Leak in bathroom upstairs - how to find it

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peteb

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As it says, I have a leak in my bathroom upstairs. I know I do because there is a damp line showing up on the ceiling in the kitchen below it.

This had happened years ago and I had a plumber out and he said he couldn't find any sign of it. The house was rented at the time and had been going on for a while without me being told and I had to get a hole replastered.

I don't need this happening again and want to nip it in the bud now and get it sorted. But if it is water escaping through a small gap a plumber is unlikely to sort it.

I'm thinking this means cutting a part out of the ceiling or getting thermal imaging guys in. (oh and the pressure in my boiler system regularly drops). But either way, should I be going to one person or a place like insuranceworks.ie even though it won't be a claim where they offer a full range of trades??
 
I had a plumber out before the first time i notice a leak years ago. And he tore the side of the bath and checked under and couldnt find anything. My walls are tiled as are my floors. Hence the "do i call a plumber? do i call a tiler" scenario".
 
Same problem 2 years ago. Had to tear off side of bath which was tiled. Couldn't find anything leaking. Was going mad at the thought of having to re-tile again. However, got a tiler who was very capable at a bit of plumbing. He had a look, took off the waste pipe from the bath - the part that's attached to the plug part inside the bath and low behold a big blob of yuck. This along with really decead silicone at the joints. Five minutes later new attachments, new silicone and problem fixed - oh and plus the tiles too. Looking back the issue would only crop up when someone was having a bath. Seemed the extra weight and water was letting a tiny amount of water out but over time this was causing the ceiling in the kitchen to get damp. You'll have to bite the bullet on this one either way otherwise it could end up being a hell of a job to get fixed.
 
I've no problem with biting the bullet. Its who do i call to look at it?
 
I see the AA have started just such a service, never tried them yet but may be worth a shot for reliability.
 
Would you try to replicate the issue yourself - fill the bath, have a look at / feel the pipes underneath it esp at the joints, see if you get drops of water... is there a shower over the bath? Would the seals around the bath be leaving water through?

Failing that it's onto the sink / toilet in the bathroom to see if they are giving the issue.

Ideally, it's a plumber you should be calling for such a job... but between call out charges & length of time to find the issue, the cost goes up... anything you can do yourself to find the issue, the better...
 
Nobody actually has a bath in the bath. But there is an eletric shower in there. There is a ledge and window sill that are fully tiled. I had noticed last week that grout was seperating in a line along certain tiles so banned use of the shower and then went at it with waterproof sealant! Ironically two days before this issue had manifested itself.

Given the that water pressure continually drops in the heating system I though there may be a separate problem that the themal imaging would spot!
 
Thermal imaging may not spot a slow leak. The escaping water will cool very quickly to the surrounding temperature, and heat radiated off the pipe will likely blur any image.

Your best bet is to lift the floor above where the leak is manifesting itself downstairs. Water often travels distances before finding a weak spot (joint in plasterboard sheets, electrical fitting, etc.) prior to seeping through to the surface below.

If access is limited, you could hire an [broken link removed] to take a look at what's behind surfaces without having to do too much destruction.
Leo
 
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