One bloody thing after another...another leak!

milliebear00001

Hi there

After a nightmare sequence of boiler and leak related events in my rental house, I now seem to have a problem in my newly purchased house too.

The house is empty, but the heating is on constant. I noticed today that the bath and upstairs sink were not not draining properly (very slowly) and then realised that there was a significant 'drip' coming from the kitchen ceiling (immediately below the sink unit).

I assume the drain has frozen somewhere, but I don't know whereabouts. I am not sure why there's a leak either but assume the two are related.

I don't know what to do - can't get a plumber, don't know what to do about the leak (which has now stopped, presumably because the bath/sing have both drained). I don't think I can get to the leaky bit easily as it must run under the bathroom floor/above kitchen ceiling My kitchen ceiling is very soggy - is it going to need to come down?

Thank you if you got this far!

BTB1_2

It may have to come down, but the important thing is not to let the electrics get wet.

See if you can located the lowest (dipped) part of the ceiling, puncture it carefully with a screwdriver and stick a bucket underneath.

May seem drastic but it will keep the damage to a minimum and stop your electrics failing.

milliebear00001

Thanks for that. It's actually only about a quarter of the ceiling that feels wet. The soggy bit does not seem to be close to the central ceiling light, but I am not sure where the wiring actually runs through.

Is it safe to assume that as long as I don't run the upstairs taps until the leak is sorted, that I should be OK re. the wiring?

Is there anything I can do to defrost the blockage? How on earth does a drain/waste freeze when there is no standing water in it?

Browntoa

waste pipes freeze if theres a small trickle of water , like a dripping tap etc, that allows a slow build up of ice

BTB1_2

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Is it safe to assume that as long as I don't run the upstairs taps until the leak is sorted, that I should be OK re. the wiring?

Yes, you should be ok.

Repairing the leak can probably be done via the floorboards upstairs, unless you have a tiled floor.

If you get any crackling noises, keep the light switch off.

BTB1_2

Oh...and contact your insurance company

Good luck