Leak in ceiling under bathroom

[pappilo]

I have lived in a new build house for 5 years and never had any problems with my Potterton Powermax HE boiler. In December, I got a call from a plumbing company on behalf of the housebuilders requiring access to inspect my flue (something to do with govt regs from Jan 2013).

I let him in and gave him access to my boiler and loft and he was here for about 30 mins. Fast forward 5 days later while I am packing to go abroad the next day, I walk into my living room to meet it flooded. There is a major leak from my ceiling. I put a bucket under there and monitor the leak. By the time I was leaving for the airport the next morning, the leak had reduced to drops.

I left the boiler on but switched off both hot water and heating and by the time I came back from my holidays (2 weeks), the leak had stopped and the bucket was only about 1/5 full.

My boiler has continued to lockout since my return when the pressure drops to 0.4 bar. The main leak started quite some distance away from the boiler but you can now see a wet patch that has formed leading to where the boiler is housed.


Does this problem have anything to do with the work carried out on my flue?


Any other ideas what the problem could be?

 

[dcawkwell]

No you have a leak and the central heating system is losing pressure.

If it is a 5 year old new build I am not sure why they were inspecting
unless you rent the property. Or unless they installed them incorrectly
in the first place and were correcting the situation with proper access panels to inspect the flue but not reason why they should unless someone was paying.

I would be very suspect of letting anyone into the house unless you
have written notice of when, what and who.

 

[pappilo]

No you have a leak and the central heating system is losing pressure.

If it is a 5 year old new build I am not sure why they were inspecting
unless you rent the property. Or unless they installed them incorrectly
in the first place and were correcting the situation with proper access panels to inspect the flue but not reason why they should unless someone was paying.

I would be very suspect of letting anyone into the house unless you
have written notice of when, what and who.

Thanks for the quick reply. I think they didnt install the flue brackets properly and wanted to cover their backs. they told me before they came round.

Concerning the leak, can you enlighten me why the ceiling is no longer leaking even though I have been using the boiler for 2 weeks since I got back and have had to top up the pressure about 4 times. I have the engineer from the plumbing company that worked on the flue and another one from Heatem coming out to have a look but I just want to have an idea of what the problem may be and how much I will have to withdraw from my credit card

 

[dcawkwell]

The leak is above the mark in the ceiling or close by.
You are losing pressure steadily hence the reason to top up 4 times.
May only be a steady drip.

Should be easy to fix provided you can access it from above.

 

[JohnD]

sometimes a badly made joint will leak when disturbed but will subsequently clog up with dirt and limescale. It can start leaking again at any time. You need to take up the floor and locate the leak.

 

[pappilo]

sometimes a badly made joint will leak when disturbed but will subsequently clog up with dirt and limescale. It can start leaking again at any time. You need to take up the floor and locate the leak.

Thanks Guv'

Will wait and see what they say. I have tiles in my bathroom above the leak so I can only imagine it will cost some major money to investigate and fix the problem. It looks like my House insurance includes cover for trace and fix so maybe I am not that screwed.

 

[JohnD]

you could possibly cut a hatch through the damaged ceiling.

a neat square one would look better than mine
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