What to do about a leaking ceiling

JackeeBoy

The new year has literally started with stress. A couple days ago, one of my partners not-so-smart friends came round to spend the night. After demanding numerous items of food and not contributing a penny, she used the bathroom. Our shower is not working so there is the bath with a shower head. The options are to run a bath or sit it in it and use the shower head.

The genius used the shower head with literally no regard for the bathroom. She came down asking for a mop and when I went upstairs to the bathroom, I literally lost a little faith in humanity. The entire bathroom was soaked; the walls, floor and ceiling were wet. The bathroom bin was filling with water and the place was just a mess.

Now, to make the picture clearer, I am not talking about a little bit of water. This wasn't a situation that the shower head dropped and went a little out of control. This was someone using the bathroom walls as a shower curtain for a sustained amount of time (at least 15 minutes).

Just passed midnight, my partner calls me into the kitchen and I notice a crack running along the ceiling (not too sure if it was there before) and water dripping. from the corner. So !!!!ed off as money is very tight, and will be for the foreseeable future, and there are a number of things that I need done in regards to house repairs.

Is this something that I can wait out? My main concern is that it's been two days and I have noticed the drip. There is also spot lights in between the floors. I am worried about rot and/or some electrical problem if the issue is really bad.

Zandoni

I'd be inclined to make a small hole in the ceiling so that any water can drain away. I'd also turn off the electrcity to the house and pull down the spotlights to see if they are dry.

antilles

Agree with Zandoni. Poke a hole (carefully, ensuring you don't break anything above - cables, pipes etc.) in the ceiling around where the drip is, with a bucket underneath, this will hopefully get rid of the vast majority of the water. Otherwise there could be quite a bit sat on the ceiling which will be slowly soaking the plasterboards and joists - causing possible further damage later.

Have a couple of buckets at the ready so you can swap them over if the water fills one up. And a mop/towels to clean up anything that gets onto the floor.

Also - very important - turn of the electrics first in case any fittings are swamped with water.

Then I would run a dehumidifier in the bathroom and kitchen to dry things out for as long as possible.

You may find that the plasterboards are damaged and start to sag after a bit, especially at the edges - you may need to get these replaced/replastered.