Water stain on ceiling in flat

Rado16v

Hi,

Would like some advice please. We were away over the (last) weekend and returned Sunday night to discover a water stain on the ceiling in our bedroom. Our bedroom is exactly below the upstairs flat bathroom.

I enquired with those that live directly upstairs whether they were aware of a leak or had left the bath running. They said no.

It’s a new build so have been trying to contact the service company with very little progress. I don't suspect it’s a leak as the stain has not got any worse. Leads me to believe it’s more likely the bath was left running. If this is the case, will they have to pay up for repairs? How can I prove this?

If it is a leak, it will be their pipe that caused it. Will they still be responsible for the repairs?

Thanks in advance.

Badger_Lady

It could just be natural spillage from washing... shower curtain not 100% effective, splashing in the bath, or just normal stand-up washing. Doesn't have to be as major as "leaving the bath running".

How bad is the "damage"? If it's just a stain, can't you paint over it? How big is it? I always had water stains in my flat bathroom, probably a combination of upstairs drips and my own steam :-) Bit of ceiling paint dabbed on and you'd never know.

Rado16v

Thanks for the response.

It is just a stain. Approximately two 2m strips.

The stains not in our bathroom, its in our bedroom which is under their bathroom.

sooz

They might just need to re-do the seal around their bath.

It should always be done with a bath full of water, and left to set with the water in, otherwise it moves when you get in. A very small crack or hole in it can lead to water stains on the ceiling downstairs.

When you paint over it, use a stain block first, otherwise it will just show through the new paint.

Gillibobs

We had a similar problem a couple of years ago. There was a leak down one of our walls in the bathroom which got worse over the course of a few days. We spoke to the guy in the flat above who said there was nothing wrong that he could see in his bathroom. We contacted the managing agent of our flats who sent round a plumber to investigate. It turned out to be a leaking pipe of which obviously the tenant above wasn't aware of. It was all covered by the managing agents insurance and we had someone in to paint over the stain (and a new mirror thrown in as parts had gone rusty, nothing to do with the leak though!) none of which we had to pay for as it wasn't our fault. I tssuggest you get in touch with the managing agent if the tenant above insists there is nothing wrong they are aware of. Whatever it is you shouldn't have to pay for anything.

Woby_Tide

we had something similar a few years ago where the downstairs flat knocked on the door in the middle of the night to tell me my bathroom was leaking into their lounge. Sure enough the lounge was under the bathroom, I took apart all the panels around the bath to locate all the pipework and could find nothing, the leaking appeared to have stopped so we left it till the morning. When I checked further in teh morning I noticed that the actual beams of the floor were wet, these beams just happened to run directly under the flashings of a flat roof that covered part of their lounge. The 'leak' we realised had 'stopped' right about the time a very big rain storm stopped. basically the leak was water creeping in through teh defective flashings but travelling along the beams. If the stains you say are in two 2 metre strips it might be worth checking where the beams lie and where they have come from

Rabiddog_2

I have exactly the same problem , except the managing agents are saying they will repair my ceiling, but will not pay for damage to my carpet and light fittings(which still dont work). This water was coming into my flat over a period of three to four days! I think they are trying to do it on the cheap and not claim thru their insurance. How should I go about tackling them on this, as it has been a few weeks since this happened. Especially about insisting on damage to carpet and light fittings...