smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 ok, I have a water leak somewhere in my house... it's driping down into my laundry room... funny thing is, it doesn't do it all the time, so I can't pin point what causes it. Also, sometimes at night time, I can hear a dripping noise coming from my attick... when I went up there, I didn't see anything, but there is insulation everywhere which makes it quite hard to see. Does anyone know who would be able to trace down this leak and fix it for a reasonable price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 There normally isnt water lines in the attic. Unless water has accumulated somewhere on the roof and has found an entry point into the house. I will assume you have a traditional 2 story house withe centralized plumbing. Check the toilet seals.(wax) What happens alot of times is the wax gets old and fails or the bolts rust and break. Either way the seal is no longer tight. When somebody sits on the toilet it breaks the seal apart even worse. Sometimes it will seal back down again after someone sits on it, but will soon after come loose again. Toilets are the most common and easiest leak to fix. If it is the copper good luck. If its not leaking at a fitting than its behind a wall or under a floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 If you think the leak is comeing from the attic, I would get up there and have somebody spray water around the flashing, any dormers, skylights, vent tubes and eventually the gutters. Save yourself some money and try these things first. There will also be vent tubes which come off the toilets, drains and if the water is making it all the way to the basement these may be the culprit. There should be a stack that vents the drains in the basement goes up through the house where the toilets run into it and out through the roof to vent backup gases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 there's no water in the basement at all.... at first I thought that it was only happening when it rained, but last night it was bad and it didn't rain. I went up in the attic last night and didn't see anything, but there is a distinct dripping sound that is hitting the main exhaust vent that goes up into the attic. The house is 5 years old so I'm kinda doubting that the bolts have rusted. the laudry room is directly below my master bath, but as we all know, water can be trickey because it will run along a board or pipe or something before it drips down making it hard to pin point where it actually came from. I'm to the point where I don't want it to cause any more damage to the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 ok, update... this morning, I woke up and went down there, it was dry.... after my roomate and i both took showers and he dropped off a stink pickel, then it was a huge puddle.... I don't think it's from the shower because the water was cold.... although one time when I cleaned it up, it was warm water.... this is very bizzar. Jason, are you a plummer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 If it happened after a couple showers, check the drain on the tub. Mine is leaking onto my bathroom below. I gotta tear the drywall out of the ceiling to get to it in the next week or two....sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 man, i'd hate that idea.... but it would make sense... the water was cold and I know that the shower water was warm... so I don't know if it's the shower or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 update... I took the light globe off of the ceiling and it was completely filled, so that would explain why the water was warm the one time... the bulb probably warmed up the water before it over flowed... I flushed the toilets multiple times and filled the tubs up and let them drain... I noticed the spare tub drains really slowly... I'm going to get some draino after work and see if that might be the culperate. when I flushed the spare toilet, maybe a little bit of water (like a drop) came down, but that could have just been water still coming down off of the bulb from when the bulb was submerged under water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Taste it and see if it is toilet water or used shower water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 tastes like chicken... it doesn't smell like pewp or pee.... it's clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 If there is a walk in shower above it it could be the rubber seal beneath the base . These can be tricky. If you checked everything you can see I would remove the toilet and lift up on the pipe to see if a hanger has failed it should be rigid and not move. Unfortunately it sounds as though you dont know which is leaking. Narrow it down from the toilet, sink, shower. Also make sure the nuts that hold the tank to the toilet base are tight. There are many places water can come from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest powers Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Josh you are gonna need to cut a hole in the ceiling to fix the issue so just open her up and find the fix. I had a leak develop from my master bath shower few months ago. It ended up just being the way the drain was installed. Cost was zero to fix. But I had ceiling drywall i had to replace. So don't be afraid to tear in to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I' am going with powers. Unfortunately there is only so much you can do. And if you cant narrow it down to one area, you will have to crack er open. There are just to many things that can fail and let water leak out. Everything from a gasket to fixtures. Even the piping could be soldered badly. Narrow it down as much as possible and start by making a small hole first. There are mechanical tools you can get from a store which will tell you the amount of moisture in a area. You can test the moisture content of wood in an area to help track it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 heres another idea use different color dyes. Fill the toilet up and drop a few drops in, flush and repeat. Also do the same with the tubs. Fill them up and drain. Alternating colors. If you can get something to leak and see a color you will know which one your having problems with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted February 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 the dye idea is a good one.... weird thing, this morning, no water... at all... as well as last night... I caulked around both tubs and ran draino through the tub that drained slowly.... this has happened before where it's a down pour for a day, then it's dry for a week. I think cuting the ceiling is going to have to be what I do. I have a rotozip so it's not difficult to cut the ceiling out... I was just wanting to avoid doing that. :-( I still do hear that drip coming from somewhere... it sounds like it's hiting one of the duct work pipes and echoing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 Is it water dripping or a pipe that vibrates as water runs through it. If it is the later(sp) drill a small hole and spray some expanding foam in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRN96WS6 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 Non Bob Vila types should not own a house until they can pay someone to fix it for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted February 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 it's not about being able to pay someone to fix it... it's about doing it myself.... and I might not know everything about home improvments, but I have finished a 2k sq foot basement with John and his dad so I must not be that bad. update: after my roomate took a shower there was water everywhere... my best guess now is actually the pipes going up to the shower. I'm going to remove the wall panel tonight and run the shower for a few minutes and see if there's moisture on the pipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted February 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 shower head lines are completely dry.... it has to be the drain... I will start tearing out the ceiling in the laundry room this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Josh, since you were complaining about the valves leaking at the shower, did you ever check to see if the valves were leaking into the wall? If the water is clear I would not suspect the drain as the culprit as the water would be cloudy and smell like soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted February 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Nathan, totally different shower. the valve that was messed up was in my master shower... that is now fixed... this is in the other upstairs shower... The water does blow bubbles sometimes, so I'm going ot have to guess this is soap causing it to bubble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black00ws6 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 dooo beee dooo beee doooooooooooooooo... the waters coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted February 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 ok, after tearing the ceiling out of the laundry room.... I got it fixed (I think... 2 days and still dry which is a good sign) turns out to be the faucet in the tub.... when I took the faucet off all of the seals were completely worn and half hanging off.... I'm crossing my fingers hoping that fixed the problem. Now to just replace the ceiling that was ripped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Make sure you give the wood ample time to dry out. If any joists were wet check to see if any swelling has loosened the subfloor from the joists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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