & I`m having this problem -- leaking from the ceiling & down an external wall a bit. How do you fix/prevent it? How could it happen on a lower level where the the upper part is not a roof but another apartment? thx
Leak on lower floor from rains?!
- Thread starter donksky
- Start date
Donna:
I had a similar situation.... and upon investigation, it was coming from the bathroom/shower specifically on the floor above. It was intermittent so hard to detect the reason for. It might be coincidental to have it show up with the rain. What plumbing do you have between the floors? It doesn`t have to be something directly above where the water is dripping...as we know water can travel from a point a long way away from where it is showing up, as it seeks the lowest area to run to.
Although I tried to access and repair the plumbing from the bottom apartment, by making a hole in the ceiling, I really didn`t get to it until I eventually tore out the upper bathroom (during a renovation to upgrade the apartment) and found the black abs piping was not connected in one spot, thus the intermittent dripping, but no flooding.
Something else I came across, in either brick or siding, you might find a point of entry on the outside, that if the rain comes down, with any wind angle, may leak inside and once again follow any ceiling materials until it hits the low point and then drip down.
Water leaks are tricky as they tend to travel from their point of entry to where they actually drip.
Have a great day!
I had a similar situation.... and upon investigation, it was coming from the bathroom/shower specifically on the floor above. It was intermittent so hard to detect the reason for. It might be coincidental to have it show up with the rain. What plumbing do you have between the floors? It doesn`t have to be something directly above where the water is dripping...as we know water can travel from a point a long way away from where it is showing up, as it seeks the lowest area to run to.
Although I tried to access and repair the plumbing from the bottom apartment, by making a hole in the ceiling, I really didn`t get to it until I eventually tore out the upper bathroom (during a renovation to upgrade the apartment) and found the black abs piping was not connected in one spot, thus the intermittent dripping, but no flooding.
Something else I came across, in either brick or siding, you might find a point of entry on the outside, that if the rain comes down, with any wind angle, may leak inside and once again follow any ceiling materials until it hits the low point and then drip down.
Water leaks are tricky as they tend to travel from their point of entry to where they actually drip.
Have a great day!
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2007
- Messages
- 235
QUOTE (donksky @ Feb 7 2009, 10:20 AM) Hi, any idea why a lower floor will have water leaks on the ceiling (while upper floor doesn`t) - I heard water vapor indoors freezes in winter & thaws out with the rains & mild weather - here in Ontario the rains are coming with the mild weather & I`m having this problem -- leaking from the ceiling & down an external wall a bit. How do you fix/prevent it? How could it happen on a lower level where the the upper part is not a roof but another apartment? thx
Hi Donna,
Tough without seeing the unit but could the water be following a plumbing vent or something continuous from roof to your unit? Also, is your unit above or below grade (this is not likely as I have not seen many units completely below grade)? Also, depending on the weather you are having (I`m in Alberta) it could be condensation due to improper insulation and/or vapor barrier.
Good luck!!!
Lucas
Hi Donna,
Tough without seeing the unit but could the water be following a plumbing vent or something continuous from roof to your unit? Also, is your unit above or below grade (this is not likely as I have not seen many units completely below grade)? Also, depending on the weather you are having (I`m in Alberta) it could be condensation due to improper insulation and/or vapor barrier.
Good luck!!!
Lucas
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
- Messages
- 1,230
QUOTE (thejules @ Feb 7 2009, 11:58 AM) Just echoing what others are saying here, but it may very well be if the bathroom above is leaking. It could be a toilette flange or break in the tub/shower drain...
Absolutely, don`t blame it on the weather - get in there and check it out!!!
I just went through a stupid water leak situation that I had blamed on the weather, plus I relied on the complaining tenant to follow up, once I did it myself the problem was obvious - get in there - the sooner the better!!
Absolutely, don`t blame it on the weather - get in there and check it out!!!
I just went through a stupid water leak situation that I had blamed on the weather, plus I relied on the complaining tenant to follow up, once I did it myself the problem was obvious - get in there - the sooner the better!!
Hi,
I had two different leaks in basement units this year that did not effect the upper unit. One was water running down the plumbing stack from the roof(not sealed properly) and the second was extreme condensation on HVAC pipes from tenants leaving windows open in basement(moist air) and running the AC to the max.
Good Luck
Bill F
I had two different leaks in basement units this year that did not effect the upper unit. One was water running down the plumbing stack from the roof(not sealed properly) and the second was extreme condensation on HVAC pipes from tenants leaving windows open in basement(moist air) and running the AC to the max.
Good Luck
Bill F