Bill: Within 15 minutes, possibly less. There was also an obvious water stain on the joists. I had a contractor out since I posted this. The tub is definitely reverse-sloped about 1/2" toward the faucet end, as is the tile floor. He had two alternative ideas. 1. Put in sliding glass tub/shower door (right now it's just a shower curtain), build it up so water in the track doesn't pool in the "down" corners, redo caulk between tile floor and tub, also redo caulk between tub walls and tub using better quality caulk, total cost about $750, and yell at kid to be careful with water. This is the bandaid fix (he was being honest with me in that all of this will lessen the problem but not solve it) OR 2. Gut the bathroom, which will probably cost $10K or so. This is a kid's bathroom; kid is 16 and, I hope, going away to college in about 2 years. It has an ugly 1980s fluorescent light box ceiling and the same coverings & trim I hated in my kitchen -- 3" square tiles with wide grout, brass everything, ugly ratty pickled oak low quality wood vanity -- and a water hog toilet. I'd planned to just do a facelift with paint this summer when we redecorate his room, but now I'm not sure. I really do not have $10K to spend but I also like to know that I am fixing problems, not band-aiding them. Help! What would you (Bill or anyone else) do? Blue

Thanks, brickeyee. There are other factors, which is why I'd like to know if there was a preference from a plumbing perspective. The ceiling is popcorn in an open floor plan, not conducive to spot repair. It might be better to cover the whole ceiling with 1/4" to get rid of the popcorn, rather than just a repair. Then I could put in can lights at the same time ... another plus, but also another expense. I've done drywall ceilings myself before, but that was 15 years ago. Hiring someone would be necessary this time cause I'm so old. The ceiling isn't damaged right now, just stained a little, so priming and painting would probably fix it. It's about 700 sq. ft. I have no idea what it would cost to have it covered with 1/4" and mudded, but that would probably be the way to go. The bathroom floor is original sheet vinyl, in need of replacement. Plus, the geniuses who put it in used nails rather than screws to attach the plywood subfloor. The nail heads have poked through in a couple of places. If I pulled up the floor, I could replace the nails with screws, and put down new vinyl or tile. I did my kitchen with TrafficMaster Allure a few years ago and love it. No problems, and it still looks like new several years later. It's about 100 sq. ft. I could fix the floor of the bath myself. That makes three checks in the floor column. It's a tossup as to which would be the better upgrade. Both are on the "eventually" list.

OK, got it. You can get the management company to say to your elected board that because it is a toilet's wax ring, that is his responsibility to replace, and they can also educate your board about the fact that this leak is lowering property values, in general, and that it has to be dealt with. The mgmnt co maintains and repairs 'common' items. Not someone's wax ring. Unless it is causing damage to "common" areas. The leak passes through a common area before it falls on your neighbor's ceiling, but this is not a strong case to make to justify getting the management company to open a file or make it into an issue they would want to deal with. RE-defining it somehow will make a few people perk up and take notice. Hint hint. First of all, until they come see they cannot say with certainty that it IS a wax ring problem. Right now you have 2 avoiders who are the main parties. When more people are aware of the problem, the one person who is technically suffering the most from this will also come on side. It's inevitable. The elected board will take it seriously too. It's inevitable. Make the description vivid and get awareness going. Once you have a small number of other voting members aware of this too it is very easy to put your foot down and say "that'll be enough fecal matter in my breathing space." The upstairs neighbor would also like to know that you would do the same for him too, if he was receiving fecal matter in brown water dropping onto his ceiling. Hint hint. It's reasonable to expect he will acquiesce when he hears from a few more people that he will also benefit from similar pressure if he is the victim one day. Anyone can start by telling him this. YOu could too, if you knew what to say. Hint hint.

I‘m a little late to the game,but maybe this will help someone else. you can solve this blotchiness with a stain sealer (sanding sealer, de waxed shellac, etc....) cut with mineral spirits up to 50/50 will solve this problem. you can test with a thin coat of 100% sealer, a 75:25 sealer to Mineral Spirits ratio then a 50:50 Ratio to see which works best. A pre-stain conditioner might help, but doesn't always work as well.. Some types of wood - notably pine, maple, birch and cherry, do not like to take stain evenly so by partially sealing your wood first you will get better results.