Leaking pipe in floor

[Ackoman]

Hello,

Last week I managed to put a screw through a pipe in the landing whilst securing some floorboards - there was quite a bit of water escaping before I managed to get hold of a plumber to fix it.

Yesterday, my living room ceiling was bulging and a load of water had deposited itself on the floor - the living room is not directly under the landing (it is several meters away in fact). Above the living is my sons bedroom - I worked on his floorboards on the same day as the ones on the landing.

How likely is it that the water which came through the living room ceiling travelled from the damaged pipe in the landing, waited 5 days, and then burst through and soaked the floor? Or is it more likely that I also damaged a pipe in my sons room?

Can water sit in the ceiling for that long? And can it travel several meters and move between joists?

Thanks,
Ackoman

 

[sooey]

How likely is it that the water which came through the living room ceiling travelled from the damaged pipe in the landing, waited 5 days, and then burst through and soaked the floor? Or is it more likely that I also damaged a pipe in my sons room?

It's possible for water to travel and come through elsewhere, but if you're in the habit of putting screws through the centre of floor boards it's probably more likely that you've gone through another pipe.

 

[Ackoman]

I should add, as far as I can tell there are no pipes directly above where the water came out into the living room.

 

[Ackoman]

How likely is it that the water which came through the living room ceiling travelled from the damaged pipe in the landing, waited 5 days, and then burst through and soaked the floor? Or is it more likely that I also damaged a pipe in my sons room?

It's possible for water to travel and come through elsewhere, but if you're in the habit of putting screws through the centre of floor boards it's probably more likely that you've gone through another pipe.

I try not to make a habit of it! When I was doing my son's room I was more careful and never put a screw in any more than 5mm away from an existing nail.

 

[DaveHerns]

If the ceiling is bulging it will need to be replaced and then you'll know if you have a leak above

 

[Ackoman]

If the ceiling is bulging it will need to be replaced and then you'll know if you have a leak above

As it turned out, the bulge was the paint which had peeled away - the actual plaster boards are still fine.

 

[ianmcd]

water will always take the path of least resistance and will come through the plasterboard joints rather than the plasterboard itself

 

[Agile]

Clearly you need to invest in a sensitive metal detector.

But that's only useful with copper pipes!

Yet another reason for not using plastic.

Plasterboard is only screwed onto the joists and that does not make a watertight joint so water will migrate across the joists.

Tony

 

[dilalio]

Only time or demolition will tell for sure!