Water leak - ceiling

springdove

Hi all,

We had a bit of a water leak situation.  The 1st floor ensuite wash basin waste trap which was replaced when our tap was replaced by Home Serve, hadn't been screwed in properly.  This meant that the waste water leaked a bit from outside the pipes, and down through the little hole around where the waste pipes enter the tiles, and then down the gap between the floor tiles and into our kitchen ceiling downstairs.  We noticed the issue quickly and stopped using the wash basin until the plumber returned to fix the issue for us.  However, we now have a bit of a wet patch in our kitchen ceiling - I'd say about 10 inches long and maybe 1.5 inches wide, at most.  See photo attached.  What am I looking at to fix the issue?  Do we need to replace a plaster board section in the ceiling, then plaster, stain block and decorate, or is it simply a case of letting it dry out, applying stain block and then redecorating the ceiling? 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! 

pramsay13

I think if you add an eye and a mouth it will look great.

Seriously though if you give it a few days / weeks to see if it dries out. 

Worst case scenario it should only need a bit of paint, although if the plasterboard is damaged it might need replaced.

Belenus

If you need to do more than just a lick of paint then you could consider a claim on your insurance.

Or you could demand that Homeserve fix it for you free of charge.

Or better, ask Homeserve to pay for professionals to fix it as they appear to employ incompetent amateurs.

springdove

Yes I’m hoping to get them to fix it for me, but wondering what the right task is now - so they don’t rip me off by simply sending a decorator with a can of paint for a 15 minute appointment!  

Bendy_House

springdove said:

That's just weird. It looks as tho' it's shrunk? And that's a crack all the way around, and not someone pencilling in a line...?

In which case it needs more than a dab of paint. That crack needs making good so it doesn't reappear, and a thin skim of filler over the job to get it level. Sanded, then painted.

And I'm happy to bet that the touch-up of paint won't blend in, but stick out like a sore whatsit. So that's a whole ceiling repaint :-)

springdove

Yes, sorry it's just a pencil line - I'd drawn it loosely around the water leak to check whether it's expanding or not.  It hasn't shrunk as such, it's just that I left a little gap around it as I was drawing. 

I do think it needs more than some paint, let's see what home serve are willing to do.

Thank you for your responses! 

Bendy_House

Phew - no crack!

But, yes, it does - in that photo - look as tho' it has shrunk back in a bumpy way to below the ceiling surface level, but I guess it could be the opposite - these are raised bumps? There just appears to be shadows.

In which case it'll need a little prop first to get it perfectly level, and I suspect that it'll be impossible to touch-in the paint and get it to match with what's on there. I suspect a full ceiling repaint.