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Leaking from ceiling from directly below shower

4 years ago

Hello,

I have an older home and it is winter in Wisconsin. My house is cold, today around 60 degrees, and I just took a longer than normal warm/hot shower. After my shower I noticed leaking on the floor below directly underneath my shower (shower is upstairs). I am guessing a pipe burst as the leaking stopped shortly after the shower.

The drywall in the ceiling is now wet but the water has stopped leaking. What steps would you take going forward if you were going to attempt to fix the pipe, assuming I will be able to locate where the leak is coming from.

Thank you, look forward to responses.

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Comments (3)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
4 years ago
It's not a burst supply line or the ceiling would have been down in about 15 minutes. Call a plumber please.
HU-955941711
4 years ago
I would suspect either the drain or the riser from the shower controls to the shower head as being the culprit.
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Jenn TheCaLLisComingFromInsideTheHouse
4 years ago
I would strongly advise getting a licensed plumber out to your house, and let that person determine the source and what needs to be done to fix the problem. If you have wet drywall ceiling, that moisture is most likely continuing to spread from the part that you immediately noticed into the surrounding portions of ceiling drywall, and if the spot began in a corner area that meets a side wall the moisture might spread down that wall too. The stuff commonly used in places outside of so-called "wet rooms" (bathroom, kitchen) isn't water resistant and it tends to suck up water like a dry sponge would.

It might appear that the leaking has stopped, but depending on the source, it could be continuing to slowly drip without you really knowing that is occurring. This is why you need a plumber to find and repair, but you should be prepared to hear that you'll also need to call someone to put in new drywall - unless you're okay with a big section cut out of the ceiling so the plumbing-related repair(s) can be done. :P

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