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Advice Needed, neighbours mains water pipe leaking in my flat

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akira181
akira181 Posts: 541 Forumite
Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
I need some advice on what to do here.

I have a ground floor flat with a basement and the wall in my flat and ceiling / wall in the basement have suffered water damage from what I thought was a blocked gutter, as you could see grass growing from it.

Since it's been raining a lot and only going to get worse, I called out a builder to have a look at the leak and clear the gutters incase it was that.

Having spoken to the guy in the flat above mine, he said there was no leak in his flat and he will not contribute towards clearing the gutters since he paid to repair the chimney stack that crumbled when he installed a liner last month and didn't ask for a contribution. A little rude considering I hadn't even mentioned anything about the bill and I would have contributed to the chimney stack if he had asked.

Anyhow, clearing the gutter didn't stop the leak so I opened up a panel on my wall and found a lead water pipe going upstairs. This pipe is soaking wet and the wall around it dry, so I think I found the source of the leak.

There are 2 flats above mine and I'm assuming this pipe is the supply for either one or both of them, however, the leaking portion appears to be in my flat.

I have contacted the upstairs flat informing him of this but he has ignored me thus far and the pipe is still leaking (I've managed to divert the water into a bucket to avoid further damage for the time being).

What do I do here? Call a plumber to fix it out my own pocket? Find out what flat the pipe serves and send them the bill? Communal repair including the damage suffered in my flat? Or just shut the water off and let the upstairs flat deal with it when he feels like replying to me?
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  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
    edited 16 October 2017 at 2:50PM
    akira181 wrote: »
    I
    Anyhow, clearing the gutter didn't stop the leak so I opened up a panel on my wall and found a lead water pipe going upstairs. This pipe is soaking wet and the wall around it dry, so I think I found the source of the leak.

    Don't assume this is the leak, condensation does form on cold pipes if the surrounding humidity is high enough, as my GF found out in her old flat before we moved in together, she was convinced there was a major leak and the pipe ran through her wardrobe so everything got soaked. I told her to keep bathroom door shut and windows open when taking a shower and the problem disappeared.

    It works in much the same way as you get condensation on a cold toilet cistern in a bathroom, which raises an amusing story of a so called "business manager" who used to keep shutting off the gents toilets because of water dripping off the cistern during the winter (I really hate when stupid people get into positions of authority).

    Now i'm not saying you have no leak, I'm just saying it might not be so obvious.
    You may even simply have a ventilation issue, with high levels of humidity indoors, perhaps a broken vent pipe from a clothes drier? broken condenser drier? something like that maybe?
    “I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”

    <><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/
  • akira181
    akira181 Posts: 541 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    thanks for the reply strider. I don't have a drier or anything like that and the pipe runs through my bedroom next to the window. The topmost part of the pipe, just before it enters the upstairs flat, is dry and the bottom half is dripping wet.

    I've tied a few pieces of cloth around the pipe and put the other end of the cloth into a bucket. Been like that since Friday night and the bucket is slowly fills up and my walls, floorboards, and ceiling are slowly drying.

    I'm pretty sure this is the source of the leak, even if I cannot see it. I'm just wondering what the best approach to fix this is now that my neighbour is giving me the silent treatment. If that branch had a stop valve, I'd have shut the water off long ago by now.
  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
    akira181 wrote: »
    The topmost part of the pipe, just before it enters the upstairs flat, is dry and the bottom half is dripping wet.

    If there was a leak from above then surely there would be water all the way down the pipe?

    I just think the water on the pipe is humidity/condensation, it might even be humidity from an actual leak elsewhere.
    “I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”

    <><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/
  • stator
    stator Posts: 7,441 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Where does the water pipe go downwardly? If you're the bottom flat then it will probably join onto the pipe brining water into your flat. There might be a valve there?
    Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.
  • akira181
    akira181 Posts: 541 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Strider590 wrote: »
    If there was a leak from above then surely there would be water all the way down the pipe?

    I just think the water on the pipe is humidity/condensation, it might even be humidity from an actual leak elsewhere.

    The pipe rises up and serves the flats above but I believe the leak is in the section of pipe that is in my flat, hence why I'm getting water damage and they're not. I don't think it's condensation as there's just too much water and I'd have seen this problem before now.
    stator wrote: »
    Where does the water pipe go downwardly? If you're the bottom flat then it will probably join onto the pipe brining water into your flat. There might be a valve there?

    It goes down through the floor so I can't trace it any further. It's a very old building and the pipework hasn't been updated (it's still a lead pipe).

    The leak is slow and the cloth and bucket solution is preventing further damage for now, so I'd rather find a more diplomatic way to solve it rather than just shutting the water off since he's already a difficult neighbour to deal with.
  • vw100
    vw100 Posts: 306 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts
    As other posters mentioned, you need to work out if it condensation on the pipe or an actual leak. Old Mains water pipes are made of lead and many older properties still have these pipes and usually the surface is drenched with condensation droplets. Try warming up the pipe with a fan heater from a near distance and give the pipe a good wipe down and see how you go with it.
  • Warwick_Hunt
    Warwick_Hunt Posts: 1,179 Forumite
    Since the leak isn't in your neighbours property, is it his problem?

    Just asking as I don't know how flats work but I'm only responsible for my water main once it enters my property.
  • Dry the pipe thoroughly and then wrap it in toilet tissue.


    Then any leaks in the pipe will make the tissue go damp giving you a more precise location


    :D
    baldly going on...
  • Marktheshark
    Marktheshark Posts: 5,841 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    He will be bothered if the pipe is cut and capped as a temporary fix whilst the cost of a permanent one is dialogued.
    If it is causing damage, you have to mitigate that damage.
    I do Contracts, all day every day.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thanks to gravity surely the leak will be at the highest point which is wet.
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