Leaking bath

BaconandEggs

Hi,

Hopefully someone can help.

My wife decided to have a bath last night and when the water was drained, I noticed water coming through the light fitting downstairs.

A bit scary.

I've had a look under the bath and it looks like it's leaking at the point the waste pipe is connected to the bath.

Would be grateful for advice:

1) Firstly, about the electrics - do I need to do anything to ensure these are safe? Do I need to contact an electrician. My mate is actually an electrician but is away! doh.

2) Secondly, about how to fix the leak? Does it require a plumber?

3) If this is the first time it has leaked (I think it is) what sort of repairs will be required to the ceiling downstairs?

Many thanks.

SailorSam

Has any damage been done to the ceiling ?
I wouldn't worry too much yet over the electrics just leave them to dry out. When you turn things back on if the fuse doesn't blow you're probably ok.
The leak ? I think if i was you i'd undo everything around the trap, give it a clean and put it back together make sure the washers are ok and everything is tight. There isn't a lot there to go wrong.

phill99

Sailorsams advice is good, in terms of the ceiling, if it has blown the plasterboard you may need to get a piece cut out a new piece put in and then reskimmed. You may need to put it through your insurers.

However, if it has just stained the ceiling, wait a couple of days for it to dry fully, paint the stain with oil based undercoat and then re-emulsion your ceiling.

googler

We had a slow-leaking tap in the bathroom at one stage; the leak was above the bath, so the water built up on the top surface of the bath, then spilt over the edge, onto floor tiles and into gaps at edge of tiling, between tiling and skirting etc.

Noticed this when it had got to the point that drips were about to form from the ceiling in the lounge below.

Turned the water off, dried up in the bathroom, and left a couple of fan heaters blowing up toward the ceiling for a while down below. That seemed to dry out the plasterboard without any problem.

What you need to fix will depend on how it's leaking - if it leaks when the bath is filled, and when the plug is in place, it's the joint between the waste fitting and bath that's faulty. If it's ONLY when the bath is draining, there's some fault in the pipework after the waste fitting. Or maybe a combination of the two.

If it's the joint between the pipework and the waste fitting, these are usually a hand-tightened screw fit, with internal washer. You may just need a washer. You may just need to tighten it.

BaconandEggs

Thank you very much guys. It is appreciated. I'm absolutely cream crackered after work, but will look at this tomorrow and report back.

Cheers,

Ebe_Scrooge

Just to secord / third ( ! ) what the others have said, if it's the waste that's leaking, and assuming it's modern plastic pipework, it's simple and cheap / free to fix. Joints can work loose if they've not been mated properly. Unscrew the joints, make sure the threads, ends of pipes, washers and mating surfaces are COMPLETELY clean ( the tiniest bit of grit can cause problems ) and reassemble hand-tight. A little smear of vaseline on the threads can help when re-assembling. Whilst you're at it, give the u-bend-trap-thingy ( technical term !! ) a good old clean out whilst you've got it off. In pretty much all plumbing, cleaniness is next to Godliness, or something like that.

See how it goes - all of the above will cost you nothing, though it can be a little awkward due to limited accessibility, but it's easy enough. The other easy thing to check is where the actual ( chrome / plastic ? ) plughole assembly is fitted to the bath. If that's leaking, again, get it off, give everything a really good clean, remove every last trace of old sealant and replace it using new silicone. A tube of decent silicone will cost about a fiver or therebouts. Hope this helps.

keystone

Plughole assemblies don't and shouldn't need silicone if they are fitted correctly. A smear of LSX on the washer on its mating face with the underside of the bath perhaps but no more than a smear.

Cheers

BaconandEggs

Hello all,

It turns out it was a leak between two waste pipes. I've taken apart, cleaned and reinstalled with new washer.

The problem is that whoever fitted it has glued much of the pipework together, which means that the connection which leaked is joiing tow bits of pipe that aren't perfectly aligned. The solution would be to take all apart and put together with it lined up. However, for now, there is a good seal and I've got things lined up as best as I can.

The connection only leaked when a full bath was drained - probably due to the increased pressured. Have tested it and it is not leaking now. Will leave bath cover off for the next week or so and keep an eye on things.

Ceiling downstair appears unaffected and electric working ok (turned power off, removed light fitting, and allowed everything to air dry).

Thanks for the advice again - it has spurred be on to sort the kitchen sink out - as that very occasionally leaked when a full sink was emptied (but that's due to a loose plug).