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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Children have flooded bathroom floor and water is now coming through the ceiling

17 replies

GrouchyKiwi · 16/04/2018 09:38

DH is mopping up all the water, but it's dripping through the dining room ceiling now.

What do we do? Never had to deal with anything like this before!

I assume we let house insurance know. Do we need to get things like floor boards replaced, etc?

OP posts:

scurryfunge · 16/04/2018 09:40

Be guided by your insurance people. They may send an assessor out. Take photos of the damage anyway. If it's not too major it may well dry out but you'd need to redecorate only.

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 16/04/2018 09:50

Thanks.

I don't think it's too bad - DC1 was pouring water on the floor to make a skating rink - but there are small bulges all over the ceiling.

OP posts:

haba · 16/04/2018 09:53

Don't panic! One of mine did this
Once everything was dry, it was actually fine, just a very small watermark on the ceiling, though we have hard floors downstairs which probably helped.
I used so many towels getting the water up before it hit the landing carpet!
Can you estimate how much water has come through the ceiling?

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 16/04/2018 10:36

There have only been a few drips that have come all the way through but there are lots of watermark patches. I think we'll probably be able to just leave it to dry and then paint over the marks.

Do we call insurance anyway? Perhaps just for advice?

OP posts:

MummaGiles · 16/04/2018 10:38

If you call your insurance for advice, even if you don’t make a claim, it may affect your premiums int he future.

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 16/04/2018 10:40

Yes, that's what I'm wondering about. Will have to read through the contract to see if we have to report things like this.

OP posts:

haba · 16/04/2018 10:42

Are you in a position to leave the bathroom window open for a bit to dry out thoroughly? (Actually, are you in NZ??? Is it still warm?)
If it's plain water, and all dried thoroughly, then there shouldn't really be an issue.
We had another leak (not child-caused!) and the ceiling/under floorboard space was completely filled with water (!!). When the plumber had sorted (fixed leak, drilled holes to drain water) he checked joists (he's a builder, not only a plumber) and said it was fine (and thankfully we'd caught it early).
I am guessing you cannot lift bathroom floor to see (tiled?) but if you have boards in there, it may be worth lifting a couple to let the air circulate and dry it out throughly.

haba · 16/04/2018 10:43

Gulp. We didn't contact insurer either time, never even crossed my mind
Should we have?

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 16/04/2018 10:52

We're in the UK. Humidity is high today so don't think there's much point in opening window! Have put dehumidifier on, though.

DH and I are both useless at anything approaching DIY so I don't want to muck about with floorboards!

Not sure whether you're supposed to let insurers know. Different places might have different rules.

OP posts:

NiceHotBath · 16/04/2018 10:56

You need to dry it out as fast as you can - point fan heaters full blast at everywhere that looks damp and make sure air can circulate (so open window). The thing you really don't want is floor boards or joists staying damp and gently rotting. When we had a big shower leak, we took the side off the bath and put a fan heater pointing in, to get at the damp floorboards.

haba · 16/04/2018 10:59

A dehumidifier is great!
Nicehotbath's advice seems good too. (And I do like a nice hot bath, so I'm sure she's someone to trust!

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 17/04/2018 15:52

Thanks for the advice. We think we've got it well dried now.

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 17/04/2018 16:49

poke holes in the plaster with a skewer so it can run out. Put buckets under the holes. Afterwards you should lift the floorboards to help ot dry out. Take off the bath panel.

Bubbles are bad, but might just be in the ceiling paper.

How old is the house.

Original poster

GrouchyKiwi · 18/04/2018 09:31

House is 3 years old.

Bubbles in the ceiling have gone and the floor in the bathroom feels dry. We had the dehumidifier on for 24 hours. We did take off the bath panel but didn't want to lift up the floor boards (they look like chip board) in case we broke them.

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 29/04/2020 11:22

@berhelen

Look at the date. Pretty sure it will be dry by now

#zombiethread

Children have flooded bathroom floor and water is now coming through the ceiling

MayFayner · 29/04/2020 11:43

Intriguing. It looks on my end as though you resurrected the thread pigletjohn although you obviously didn’t from your comment.

Anyway I’m just glad this hasn’t actually happened to someone during lockdown 👍

VeganVeal · 29/04/2020 14:25

The child was trying to make an skating rink? How on earth did they think they would get the water to freeze? Children these days can be so stupid, I worry about humanity and the future

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