I need your help to troubleshoot my leaky ceiling

[funkylist]

Before I start tearing apart my house to fix a leak, I need some second opinions troubleshooting this problem.

- The leak is appearing on the ceiling on the main floor
- Where the leak appears, above it is where the shower is located
- for some reason there is another lighter brown stain appearing about 4ft away
- There is a wall between my shower and tub

See pictures below

Should I cut a hole in my wall between the shower and tub to start my investigation?

OR

Should start by cutting the main floor ceiling to find where the water is dripping from?

Any other suggestion or advice would be a great help

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8844/ceiling1m.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7967/ceiling2.jpg

[redflagdog]

start by opening a hole in the wall. Your ceiling will be difficult to repair/match as it is textured. Could be a small leak in the water supply,
a leaky drain, or an overflow tube that is not well connected.

[mcplar]

I would focus on the tub because of where the staining is happinging. Check the chaulking around the surround and where it meets the tub.

Should take a picture of the tub as well, some close ups would be great!

[antman59]

Looks exactly like a leak that I had. Start with the tub faucet, it turned out that that was what my problem was. This is especially true if you use your tub. If you never use the tub then maybe the shower. In my case a hole was cut in the ceiling to see if it was the drain that had the leak, this was false though.

[funkylist]

Thanks for the advice.

I forgot to mention, we don't use the tub, we only use the shower.

I've also resealed the caulking at the floor of the shower, but i have not tried the shower.

I haven't used that shower for a couple of weeks and the stain is not growing


I'm not sure what is causing the second smaller stain. Could it be alot of water is leaking and it's flowing over the dry wall

[Drthorne]

looks like the water is leaking through the drywall joints, is it about 48" from leak to leak? I would guess the leak is in the middle of the sheet (under the tub) unless you have two leaks

[Cough]

I had a similar issue once. After searching for leaks at the bath drain, caulking etc, I found it.

I took the shower controller plate off the wall (easy to do) I looked for a leak and discovered that when the shower was turned on AND directed to the showerhead (not the bathtub outlet) water dripped down. The problem was bad soldering at the point that the pipe to the showerhead entered the controller.

With a bunch of aluminum foil and a fire extinguisher handy I was able to resolder the pipe in place through the hole for the controller. (there's an old gynaecologist joke here somewhere) But be aware this fix is not for fainthearted of partly skilled. The alternative would be to either cut out the gyproc behind if you can or remove tiles and go in the front.

[funkylist]

I had a similar issue once. After searching for leaks at the bath drain, caulking etc, I found it.

I took the shower controller plate off the wall (easy to do) I looked for a leak and discovered that when the shower was turned on AND directed to the showerhead (not the bathtub outlet) water dripped down. The problem was bad soldering at the point that the pipe to the showerhead entered the controller.

With a bunch of aluminum foil and a fire extinguisher handy I was able to resolder the pipe in place through the hole for the controller. (there's an old gynaecologist joke here somewhere) But be aware this fix is not for fainthearted of partly skilled. The alternative would be to either cut out the gyproc behind if you can or remove tiles and go in the front.

Thanks, I will check the shower control for leaks first..


How did you cover up the brown stain on the ceiling?

[abstract808]

Paint?

Also if your drain plate is removable in the shower, take it out and check to make sure the drain assembly appears to be sealed correctly.

[Cough]

Thanks, I will check the shower control for leaks first..


How did you cover up the brown stain on the ceiling?

After stopping the leak I just touched uo the stain with a bright white paint. You could see a very slight mark in certain light but the truth is only you look at the ceiling (or your wife or g/f in certain positions)

[woof]

Is there a toilet there somewhere which could be causing this?

[Portwest]

I had a similar leak, and it turned out to be a problem with the pipe behind my shower tile. I narrowed it down by watching the ceiling after using the sink, then after using the toilet and after using the shower. The ceiling was wet following a shower. Fixed the pipe and painted the ceiling with stain-blocking paint and then white paint.

A year later, the very same marks showed up again, but this time, it was a leaky toilet seal.

Water, being subject to gravity, travels along the easiest route --- running down pipes and then along the drywall joints in your ceiling below, so it's sometimes hard to determine the source. Unfortunately, we had to cut a hole in the ceiling to find the last leak.

Hope that helps.

[yyz2hkg]

I have a similar problem, great info provided guys...thx

[z613]

Just to mention some home inspectors use thermal imaging that may help to determine what is going on behind the walls. Have a look here:

http://www.barrhavenhomeinspector.com/Infrared_Thermal_Imaging.html

[venice_it]

Once you find and repair the leak, you need to make sure the ceiling damage is fixed well so you have no issues when you sell your home at a future date.

Often when the ceiling gets wet from a leak that is rather minor, the water will soften the compound that is holding the drywall tape over the seams of the drywall and the tape will start to pull away, even if it is not visibly apparent immediately. Larger leaks will cause the drywall to sag and the distorted areas need to be cut out, which doesn't appear to be the case in your photos.

To see if the tape needs to be replaced, run your hand along the ceiling and across the stained areas. If it you sense a "hollow" sound as your hand slides over the areas that are stained, the drywall tape is pulling away and needs to be replaced. If there is no difference in feel and sound, then you can simply paint the entire ceiling (with the proper paints) to take care of the stain.

PM me if you feel you need repairs to the ceiling and want a quote.

[Frankie3s]

Just to mention some home inspectors use thermal imaging that may help to determine what is going on behind the walls. Have a look here:

http://www.barrhavenhomeinspector.com/Infrared_Thermal_Imaging.html

Pretty impressive I must say.

[imnew]

Just to mention some home inspectors use thermal imaging that may help to determine what is going on behind the walls. Have a look here:

http://www.barrhavenhomeinspector.com/Infrared_Thermal_Imaging.html

Anyone knows if anyone in GTA offers this kind of service....