Leaking vent from roof and where to connect it

[JK10101]

As you'll soon see I'm not up on my technical terms so I'll try and explain the problem clearly and try and upload a pic.

We're on the top floor flat, we've noticed a small wet patch on the ceiling. I've gone to the loft and seen the problem, there is a black bendy pipe dangling down from the roof, and water has clearly come through that. There are half a dozen such pipes in the loft coming down from the roof, some are connected to something, some just dangling...

My first assumption is that this pipe has come loose from something, and nearby I see a length of light grey bendy piping which I believe is connected to the extractor fan in the ensuite bathroom - it must be connected to that! There's some sort of metal clip nearby, so I attach the two, tighten the clip and think: job done.

However if this thing has been leaking water *while not* connected to the extractor fan, does that mean water is coming in through the roof, and if so, would connecting that to the extractor fan be potentially dodgy as you've got water meeting electricity?

The second thing the black bendy pipe may be connected to is a solid plastic pipe that seems to run down through the core of the property, it's not connected to anything, it just ends poking upwards in the loft. It's close to some metal piping that goes out with the top of the loft which I think is the boiler flue. The leaking black bendy pipe doesn't quite reach this solid plastic pipe though.

What I think is happening is that water is being let through a vent of some sort on the roof and coming through this pipe, but I want to be sure it's a dodgy vent issue, and therefore my property managers are responsible for, or not.

So if this link works correctly, you've got the offending pipe on the right, the extractor fan lying flat in the middle, and the hard plastic pipe on the left!

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• JK10101
• 18 Dec 2012
• 1

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Thanks for any help,
James

 

[rjm2k]

Post some photos of the outer roof, it sounds like it probably should be connected to the solid pipe but then again, the extractor shouldn't be venting into the loft and water shouldn't be coming down the pipes!

How old is the property, is it still under "warranty"? Do you have neighbours at the same floor level, can you ask to see what's connected to what in their loft to see if you can get an idea of what's what? Looks like it was installed by "Harry Tuttle"

 

[JK10101]

The property was built in 1998, not sure about warranties etc and if possible I'd settle for quickly sorting it myself if poss!
I've taken a pic of the other side of my loft and how things are connected there, hopefully properly!

Untitled

• JK10101
• 18 Dec 2012
• 1

On the right, a light grey pipe, from our other bathroom's extractor fan, connected to a black bend pipe going out of the roof. On the left, black bendy pipe connected to solid plastic, going towards the edge of the property and the kitchen. And in the middle, another disconnected bit of grey bendy piping, this time connected to the cooker's extractor fan, which we never use.

I think looking at this it's fairly clear that my initial assumption from the first picture, that the wet black bendy pipe should be connected to the ensuite extractor fan pipe, was correct, and in fact I've just connected them back together as I think they've somehow become disconnected at some point. Even if the black pipe is somehow letting in water, the worst that would happen is that water would drip through the ensuite extractor fan, something that's presumably designed to deal with a bit of water/moisture?

But I'm still a bit nervous about it all!

 

[JK10101]

Actually another couple of bits: to the right of my second picture there is another black bendy pipe that isn't connected to anything. My guess is that it's meant for the second bathroom extractor fan, and the cooker extractor fan should be attached to the black pipe the second bathroom extractor fan is currently attached to.

Second thing that's possibly relevant: we've had ongoing ceiling mould issues in the bedroom for a while now. Perhaps that's connected to some sort of condensation build-up in the loft?

 

[catlad]

Those pipes could have been off for a while one at least, and then as the weather has dropped below freezing that warm air going into the loft has turned to water. If they are fixed together with a large zip tie, the plastic pipes could have shrunk with the cold weather and come apart. And yes that would probably be the reason for your mould.