Water Through the Ceiling in an Eltham or New Eltham Semi

If water is coming through your ceiling in Eltham, turn off the water at the stopcock (in most 1930s semis it is under the kitchen sink or under the floorboards just inside the front door), switch off the electrics for that room at the consumer unit, and put a bucket under the drip. Keep everyone out from under a ceiling that is bulging and do not pierce it yourself. In a New Eltham or Avery Hill semi, the source is usually right above: the bath or shower seal, a waste pipe joint, or a joint on the pipes feeding the bathroom.

The first ten minutes

1. Turn off the water at the main stopcock. Turn it clockwise, a quarter turn at a time, and do not force it.
2. Switch off the electrics for the affected room at the consumer unit. If water is coming through a light fitting, switch off the lighting circuit as well.
3. Put a bucket or bowl under the drip and towels around it.
4. Move furniture, rugs and electricals out of the way.
5. Keep children and pets out of the room.
6. If the ceiling is sagging, do not stand under it and do not poke it.
7. Open the taps downstairs to drain the pipes once the stopcock is off.
8. Take photos and a short video before anything is cleaned up.

If the drip stops within a few minutes of the stopcock going off, the leak is on a mains-fed pipe. If it keeps going, it may be coming from a loft tank or the heating system, which the stopcock does not stop straight away.

Why the bathroom is almost always the culprit

Eltham’s inter-war semis, the bulk of the houses in New Eltham, Avery Hill and towards Mottingham, share a layout: kitchen and front room downstairs, bathroom upstairs at the back, often directly over the kitchen. That bathroom has usually been refitted at least once, sometimes twice, on top of the original pipe runs.

The common sources, in rough order:

• Bath or shower seal. Sealant that has cracked or come away lets water from every shower run down the wall and into the ceiling below. Slow, then suddenly visible.
• Waste trap or waste pipe joint under the bath, basin or shower tray. Leaks only when that fitting is used.
• Toilet. A leaking pan connector or a cracked cistern can drip with every flush.
• Supply pipe joints to the taps, shower valve or toilet. Leaks all the time, whether anyone uses the bathroom or not.
• The heating. A radiator valve or pipe under the bathroom floor.
• The loft tank in winter. In a hard frost, a split pipe or overflowing tank in the loft will come through a bedroom or landing ceiling.

A simple test

Once things are under control, this helps us find it faster:

• If the leak only appears when someone uses the shower or bath, it is almost certainly a seal or waste.
• If it is constant, even with nobody upstairs, it is a supply pipe, a heating pipe or a tank.
• If it got worse after a flush, look at the toilet.

Tell us which when you call.

Can I use the bathroom?

Not until the leak is found. If it is a waste or seal, using the bath or shower will put more water into the ceiling. If it is a supply pipe, the water needs to stay off anyway. You can usually turn the water back on to the rest of the house once the leaking section is isolated.

What about the ceiling?

Plasterboard that has been soaked and sagged usually needs replacing. A ceiling that got wet but stayed flat may dry out and only need a stain block and repaint. Do not paint over it until it is fully dry and the leak is definitely fixed, or the stain comes back.

In a 1930s semi, ceilings may still be original lath and plaster in places. Those are heavy when wet and can come down in large pieces.

Insurance

Most buildings policies cover escape of water damage: the ceiling, the plaster, the flooring below. They usually do not pay for the part that failed, such as the old seal or a worn joint. Some include trace and access, which covers finding a hidden leak. Ring your insurer early, before major work, and keep your photos.

Our insurance help page explains the report we write for insurers.

Local details worth knowing

Eltham is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and your water and sewerage come from Thames Water. The water is hard, about 274 mg/l in Thames’s Eltham Park zone, which covers New Eltham too. Hard water means shower valves and tap cartridges scale up, which can cause drips at the valve body.

If you live on the Progress Estate at Well Hall, the cottages are a conservation area and a leak there needs a gentler approach, but the first steps above are the same.

When to call

Call us as soon as you see water through a ceiling, especially if it is near a light or the ceiling is bulging. We handle water through the ceiling in Eltham and water leaks in Eltham. More on the area is on our Eltham area page.

Need a plumber now?

Call 07868 281022 and tell us your postcode, which room the water is coming through, whether it is constant or only when the bathroom is used, and whether the water is off. We agree the price with you before any work starts.