Survey has found a bathroom leak

siany80

I have had a homebuyer report done on a 1930s property, which has identified a number of issues. The main one being that there is a leak, possibly long term, from the bathroom, which has stained the ceiling of the room below and possibly caused damage to the plaster etc. The surveyor has advised that we investigate this further but I'm not sure how best to proceed.

In normal circumstances I would expect that it is the owner's responsibility to fix the leak and then make a claim on their insurance for any damage caused. However, I am not sure if this is the best course of action as I do not want the owner to patch up the job and then for us to buy the house with potential damage that has not been rectified.

I'd be grateful for any advice as to whether it would be better for me to get a plumber/builder in to look at this, assess the damage and then ask for a reduction in the price of the house accordingly. I am just aware that there might be a need to remove tiles, floor coverings, the bath itself etc in order to assess damage.

Any advice gratefully received!

makeitstop

siany80 wrote: »

I have had a homebuyer report done on a 1930s property, which has identified a number of issues. The main one being that there is a leak, possibly long term, from the bathroom, which has stained the ceiling of the room below and possibly caused damage to the plaster etc. The surveyor has advised that we investigate this further but I'm not sure how best to proceed.

In normal circumstances I would expect that it is the owner's responsibility to fix the leak and then make a claim on their insurance for any damage caused. However, I am not sure if this is the best course of action as I do not want the owner to patch up the job and then for us to buy the house with potential damage that has not been rectified.

I'd be grateful for any advice as to whether it would be better for me to get a plumber/builder in to look at this, assess the damage and then ask for a reduction in the price of the house accordingly. I am just aware that there might be a need to remove tiles, floor coverings, the bath itself etc in order to assess damage.

Any advice gratefully received!

This is likely to be a fairly straightforward fix. Often, small leaks are due to poorly fitted or slack compression fittings, or where waste water is escaping from some outlet. Yes, it would mean lifting floor areas around the bathroom fitments to assess any possible leaks, but, is most likely to be a simple enough fix.

As for the ceiling damage, if the plasterboard has not gone soft and become distorted, it is likely to be fine if allowed to dry out thoroughly, and then given a few coats of good emulsion.

Of course, you would need to know whether there may be pipework buried into walls, but if not, it's not complicated in all probability.

DTDfanBoy

If there is the possibility that it has occurred long term I'd want to get the joists looked at, rotten joists will be a lot more expensive to fix compared to a bit of plasterboard and a reskim.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Get a local plumber to identify the source of the leak and estimate cost to fix it, and a builder to check the underlying structure. This is the point of the Homebuyer survey- to alert you to potentially expensive long term problems. The vendors should realise that this problem will arise from the survey of whoever they try and sell to.

G_M

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Get a local plumber to identify the source of the leak and estimate cost to fix it, and a builder to check the underlying structure. This is the point of the Homebuyer survey- to alert you to potentially expensive long term problems. The vendors should realise that this problem will arise from the survey of whoever they try and sell to.

Good advice, but easier said than done.

As makeitstop suggests, it will likely involve lifting floorboards (and the carpet/vynel etc on top, and maybe removing plaster in order to get access to pipes and expose joists.

Will the seller permit this.......?

Of course, seller realises if he refuses and you walk, the next buyer will have the same concern, so he may be more inclined. But it can be a problem.

makeitstop

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

If there is the possibility that it has occurred long term I'd want to get the joists looked at, rotten joists will be a lot more expensive to fix compared to a bit of plasterboard and a reskim.

Yeh that's true, but the boarding to the ceiling is likely to show more than just staining if it's that bad. Of course, it depends how "bad" the staining is.

If the entire ceiling is brown and bowing all over the shop, I'd be seriously worried. If not, I reckon chances are it's a fairly simple fix.

Still be good to get more info though, so asking the vendor how long it has displayed the problem may be a start.

siany80

Thanks for your comments, these are really helpful and very much along the lines of what I was thinking, which is reassuring.

The staining on the ceiling is not particularly bad (from my limited knowledge of such matters): flickr.com/photos/73267305@N03/16658974469/

My concern is that I have had previous experience of a small bathroom leak causing wet/dry rot and do not wish to repeat that one.

In these circumstances, is it usual to take this forward through my solicitor or should I approach the Estate Agent for the house? (The EA led us to believe the leak had been fixed and so I'm not likely to believe a word he says now...).

Thanks very much!

makeitstop

siany80 wrote: »

Thanks for your comments, these are really helpful and very much along the lines of what I was thinking, which is reassuring.

The staining on the ceiling is not particularly bad (from my limited knowledge of such matters): flickr.com/photos/73267305@N03/16658974469/

My concern is that I have had previous experience of a small bathroom leak causing wet/dry rot and do not wish to repeat that one.

In these circumstances, is it usual to take this forward through my solicitor or should I approach the Estate Agent for the house? (The EA led us to believe the leak had been fixed and so I'm not likely to believe a word he says now...).

Thanks very much!

It will take a fair amount of water to create the staining you have there. It would be interesting to know when it was first noticed. Can you find that out.???

Often, problems like this are easy enough to resolve and can be due to slack compression joints on waste pipe, or where one has partially come loose, allowing water to part drain and part escape into the ceiling void. From the images, it's clear to see a fair amount of water escape has occurred. Where the water has settled can easily be seen. Whatever the issue, it needs to be sorted before it turns into a larger problem and becomes more costly.

Tuscan

good chance its a bath or shower trap thats leaking and may just be a case of taking bath pannel of to get to it, or if theres a shower tray could also be the silicone seal thats split or even loose tiles or cracked grout. If it was a hot or cold water pipe leaking chances are you would be seeing running water or a constant drip coming through the cealing by now unless the water is turned off at the valve, where as a trap or seal will only leak when having a shower or pulling the plug out the bath etc, the damage to the joist is harder to see....

tom9980

https://www.flickr.com/photos/73267305@N03/16658974469

Link for op

That looks like staining that has been there for a fair while to me.