Big water leak from upstairs

Big water leak from upstairs

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Discussion

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
I've woken up this morning to the sound of dripping water. A pipe has become detached somehow from the cistern in the top floor bathroom, and water has penetrated the ceilings in the two floors below.

I'm normally fairly resourceful, but I'm knackered at the moment, and I can't think what to do. My fiancee's away, I'm flat out at work, and my mind's blank.

I've turned the water off at the stopcock. The lights are fused. Ceilings are dripping from the joints in the plasterboard, the carpets are fecking soaked through. What do I do next?

dreamer75

1,402 posts

229 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Towels... dehumidifier(s?)... heat... plumber... ?

Our bath overflowed and fooded in our previous house - water streaming out of light fittings and running down walls downstairs. Lots of towels to mop up the puddles and get things as dry as possible.

A VAX to hoover up what we could out of carpets etc., and a dehumidifier and something to generate heat, to dry it out. Fortunately the electrics were fine, and it took a while to dry everything out, but didn't seem to be any lasting damage.

Muncher

12,219 posts

250 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Call your insurers?

danyeates

7,248 posts

223 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Yeah, I think I'd be off to the hire shop to get a big gas heater and a big dehumidifier ASAP!

UpTheIron

3,998 posts

269 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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I had similar when the ballcock in the cold water tank decided to fail. I was only out the house for a few minutes(to keep it motoring related: I was dropping the car off at Str8six - all of 10 minutes walk away).

Thankfully it was mid-summer, so I isolated the leak and just left everything to dry out. Once dry it meant new ceilings and repainted walls - insurance job.

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
All good plans. Vax appeals - noisy and satisfying. I haven't time to do anything straight away. The weather forecast is pretty good. Could I get away with leaving the upstairs windows open and seeing what I come back to later, or is it going to smell terrible?

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
Bah. Started writing that one before the last few answers appeared. My fiancee's sorting the insurers. I keep getting interrupted by customer calls. The bloody house is on the market at the moment. This is the last thing we need.

I don't know how long the leak had gone on. I was working for 17 hours yesterday, and was pretty well asleep. I think what woke me was the water splashing in the kitchen, 2 floors down.

Laurel Green

30,783 posts

233 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Get as much air into the affected area as possible and, unscrew ceiling roses to drain any captured water.

Aviz

1,669 posts

170 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Your insurers should send a specialist company round ASAP with all the right equipment. Dehumidifiers/heaters etc. My mate runs such a company, and he's usually called out ASAP. Apart from isolating the water, I'd spend the rest of my time chasing the insurers.

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
I've just called in for a look. The ceilings are shagged, two carpets I reckon, too.

Insurers people aren't coming until Friday, apparently. I'm out the house 17 hours a day at the moment, so as long as I've got somewhere to sleep, l'm happy. I've reconnected the thing that came off, and it seems ok. A bit of a drip, but i can shower and flush the crapper.

Herself is in charge of dealing with insurers, and she's 250 miles away, and not particularly arsed.

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
The culprit:



The top one was completely separated.

Grandad Gaz

5,094 posts

247 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
That's why Ferg hates push fit stuff!

jas xjr

11,309 posts

240 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
Grandad Gaz said:
That's why Ferg hates push fit stuff!
cant beat a bit of copper . solder = fire , we love fire smile

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
Now I look at it again, I mean middle one, and it's threaded. I'm no plumber, but I've lived in a few places, and I've never seen anything like this before. It's my first new build.

Deva Link

26,934 posts

246 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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s2sol said:
Now I look at it again, I mean middle one, and it's threaded. I'm no plumber, but I've lived in a few places, and I've never seen anything like this before. It's my first new build.
The middle fitting and the top bit of plastic look like they're a push-fit tap connector.

Spitfire2

1,919 posts

187 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
Threaded on one end with push fit on the other. So it was the threaded bit that was leaking? Maybe missing a seal?

I dislike plastic piping too. Find copper much more reassuring.

Sir Bagalot

6,488 posts

182 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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I had something very similar. It caused £62,000's worth of damage.

Call your Insurers

Gingerbread Man

9,171 posts

214 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
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Looks to me like JG plastic coming out of the wall, JG elbow, then a bit of pipe going into a reducer (22-15), and the reducer inserting into a brass compression fitting. Either an isolating tap connector or just an inline isolator.

The ends wind off on plastic fittings, so there is a threaded aspect to them.
Many different brands and types of plastic pipe and fittings. Not a fan of the plastic fittings that are reuseable myself. The pipes alright, it's the fittings which can be problematic, but having that plastic on show is dreadful workmanship.

Edited by Gingerbread Man on Wednesday 28th March 22:44

s2sol

Original Poster:

1,223 posts

172 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
It's holding now, but I've just waded downstairs to get the stopcock. I've done the three S's, and I'm off to bed.

Got a 40' high cube container of furniture arriving at 6am, so I need to be up at 4. Busy's good, though.

Deva Link

26,934 posts

246 months

Wednesday 28th March 2012
quotequote all
Gingerbread Man said:
Looks to me like JG plastic coming out of the wall, JG elbow, then a bit of pipe going into a reducer (22-15), and the reducer inserting into a brass compression fitting. Either an isolating tap connector or just an inline isolator.
God knows what the sizes are (they do 12, 16 & 20mm) but this is fitting, I reckon: