Water leak

Sallywin

Hello, can somebody tell how bad is this? Water runs from upper piper outside, not a toilet pipe. Sinks aren't blocked. House is rented. Landlord doesn't reply to texts, doesn't answer calls. Been here 12 years and it's only 2 weeks ago started to run. Last week almost daily. Water runs for an hour or more or less. Is there a risk for indoor flooding? Thanks

Ebe_Scrooge

It's unlikely to cause flooding inside the house, but it might well cause damp problems in the structure of the house longer-term.  That's not your problem if it's rented.

That's got to be an overflow from something.  You say it's not the toilet cistern?  Cold water tank in the loft perhaps?  Although I'd expect that to be higher up.  Can you hear water running when the pipe is leaking?  That might help to isolate the source.

FreeBear

Ebe_Scrooge said: It's unlikely to cause flooding inside the house, but it might well cause damp problems in the structure of the house longer-term.  That's not your problem if it's rented.

Looks like the bottom of the door frame is already starting to rot... Single glazed by the looks of it. Paving is also too high, and too close to the wall, so I suspect damp is already an issue internally.

Ebe_Scrooge

FreeBear said:

Ebe_Scrooge said: It's unlikely to cause flooding inside the house, but it might well cause damp problems in the structure of the house longer-term.  That's not your problem if it's rented.

Looks like the bottom of the door frame is already starting to rot... Single glazed by the looks of it. Paving is also too high, and too close to the wall, so I suspect damp is already an issue internally.

Agreed, that's kind of what I meant.  If that was my own house I'd be getting it sorted pronto.  But if the landlord is not bothered, then that's his problem.  I guess the only concern to the OP would be if the damp gets to the point where it starts to become a health issue?

Penguin_

My parents used to have a pipe like that where excess water would exit their immersion tank.

FreeBear

Ebe_Scrooge said:

FreeBear said:

Ebe_Scrooge said: It's unlikely to cause flooding inside the house, but it might well cause damp problems in the structure of the house longer-term.  That's not your problem if it's rented.

Looks like the bottom of the door frame is already starting to rot... Single glazed by the looks of it. Paving is also too high, and too close to the wall, so I suspect damp is already an issue internally.

Agreed, that's kind of what I meant.  If that was my own house I'd be getting it sorted pronto.  But if the landlord is not bothered, then that's his problem.  I guess the only concern to the OP would be if the damp gets to the point where it starts to become a health issue?

Hang on to those photos just in case the LL tries to blame the OP for mold & rot and tries to claim on the deposit to fix the damage.

stuart45

One thing to remember about overflow pipes to tanks in the roof space is that if it freezes it can causes flooding.

eddddy

Is that an upstairs window? So are those pipes coming from the loft?

At a guess, I'd say one pipe is the cold water tank overflow, and the other is the central heating header tank overflow.

You say that water runs for an hour a day, and started 2 weeks ago. An hour a day doesn't sound like a stuck ball-valve.

Did you start using your central heating 2 weeks ago? And/or did you turn off any radiator valves 2 weeks ago? And/or is there a pattern between when the central heating (or water heating) is on and when the pipe overflows? And/or is somebody using a shower / bath / basin mixer tap when the overflow occurs?


As you're renting, it's not really your problem to diagnose.  But when the Landlord eventually arranges a plumber, that type of info might be useful. Especially if the pipe isn't actually overflowing when the plumber visits.

Section62

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Agreed, that's kind of what I meant.  If that was my own house I'd be getting it sorted pronto.  But if the landlord is not bothered, then that's his problem.  I guess the only concern to the OP would be if the damp gets to the point where it starts to become a health issue?

If I was paying for the water I'd get a wriggle on with sorting it out.

Also, it is an indication something is wrong - the fault could develop into something which leads to internal flooding, so it needs to be treated as the warning it is.

Sallywin

eddddy said:

Is that an upstairs window? So are those pipes coming from the loft?

Yes, that is upstairs window and the pipes are located above the ceiling, so I assume they are somewhere in the loft. 

eddddy said:

You say that water runs for an hour a day, and started 2 weeks ago. An hour a day doesn't sound like a stuck ball-valve.

It doesn't always run that long. Sometimes shorter than that.

eddddy said:

Did you start using your central heating 2 weeks ago? And/or did you turn off any radiator valves 2 weeks ago? And/or is there a pattern between when the central heating (or water heating) is on and when the pipe overflows? And/or is somebody using a shower / bath / basin mixer tap when the overflow occurs?

I've been using heating on and off all summer. So radiators are also on and off all the time. When water runs from that pipe I can hear it running inside the house in pipes as if water tap is open. Hot water tank is inside the house in the cupboard, what is in the loft I have no idea. Are there usually 2 tanks, I thought i had only one, as I have to turn on boiler to heat up the water. The boiler is ancient, I think from 70s when the house was built. Every engineer who comes to do yearly gas check says they haven't seen boiler like that in ages 😆
The water starts to run ussually when nobody is using anything and when I'm not even at home. First time I saw it, I thought I forgot to turn off the water in bath or smthing, but it wasn't the case.
Once, I turned off the heating and the water stopped leaking. Yesterday I turn on hot water tap and the water from pipe stopped leaking pretty much immediately. 🤔 

NSG666

We can help identify the cause but what are you going to do about it - nothing I hope as it's not your responsibility in a rented property.

It is your responsibility to advise your landlord and you've done so or tried by text - why not call and see whether they answer and if they don't wait an hour, withhold your number and try again. Hopefully someone will answer and you can find out whether you have the right number.
Do you have an email for them or any other way of contacting them?