Gallons of water damage

[gee1]

Hi there, I had extensive water damage that came from a neighbour's bathroom 2 floors up. Gallons of water came through my ceiling for about 7 hours non stop. The neighbour was not home but a plumber finally got in to his bathroom and stopped the water by tightening the water valve under the bath. His bathroom was bone dry including under the bath! A month later an inspection was made and another plumber attended & concluded that it was the seals around his bath and the overflow pipe that needed tightening. I'm a girl with no plumbing knowledge so please clarify if I'm wrong. Shouldn't the bath have been constantly running in order for this to be the case? He had been out all day and the leak occurred shortly after he'd left. As I say, his bathroom was bone dry when the first plumber attended who stopped the water immediately underneath the bath. My question is, could it have been the overflow pipe and/or rotten bath seals? I'm really baffled about this. If anyone can try and shed some light on it I'd be really grateful.

 

[NickH]

If the leak was caused by faulty seals and/or overflow then yes the bath would have to have been overflowing, ie the bath taps would have to have been left on, was that the case ? If the water WAS coming through a faulty overflow or seal then his bathroom would have been swimming as well. "Tightening the water valve" is a bit ambiguous, do you know more specifically what was done, generally it would involve shutting of a stopcock or service valve. If his bathroom was dry it would imply that the water was escaping from somewhere below his floor. What happened to the room directly below his bathroom ?

 

[GreenArmy]

I would like to bet it was the fibre washer to one of the taps (on the tap connector that joins the copper to the taps) or it was a flexi supply worked loose because one of the taps was not securely fitted to bath. If it was the seal around the bath you would be getting a leak every they use the shower.
I see these kind of leaks day in day out.

 

[NickH]

But if it was a leak on the tap connector surely his bathroom would be wet as well, unless of course there's a big hole in the floor, not uncommon really.

 

[GreenArmy]

But if it was a leak on the tap connector surely his bathroom would be wet as well, unless of course there's a big hole in the floor, not uncommon really.

Water can run in mysterious ways.
I.E tricking down supply and around the bend in pipe that then disappears behind casing and dripping into crack in floor, finding the electrical conduit buried in concrete floor and going downstairs.
or the supplies could be burried in the concrete/asphalt floor, these type of floors aren't always finnished properly under bath.
believe me i still get surprised how water finds it way around.
Oh another thought, what about floating floors.

 

[gee1]

The 1st plumber who attended the scene stopped the water by tightening something under his bath. A large hole was discovered by the plumber directly underneath this valve and he said that the water was all going down the hole and that's why there was no water in his bathroom or under his bath. The thing is that the leak has happened 8 times in the past few years and it has always been from the same neighbour's bathroom so we are getting a bit frustrated that the real problem is never identified and rectified. I was never convinced it could be the seals or the overflow because on all occasions that the leaks have occurred, he hasn't been in and no taps have been left running and his bathroom has been bone dry. I think that the water has been going down the large hole underneath the bath, but I'm not sure why the valve or pipe keeps becoming loose.

 

[traineedrip]

need to know if its the same issue each time.


if he covers the hole so that any leaks run into the bathroom , rather than down the hole, he`d at least be able to monitor it without soaking you

 

[westflo]

I think if you are always experiencing that problem even though you've already fixed the noticed leaks, the problem would be on pipes under their bathtub.

 

[kay-jay]

i'd be claiming off his insurance for any damage caused by a leak in his property!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

kay-jay the thread is two years old!

 

[kay-jay]

kay-jay the thread is two years old!

cheers steve! hadn't noticed, but it was westflo that bumped the thread