Water leak from upstairs :(

[bainbridge]

Completely my fault

I changed the taps in the bathroom washbasin which is situated above the living room. I borrowed tap spanners from the father in law to tighten them to the supply pipes, but, unbeknown to me, I evidently didn't tighten one of them enough, because a month later (today) a stain has appeared on the living room ceiling, it's about the size of a saucer but slowly getting bigger. It's the cold tap which I didn't tighten enough, the pipe is wet to the touch and I tied a cloth around it which has now soaked through.

To try and limited the damage I've placed an old towel under the sink until Saturday when I can get the tap spanner again. I also drilled small hole in the stain in the living room ceiling in case water is pooling on the plasterboard. A slow drip came through which is reducing in frequency, so hopefully there's not much water up there.

The ceiling finish appears to be stippled artex, admittedly not everyone's cup of tea, but all the ceilings were freshly painted before we moved in and I'm annoyed at myself for not periodically checking the pipes for leaks after changing the taps. Once everything has dried out, do you think I'll be able to simply polyfiller the small hole I made and repaint the ceiling? Or will there be more complex repairs involved? Thanks.

 

[norm]

It should be okay once it's dried. You need to apply a stain blocker like Zinsser BIN before repainting though.

 

[bainbridge]

It should be okay once it's dried. You need to apply a stain blocker like Zinsser BIN before repainting though.

Thanks, I didn't consider using stain blocker. The water is still slowly dripping out, fingers crossed

 

[thenewoc]

Yep bit of Zinsser BIN and then the same white emulsion already used once the Zinsser has dried. You're lucky it's Artex to get away with just painting a patch.

 

[theone8181]

We've had the same issue. Does normal plaster stain? We also have a stain on stipple artex, fortunately its a room we've not decorated yet. Takes its time to soak through and stain though doesn't it?

 

[Semple]

We've had the same issue. Does normal plaster stain? We also have a stain on stipple artex, fortunately its a room we've not decorated yet. Takes its time to soak through and stain though doesn't it?

Depends how much water is leaking. We had a leak from the toilet fill valve and that spewed out a load of water which caused a few patches. They only go a browney sort of colour after drying.

Another +1 for stain block, plus you'll want a good few coats.

 

[200sols]

Is this a compression fitting? You could have over tightened it also. Just use plastic next time, fool proof

 

[LuckyBenski]

Is there not a service valve to just turn off the supply on that tap?

 

[bainbridge]

Is this a compression fitting? You could have over tightened it also. Just use plastic next time, fool proof

It's copper pipes going straight to the taps, I don't think I overtightened them because I nipped them up just enough to be watertight. Or so I thought.

 

[bainbridge]

Is there not a service valve to just turn off the supply on that tap?

No. The cistern for the toilet has one, but the washbasin taps don't.

 

[andy_mk3]

No. The cistern for the toilet has one, but the washbasin taps don't.

I fit these whenever I do any form of work on water feeds, they're invaluable at times! We had a flex hose pop not long after having a combi boiler fitted, going from gravity fed to mains pressure hot water, only noticed when I saw water dripping out the kitchen light fitting! Thankfully I pulled the carpets up and it all dried out fairly well with no damage.

As for your original question yes it will definitely be an easy repair to fill the hole.

 

[LuckyBenski]

I fit these whenever I do any form of work on water feeds, they're invaluable at times!

1000% this. It totally reverses the anxiety I have about that particular plumbing job. So buys me peace of mind for the quality of my work.

 

[glenimp617]

Is this a compression fitting? You could have over tightened it also. Just use plastic next time, fool proof

First time I had a go at compression fittings I didn't know you could over tighten them. I kept going with all my strenght to ensure a water tight seal. Ended up with a slow drip. Tightened even further somehow to stop it to a drip per 24hrs, and rubbed a shed load of silicone around it. We live in a hard water area, so after a few days the drips stopped. It will do until we have the bathroom replaced.

Those plastic speedfit adapters are a godsend. I now use them when I can.

 

[200sols]

Those plastic speedfit adapters are a godsend. I now use them when I can.

Yes, they do flexitails now which will fit most taps so it's even easier, you can get them with service valves built in as well.

 

[bainbridge]

Got the tap spanners again (borrowed it from the father in law and had dinner round there) and the union nut was tight, but I gingerly nipped it up a tad more and the leak was still there. As a temporary bodge I decided to wrap some PTFE tape (which I've had for literally 20 years but never had to use for anything) around the thread, but to do this I had to remove the tap completely. After removing the tap I was using a small screwdriver to clear the nut thread of old PTFE and this popped out:

So I did a but of research and established that there's a fibrous looking washer which goes between the end of the water pipe and the tap itself. Now, before everyone says I should have changed this anyway when I changed the taps, I should clarify that I didn't actually change the taps. I bought something called a tap refresher kit which consists of replacement cartridges and handles, but the old tap body remained in situ. I've not changed taps before.

Screwfix was closed by the time I learned this, so I'm picking up some washers in the morning and the water is turned off at the main valve for the night because the ceiling has nearly dried out now and I can't be bothered to reassemble and stem the leak with a towel again!

@200sols I understand what you meant by compression fittings now, I thought that they were those flexible plastic pipes that you simply push on the copper pipes, but I understand that compression fittings have a little olive that gets compressed. Our bathroom is quite old and there's copper pipes going up behind the washbasin pedestal, then there's a short bit of pipe brazed/soldered onto the end with a squared off lip which retains the union nut that screws onto the bottom of the tap.

We bought the house last year and intend to rip out the bathroom and fit a completely new one, hopefully soon, hence the minimal spending in this room at the moment. Believe it or not I'm going to be the one fitting it I have a lot to learn.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Tip: fibre washers are designed to be used once. The idea is that they go in dry and expand when moisture hits them. I've heard you can compress them in a vice to reuse but for 5p or whatever, no point.

 

[Quartz]

I also drilled small hole in the stain in the living room ceiling in case water is pooling on the plasterboard.

Tie a thread to a headless match and poke the match through the hole you drilled. The water will run down the thread rather than drip.

 

[glenimp617]

Yes, they do flexitails now which will fit most taps so it's even easier, you can get them with service valves built in as well.

That's a great idea. I think the reason I had to use compression was because the pipes are 10mm and needed to go up to 15mm

 

[200sols]

That's a great idea. I think the reason I had to use compression was because the pipes are 10mm and needed to go up to 15mm

Speedfit do adaptors 10-15mm. I used a few on central heating as house is plumbed in 10mm microbore

 

[glenimp617]

Speedfit do adaptors 10-15mm. I used a few on central heating as house is plumbed in 10mm microbore

Female to Female reducers though. I guess I could get a speedfit 10mm flexi tap connector, and then a speedfit 10mm valve and connect the two together with a small piece of 10mm tubing. Then replace the lot if it starts to play up. Just wish I'd thought of that before.