Water leak coming down from attic

dublinman1990

Hi guys.

I live in a 3 bedroom ex council bedroom house in South Dublin.

The water leak from my attic began with it beginning at the back of the house. It then came into one of the upstairs bedrooms sometime around Thursday night/Friday morning. The bedroom in where the leak is occurring is located at the front of the house. There is very extensive damage with a large gaping hole coming out from the ceiling. And most of it hasn't fallen down just yet. There is a small hole from the damage so far which is about 2 or 3 foot wide. The water arising from the leak is trickling down from the attic. I'm not sure whether if the water is coming in from a blocked gutter on the roof outside the house or a burst water pipe coming in from the attic.

There is a big area of condensation around the area of the leak that is over the main lights attached to the ceiling in the bedroom. I'm very worried that there could be a risk of electric shock or fire damage if it's not fixed soon. There is also mold & mildew coming into the house giving off a very bad smell from the water leak as well.

I rang a local gas boiler installer who also works as a plumber on my phone last night to get him out to fix the leak. He said that he would come in an hour. But there is no sign of him coming in at that time of night. My mam then rang him on his phone today. There was only an answering machine available on his phone number. This is probably one of the worst things to happen to me during a BH weekend. If I can't get a plumber to come into the house to get the leak fixed; there could be more damage done to it which could be very dangerous & costly if it's not repaired over the next day or two.

The good news that I can give you so far is that two of the other bedrooms located at the back of the house do not appear to have any damage by way of water leaks showing up yet. Although; I'm not placing any bets on whether they will escape the damage because they will inevitably get some damage done to it if no progress is made to stop the leak.

Is there anything I can to do stop it in the mean time?

black & white

Could be your water tank leaking, if it was me, I would turn off the mains and run the cold tap in bathroom until tank is empty. Will stop damage getting worse

Kaisr Sose

From what you say, it sappears to be a water pipe leak or tank leak. Can you get up into the attic and check.above the damaged area to see what's there. The priority should be to minimise further damage.

Have you home insurance? If so, the policy may/should have emergency call out cover?

mickdw

Jesus shut off your water or at least get up in the attic and have a look or get a neighbour who is able if you are not.

You can't just let water continue to destroy your house, plumber or no plumber.

Do.you know where your mains shut off is?

Victor

Put a bucket or basin under the leak.

Turn off the water supply where it comes into the house.

Turn off the electricity supply where it comes into the house. There should be a master switch at the fuse board.

Remove and protect vulnerable / expensive stuff - electronics, Van Gogh paintings, carpets, etc. ;)

Go into the attic. Do NOT stand on the ceiling, only put weight on the joists, use a plank or sheet of timber if you have to. Check around the tank for water under it.

If you have house insurance, your insurer may be able to help get someone to help you.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123414261#Comment_123414261

Good plan.

In the meantime get someone up in the attic with a torch and they will be able to confirm that it is the tank.

When u are running the taps fill the bath, buckets, jugs etc. You'll need water while waiting for a plumber.

noodler

Like others have said, I would be turning off your water at the mains immediately (path outside your house, little circle drain lid, use screwdriver to flip it up, take out foam layer, then pull and turn the handle - exceptionally easy).

Then all bathroom taps on until your attic tanks is empty.

elperello

Your insurance company may have a hotline service. Check policy.