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Hi All!
I have a question about a leaky ceiling.
I live in a flat, on the bottom floor and there is a unit above me. Recently there have been two instances where we have had water dripping from an exposed crack in the ceiling, onto my kitchen floor and sink. This happens whenever the people upstairs shut off the main to repair a leaking tap, or simply if they decide to defrost their fridge. It was noted by our neighbours upstairs that the tap he was replacing had a mere trickle coming from it and in comparison, I collected a litre of water dripping from my ceiling, from his tap replacement!
Following this, we had a plumber and the strata manager inspect the crack. We have been told it will be a strata issue/ cost for repair and that a corroding copper pipe set into the concrete slab might (probably) be to blame. I have personally chased the strata manager for 2 weeks since the incident and not a single call has been returned.
What is our next step toward resolving this issue?
Thanks.
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Sounds like you are an owner. If so, come down like a ton of bricks on the Executive Committee of your building before your building comes down on you. Tell them the Strata Manager is ignoring you and a terrible problem which is going to be terribly costly to fix if, indeed, it is a broken pipe which can cause the dreaded ‘concrete cancer’ sometimes more politely called ‘spalling’. This needs to be checked out pronto. Really!
If you are a tenant, come down like a ton of bricks on your agent or landlord.
Concrete cancer CAN be fixed more painlessly and efficiently by experienced, reputable operators who may not necessarily be ‘the cheapest quote’ but will do things properly, and keep the concrete silica dust under control.
Sometimes we find that even though a strata manager may appear not to care, the strata manager's manager does. You could try escalating to the next level up within the strata company?
If that leak was incident-related (i.e started then stopped with the tap replacement or defrosting of the fridge) maybe both the plumber and the resident flooded the floor both times and then it soaked through? If that's the case, the leak is over and the building should be OK.
If the leak occurs periodically or is now continuous, it could be a slow leak that drips through onto the plaster, takes time to build then pours through the ceiling when the volume of water overwhelms the soaking ability of the plaster (!) An undesirable situation for you, the owners and the building.
Either way, the cause must be determined asap so the owners know if the buildings structural integrity is at risk.
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