Jump to content
Find Professionals    Deals    Get Quotations   Portfolios
Sign in to follow this  
rustgal17

Water Seepage

Recommended Posts

Dear All,

Just wondering if anyone has encountered the problem of water seepage in toilets between 2 floors. It seems that my toilet is leaking into the lower floor of another unit. Is there anyone who can recommend a solution and who to contact to repair the water seepage. Please help.

Edited by rustgal17
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join 46,923 satisfied homeowners who used renotalk quotation service to find interior designers. Get an estimated quotation

did your 1 floor down neighbour complain?

If yes, ask HDB come and check.

If it is due to old-age, HDB might pay 50% out of good will. Balance 50% will be share by u and the neighbour. Can't remember is $250 or $500 liao.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is your toilet newly renovated? If so, the water proofing by your contractor could be badly done. You can make him compensate by paying for the repair. That's what we did. We need not involve neighbor as both upstair and downstair were internal to our house

Just to share on what they do. The guy coat the shower stall floor tiles in the upstairs bathroom with a transparent stuff. Then he made 5 injections of something into the ceiling of downstairs where the seepage takes place.

So far so good and all okay for the last 9 years. However, the transparent stuff they put on the floor tiles peeled of after a few months of application. Not sure if it was meant to last or it was just to keep the water away until the injected stuff from below hardened.

The most tricky part about this problem is getting the neighbors to co-pay. Usually the upstair bochap as they are not affected. In this case, you must be a good neighbour to even care about checking how to solve the problem.

Edited by sujuan
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Is your toilet newly renovated? If so, the water proofing by your contractor could be badly done. You can make him compensate by paying for the repair. That's what we did. We need not involve neighbor as both upstair and downstair were internal to our house

Just to share on what they do. The guy coat the shower stall floor tiles in the upstairs bathroom with a transparent stuff. Then he made 5 injections of something into the ceiling of downstairs where the seepage takes place.

So far so good and all okay for the last 9 years. However, the transparent stuff they put on the floor tiles peeled of after a few months of application. Not sure if it was meant to last or it was just to keep the water away until the injected stuff from below hardened.

The most tricky part about this problem is getting the neighbors to co-pay. Usually the upstair bochap as they are not affected. In this case, you must be a good neighbour to even care about checking how to solve the problem.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Guys - Thanks for the info. Well, my toilet has been renovated more than 10 years ago - The contractor came to check but found no leakage from my pipes and the downstair neighbour insists that the leakage comes from my unit and he was not done any renovation for the last 20 years and planned to go ahead to do a grouting on the ceiling to prevent the seepage. Of course, not giving me time to find out where the leakage comes from. I don´t know if the seepage can comes from other pipings.. I want to solve the program but need to find out the source and time is the factor if the neigbhour is not giving me enough time to investigate the problem

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi Guys - Thanks for the info. Well, my toilet has been renovated more than 10 years ago - The contractor came to check but found no leakage from my pipes and the downstair neighbour insists that the leakage comes from my unit and he was not done any renovation for the last 20 years and planned to go ahead to do a grouting on the ceiling to prevent the seepage. Of course, not giving me time to find out where the leakage comes from. I don´t know if the seepage can comes from other pipings.. I want to solve the program but need to find out the source and time is the factor if the neigbhour is not giving me enough time to investigate the problem

Hmm.. you keep mentioning leaking pipes. Perhaps the water that seep through is just the water from the bath area or whichever area where there is alot of washing. It's probably a waterproofing problem of your floor tiles. You probably need to either hack and redo the floor or a cheaper and easier alternative is to do the injection.

Good Luck!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Injection into the leaking part of the ceiling is extremely expensive. I recalled that it's about $1,000/- per injection 10 years ago. And after 1 injection at say, 1 affected area, the water might move on to another part and the ceiling below would have a new water leaking location.

Chances are the waterproofing has worn off below your tiles and when you bathe, the water seeps through the grooves between tiles & makes its way and start leaking down your neighbour's ceiling.

I think the feasible option is to redo your flooring through HDB's appointed contractor. I was told by those who went through this similar issue, that you will be given a limited choice of tiles to chose from. Unless you buy your own tiles...

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Is your toilet newly renovated? If so, the water proofing by your contractor could be badly done. You can make him compensate by paying for the repair. That's what we did. We need not involve neighbor as both upstair and downstair were internal to our house

Just to share on what they do. The guy coat the shower stall floor tiles in the upstairs bathroom with a transparent stuff. Then he made 5 injections of something into the ceiling of downstairs where the seepage takes place.

So far so good and all okay for the last 9 years. However, the transparent stuff they put on the floor tiles peeled of after a few months of application. Not sure if it was meant to last or it was just to keep the water away until the injected stuff from below hardened.

The most tricky part about this problem is getting the neighbors to co-pay. Usually the upstair bochap as they are not affected. In this case, you must be a good neighbour to even care about checking how to solve the problem.

Hi Wld U mind providing me the contact? I have internal wall leakage and neigbour downstair has feedback that they hv leakage from their ceiling which is my floor.

thks

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Dear All,

Just wondering if anyone has encountered the problem of water seepage in toilets between 2 floors. It seems that my toilet is leaking into the lower floor of another unit. Is there anyone who can recommend a solution and who to contact to repair the water seepage. Please help.

Will your neighbour allow you to take pictures of the leakage? It will help by posting the pictures here. If your house is HDB then it's a lot easier to solve. If not, then we have to determine whether it's a multi-storey apartment, or a shophouse with upper floor residence etc. Types of housing can pose unique leaking problem where the source can come from leaking pipes, damaged cappings at the roof, punctured water-proofing membrane etc. Until you determine the source of the leak, there's no solution to it.

http://70wood.blogspot.com

http://70woodprofiles.blogspot.com

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hi, I am having similar problem, however it is at my balcony. Some facts to intro,

My place is a 26yrs old EM, which i bought 2 years ago. Renovation was done sometime in May 2009.

My balcony was of a outdoor concept. not covered up. The ex-owner laid tiles over it, during my renovation, I decided to lay timber decking in my balcony.

Right now, my neighbour(lower floor) complains that there is seepage on her ceiling, right under my balcony.

I got HDB to assess the situation, and end up receiving a letter to ask me to make good the ceiling. i was told by HDB that balcony is not under the same treatment as toilet, where they will help to remedy. which i am puzzled. If balcony is not under the same treatment as toilet (splitting the cost of repair), then is it mandatory to apply water proofing?

I want to help my neighbour solve this issue asap, but who can I ask for help? HDB offer me a contradicting answer. Cos policy is that toilet need to be water proof, and HDB help to cover part of the cost, and mediate sharing of cost between upper and lower floor owners. but they dont do it for balcony. Does it mean i got to suck thumb and bear all the cost?

Repair the leak, means I have to tear down my timber deck which cost me $1600 less then 2 yrs ago, and to foot a bill of about $2000 to hack, water proof and lay tiles.

anyone can provide some advise?

Tks in advance.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
hi, I am having similar problem, however it is at my balcony. Some facts to intro,

My place is a 26yrs old EM, which i bought 2 years ago. Renovation was done sometime in May 2009.

My balcony was of a outdoor concept. not covered up. The ex-owner laid tiles over it, during my renovation, I decided to lay timber decking in my balcony.

Right now, my neighbour(lower floor) complains that there is seepage on her ceiling, right under my balcony.

I got HDB to assess the situation, and end up receiving a letter to ask me to make good the ceiling. i was told by HDB that balcony is not under the same treatment as toilet, where they will help to remedy. which i am puzzled. If balcony is not under the same treatment as toilet (splitting the cost of repair), then is it mandatory to apply water proofing?

I want to help my neighbour solve this issue asap, but who can I ask for help? HDB offer me a contradicting answer. Cos policy is that toilet need to be water proof, and HDB help to cover part of the cost, and mediate sharing of cost between upper and lower floor owners. but they dont do it for balcony. Does it mean i got to suck thumb and bear all the cost?

Repair the leak, means I have to tear down my timber deck which cost me $1600 less then 2 yrs ago, and to foot a bill of about $2000 to hack, water proof and lay tiles.

anyone can provide some advise?

Tks in advance.

Hi, just to share, I previously had some leakage problems on my outdoor balcony (it's a condo unit). The culprit was actually the manhole area (the drainage part) because when we open up the manhole cover, we can see that the cement inside is not fully covering the pipes, so water going into the drainage area found its way around crevices etc and leaked into the balcony ceiling downstairs.

You can try to locate the problem by trying out a few things, one at a time, and you'll also have to ask your neighbour to co-operate with you so that you can identify the problem.

1) Find out whether it leaks downstairs whenever you pour water down the manhole directly? At the same time, check that the cement fully surrounds your pvc pipes under the manhole cover.

2) I'm not sure if you have a planter box with a drainage outlet - if you do, you can check that too. i.e. water your plants and see if it affects your neighbour below? Same thing, Check that the cement fully surrounds your pvc pipes under the drainage cover.

3) I'm not sure if you wash your timber decking too? If you do, you can check if this causes a leak to your neighbour's ceiling? If it's washing tiles that causes a leak, you don't need to hack your tiles. After you remove the timber decking, clean the tiles & remove any debris. Buy a can of waterproofing from the hardware shop (called T10, approx $35 a can of 5L I think), apply two coats over your tiles, making sure you cover all edges and corners well, and also on the skirtings. Let it dry properly (overnight), and test by washing the floor again to see if it leaks downstairs. If no more leaks, then you solved your problem.

If the leak is caused by 1) & 2), can buy quick set cement from hardware shop @$10 per container. It comes in powder form, take out a bit, mix with water and fill out the gaps around your pvc pipes. To make it set faster, can dry it with a hairdryer :D

Hope this helps!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First of all, thanks Blue_skies for your reply... The problem here is that my timber deck is fixed on, not those movable type. anyone has any idea how i can remove it with out damaging?

Next is that my neighbour demand that i make also make good their ceiling and clean up the stain from the seepage? am i suppose to do it or jus on goodwill?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi,

The ceiling of the master bedroom of my apartment also has this water seepage problem. The image is attached. Does anyone has any recommended and good contractor whom i can engage? Pls PM me. Thanks

15s3sdu.jpg

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi, just to share, I previously had some leakage problems on my outdoor balcony (it's a condo unit). The culprit was actually the manhole area (the drainage part) because when we open up the manhole cover, we can see that the cement inside is not fully covering the pipes, so water going into the drainage area found its way around crevices etc and leaked into the balcony ceiling downstairs.

You can try to locate the problem by trying out a few things, one at a time, and you'll also have to ask your neighbour to co-operate with you so that you can identify the problem.

1) Find out whether it leaks downstairs whenever you pour water down the manhole directly? At the same time, check that the cement fully surrounds your pvc pipes under the manhole cover.

2) I'm not sure if you have a planter box with a drainage outlet - if you do, you can check that too. i.e. water your plants and see if it affects your neighbour below? Same thing, Check that the cement fully surrounds your pvc pipes under the drainage cover.

3) I'm not sure if you wash your timber decking too? If you do, you can check if this causes a leak to your neighbour's ceiling? If it's washing tiles that causes a leak, you don't need to hack your tiles. After you remove the timber decking, clean the tiles & remove any debris. Buy a can of waterproofing from the hardware shop (called T10, approx $35 a can of 5L I think), apply two coats over your tiles, making sure you cover all edges and corners well, and also on the skirtings. Let it dry properly (overnight), and test by washing the floor again to see if it leaks downstairs. If no more leaks, then you solved your problem.

If the leak is caused by 1) & 2), can buy quick set cement from hardware shop @$10 per container. It comes in powder form, take out a bit, mix with water and fill out the gaps around your pvc pipes. To make it set faster, can dry it with a hairdryer :D

Hope this helps!

Hi,

I suspect the problem had emerged due to the decking contractor drilling into the tiles of the balcony that may have punctured the waterproofing membrane, if any. Here again I am just guessing as I do not know if this is really the case. I am also wondering if the deck you built had sufficient ventilation gaps between panels so that moisture can escape instead of being trapped. Once a hole is created in the slabs, water above the membrane will find its way from all corners, and spreads to the entire slab below the membrane. If this happens, the way to go about is to remove the deck, seal the entire tiled are with a new membrane or a reliable chemical, creating a new tank above the tiles, and put back your deck without drilling into the floor again.

Another way, which sounds rather ridiculous is to seal up at the entire deck leaving only a drainage hole where water can be drained into the gully hole.

My two cents.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
First of all, thanks Blue_skies for your reply... The problem here is that my timber deck is fixed on, not those movable type. anyone has any idea how i can remove it with out damaging?

Next is that my neighbour demand that i make also make good their ceiling and clean up the stain from the seepage? am i suppose to do it or jus on goodwill?

Hi, any bro or sis can advise on the issue?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×