Damage from under-bath leak

Pinkangel

Hello there,

We had some unusually wet kitchen worktops tonight. Turns out there's been a leak under the bath which has then made its way through the ceiling below.

We've traced the leak to a fitting on the waste pipe, so that's the first hurdle overcome. Something it would be good to know, though, is whether there could be damage to the joists if this has been leaking for a while. The floorboards are dry, and there is a small cutout in them to accommodate the waste pipe, but you can't see much through the cutout so it's hard to tell whether the leak has affected the joists.

Has anyone had a similar experience? It would be useful to know if we need to do anything to get the joists checked out and whether them getting wet from a leak like this could be a serious problem.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Furts

If you have traditional, old fashioned, solid timber joists then there is unlikely to be any issue here.

If you have a modern home, with light weight timber joists - I joists, or silent floor joists, then you need to take a look.

If you have a modern home with metal lattice joists then you are probably OK.

All round, a small leak over a reasonably short period of time should not cause sleepless nights.

Debbie_Savard

I had quite a leak from under the bath, dripping throug the kitchen ceiling a few weeks back.

I popped off the bath side panel and set-up-

1) Electric fan on lowest heat setting, pointed under the bath, to move air about
2) Small dehumidifier on landing

Left them both for 72 hours to dry off the plasterboard and joists. You need to dry the building out to stop mould getting started, esp at this time of year.

Pinkangel

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

Managed to get a photo tonight to see how bad things are. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ah1PkJMb1FVoFEh23

Looks ok, but I'm no expert. I'm going to try to get as much ventilation and air flowing about as possible for a few days in a bid to dry it out - if anyone thinks I need to be doing anything else I'm all ears.

Thanks

Davesnave

Nothing wrong with your joists, but I'd remove as much of that detritus as possible!

Furts

As above- and why is all that rubbish there?