water in bathroom ceiling light - help please

[zoeoutside]

Dear All
Had a circuit fuse trip last night - problem seems to be the bathroom ceiling light, which is one of those flush to the ceiling jobbies. Not being able to reach it myself, very nice neighbour got an impromptu shower when he released the glass dome bit

We removed bulb, dried it out with paper towels and then a hairdryer, put new bulb in, turned on - and it promptly tripped the circuit again.

Currently the fitment is hanging down from the ceiling in the hope that whatever residual moisture is in there will dry out over a couple of days and then we will try again.

But - where did the water come from? The ceiling itself is dry - is it possible that over time condensation gets into the fitting? Should there be some special kind of sealing going on? The bulb was last changed about four years ago.

If anyone has any ideas/suggestions, would be most grateful.

thanks

 

[JohnD]

water leak from above.

get the leak fixed

if the lighting fitting won't dry out, change it.

the leak might have got to the switch as well.

An enclosed lamp, especially if it has a normal filament bulb in it, gets hot so will not get condensation.

Or have you got a powerful shower and naughty children?

 

[zoeoutside]

Hi JohnD

Thanks for your reply.

Is it possible to have a water leak from above and for the ceiling to remain dry? We took the base unit (if that's what it's called) off the ceiling and the ceiling itself is absolutely dry. My tall neighbour who unscrewed the light for me wondered if perhaps the glass dome bit wasn't screwed in as tightly as it should be to the base and so wasn't sealed properly which was where the condensation idea came from - but I take your point that a normal bulb (which it is) generates heat. The switch is on the wall outside the bathroom (and also controls the extractor fan).

No children in residence to aim shower where it shouldn't be - it just happened apropos of nothing at all yesterday evening - the bathroom hadn't been in use since the morning.

I will try and check with upstairs, but live in an 1800s conversion where depending on which room you're talking about in my flat, it could be any one of 3 upstairs causing it.

Cheers

 

[JohnD]

if the upstairs neighbour left a tap running, water can flow over your plaster ceiling until it finds a hole to run through, for example the hole for the lighting cables. This is not unusual.

if they turned the tap off fairly soon, you might not notice wet plaster, depending on how much water there was.

If you have any cable connections or junction boxes up there, they could also be wet, as could the light switch.

If it was caused by a plumbing fault, it might happen again next time they have a bath or shower. In which case you may need your ceiling renewed, so prepare a letter to your home insurance co.

 

[zoeoutside]

Oh...........................poo!

ok, will do the round of the neighbours tonight.

thanks very much for your time.

 

[333rocky333]

Is it possible to have a water leak from above and for the ceiling to remain dry?

yes guite often, as the ceiling is usually sealed, the only hole is where the wires come out into the light fitting.
Any water coming through will naturally run across the ceiling towards the lowest point and if thats where the wire hole was,then it will fill up the light,
small amounts of water, absorbs into the building fabric and unless an exeptional amount ,will absorb and dry out before even reaching the surface
I have seen 10mm deep puddles laying on plasterboard and the water has only been visible coming through the joints or lights.
Sorry johnd was not there when I started,and the phone rang

 

[zoeoutside]

333 - thanks - yes, makes sense now with the combined explanations. It's going to be a right royal pain trying to work out who upstairs is responsible though.

Cheers

 

[333rocky333]

unfortunately some people wont admit it anyway
I do pubs and the amount of times they overflow the bath is crazy,I have also found showers so bad, there is no seal round the tray , so the water comes through,the last one was a guy plumbed a washing machine in for his girlfreind and left out the rubber hose washer,it did not leak till the pipe pressure builds up in the night, so if possible check if they have had any plumbing recently.
Other options can be small gullys or flatroofs above letting in water.
Hopefully it is nothing major, although it can be frustrating not knowing what caused it.

 

[zoeoutside]

will see what i can find out tonight and report back.

thanks again

 

[JohnD]

I won't tell you how I knew

I now have a small hole drilled in the kitchen ceiling directly above the sink.

 

[JohnD]

Maybe the people upstairs have a pet?

 

[zoeoutside]

Aarrgghh! Sadly no sheep living on the upper floors. It is oh so definitely not condensation though - got home last night - nice dry floor, thinking, oh good, leave it another day and try it again.

10pm - half a bucket full of water gushes through the ceiling. And then stops.

So, two evenings, two separate and very short-lived downpours. No luck identifying culprit as yet. Door knocking will continue tonight.

Question: is it ok to continue to use the shower/bath? I have bought a couple of those LED battery operated light thingies (it's an internal bathroom with no natural light). Originally I was not going to use it, hoping that everything would dry out, but until I identify the source, running the shower isn't going to make things any worse, is it?

Thanks again

 

[Agile]

10pm - half a bucket full of water gushes through the ceiling. And then stops.

Thanks again

Thats when they wash before going to bed!

Its probably the waste from the basin or the bath!

Many people live to the same routine so it will probably happen at the same time tonight!

Tony

 

[JohnD]

it certainly sounds like a fault in a trap or wastepipe in the bathroom above. Put a bucket under the hole for now

If I were you I would notify your insurance co now.

If it is a repeated thing, them the plasterboard will probably be damaged and start to bow and buckle, and the paper covering may come loose. If so the ceiling will have to be taken down and reinstated. No doubt when it is stripped off the waste pipes will become visible.

Perhaps you could stand in the bathrrom at bathtime and bellow angrily at your neighbour.

When knocking on doors mention that you will be making a claim for the damage.

 

[zoeoutside]

Agile and John - yes, I was thinking that maybe it was a quick run of a basin tap - not enough water for a bath or a shower. The first night it was earlier - about 8ish, I think, last night 10pm. Currently giant kitchen bin is positioned under hole.

But, do you think it's ok if I continue to use MY bath/shower in the room? When I thought it might be condensation, I didn't cos was hoping it would dry out, but a bit of steam from my shower doesn't seem to be anywhere on the level of the half a bucket straight through!

I'm contemplating having to go out at the weekend and buy 29 different coloured vegetable dyes to start putting through the other flats systems to try and work out where it's coming from! The building is an 1800s conversion and no 2 flat layouts or sizes are the same, so it's not like a modern purpose built where all the bathrooms are stacked on top of each other.