Leak from big pipe in house - UPDATE on Page 4

[redrabbit]

I live in a top floor maisonette. My downstairs neighbour is renting and says for a while now they thought there was a leak in their bathroom as the wall around a large pipe (It may be the waste pipe???) was wet and there's some paint damage there.

Her landlord now suspects it to be me.

• I initially thought that was wrong as there's no damage on my wall and no leak I can see.
  
  
• However, I've just been to the downstairs toilet (where the pipe is that runs from my house into her house and out to the street).
  
  
• Basically, next to the toilet is a big enclosed pipe. There is a small wooden door thing you can open to get access to the tap that turns off the water.
  
  
• I felt around there and there was some moisture but nothing major. However, I then placed a bit of tissue in there, and it immediately got soaked in water.

The water seems to be coming form where the big pipe from the toilet goes into the BIG metal pipe that goes from TOP to Bottom. I may be wrong but that's just where the tissue soaked up the water. I've marked this in RED on one of the pictures I've uploaded



A few questions:

1) Am I correct to be referring to this as a waste pipe? (asking for when I call a plumber up)

2) How could this be fixed by a plumber - especially considering the whole pipe is blocked in except for one area

3) Is it a big job?

4) Would I be expected to pay for their property to be repaired?

5) Is this the sort of job an insurance claim would be good for?

Thanks everyone

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

1) Am I correct to be referring to this as a waste pipe? (asking for when I call a plumber up)

The white pipe shown in your picture, is part of the soil waste.

2) How could this be fixed by a plumber - especially considering the whole pipe is blocked in except for one area

I doubt there is a blockage, does you toilet flush and empty, without backing up?

3) Is it a big job?

Really depends, what the issue is. It would not be common for a leak to be evident at the top seal of the soil connection, it could be that the internal stop tap is leaking and the water is tracking down to the soil pipe, giving you a missleading impression that the seal of on the soil pipe is leaking

4) Would I be expected to pay for their property to be repaired?

As the source of the issue looks like it comes from your faulty pipework, I think you could guess the answer to that? (AKA Yes)

5) Is this the sort of job an insurance claim would be good for?

They would, but you need to now exactly what your insurance pays out for and whether the excess on the policy stakes up financially, for claim to make sense.

 

[redrabbit]

The white pipe shown in your picture, is part of the soil waste.

I doubt there is a blockage, does you toilet flush and empty, without backing up?

Really depends, what the issue is. It would not be common for a leak to be evident at the top seal of the soil connection, it could be that the internal stop tap is leaking and the water is tracking down to the soil pipe, giving you a missleading impression that the seal of on the soil pipe is leaking

As the source of the issue looks like it comes from your faulty pipework, I think you could guess the answer to that? (AKA Yes)

They would, but you need to now exactly what your insurance pays out for and whether the excess on the policy stakes up financially, for claim to make sense.

Thanks for the useful response.

I didn't mean the pipe was blocked... I meant it was "blocked in" - as in boxed in and not easily accessible. I think you may be right - the tap probably is leaking.

I think - thankfully - that the damage to my neighbours property is minor, it looked to me to just be water damaged paintwork where it had gone black. I hope that's right anyway.

I'm guessing I should get a plumber out to look first (i think they charge for this), and give a quote or an idea of how big the job is? Then if it turns out that it's going to be a big job, then I call my insurers?

Thanks again

 

[Agile]

It is not clear to me where the leak is coming from.

But if water is not running down from above ( particularly when your WC is flushed ) then I doubt that it can be in any way your responsibility.

My view is that you need to get the landlady of downstairs to get a trustworthy ( ? ) plumber in to diagnose the cause of the leak. Probably someone independent and not the one who does her gas certificates as he might try to wrongly shift the blame on you. That might well prove that it is in no way your responsibility!

Tony

 

[redrabbit]

It is not clear to me where the leak is coming from.

But if water is not running down from above ( particularly when your WC is flushed ) then I doubt that it can be in any way your responsibility.

My view is that you need to get the landlady of downstairs to get a trustworthy ( ? ) plumber in to diagnose the cause of the leak. Probably someone independent and not the one who does her gas certificates as he might try to wrongly shift the blame on you. That might well prove that it is in no way your responsibility!

Tony

Well I'm upstairs, and they state that the water is coming down. There is water damage from the top of their wall and down a little (where the shared pipe runs).

The stop cock tap thing is possibly leaking as the tissue I put on the pipe did soak up water almost immediately.

I may ask for a plumber to come out when me and my neighbour are at home. I'll also check my insurance policy just to see what it says.

 

[ianmcd]

It is not clear to me where the leak is coming from.

But if water is not running down from above ( particularly when your WC is flushed ) then I doubt that it can be in any way your responsibility.

My view is that you need to get the landlady of downstairs to get a trustworthy ( ? ) plumber in to diagnose the cause of the leak. Probably someone independent and not the one who does her gas certificates as he might try to wrongly shift the blame on you. That might well prove that it is in no way your responsibility!

Tony

Do you ever give up with this absolute rubbish ? no wonder you infuriate people, many a decent qualified plumber is also qualified to carry out gas certificates as you call them, personally I would not trust you to clean my gas hob , let alone carry out gas or plumbing work

 

[ianmcd]

OP tie some tissue around the gland on the handle of the brass valve and see if it gets wet , most probable cause of your leak

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I'm guessing I should get a plumber out to look first (i think they charge for this), and give a quote or an idea of how big the job is?

They should not charge for just turning up and looking at it. Ask for a visit to assess the problem (FOC/free of charge). And a free quote for the work. It maybe just a simple nut tightening job, where the plumber can do it for you straight away, once diagnosed, cost agreed and authorised.

 

[redrabbit]

UPDATE

Although I'm in an upstairs maisonette, there are two floors in my house. So upstairs is another toilet, using this same soil pipe. I've discovered that the leak or water is not coming from the stop cock tap thing, but it's coming from the main pipe and only occurs when the upstairs toilet is flushed as the water then comes down the pipe.

The blue marking shows where I think the water is coming from.

 

[terryplumb]

a leak at that point is not going to show at ceiling height. it may well be wet at that point but is it wet higher up ? in my opinion ,as it is a shared soil stack it should be shared cost to fix it surely ?

 

[redrabbit]

a leak at that point is not going to show at ceiling height. it may well be wet at that point but is it wet higher up ? in my opinion ,as it is a shared soil stack it should be shared cost to fix it surely ?

That area that I've highlighted is on the middle floor of the entire pipe.

I'm not sure. If the guy came to me saying his pipe was leaking downstairs, I'd reply "mmmm, sorry to hear that, why are you telling me?".

I've had some advice to not flush upstairs toilet for a few days so that it dries off on the pipe area. Then to buy some Fernox sealant and put it around the area that was leaking.

If that is the area that's leaking do you think that could work?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I've had some advice to not flush upstairs toilet for a few days so that it dries off on the pipe area.

That would help eliminate other areas, if stays dry. Is there any signs of water above this joint?

 

[terryplumb]

i am bit confused now, are you saying the photo marked blue is taken in your own property and there is another toilet on the floor above you ?

 

[redrabbit]

i am bit confused now, are you saying the photo marked blue is taken in your own property and there is another toilet on the floor above you ?

Yes that photo is from my house.

Basically imagine a three story property. Downstairs is a flat and they have their own front door.

I am upstairs and my property is two floors. Sort of like a maisonette.

There is a bit soil pipe going down the entire property.

It starts at the top - where my bathroom and toilet is.

Down it goes to my spare toilet

And down to the flat below to her toilet

...

That picture is from the middle floor (where my downstairs toilet is).

 

[redrabbit]

That would help eliminate other areas, if stays dry. Is there any signs of water above this joint?

Don't believe so. Can't feel any.

In a minute I'm going to stick some tissue above the pipe and around it a bit. Then flush toilet and ensure it is coming from that blue area on the pic