Water Seepage in Apartment Building

First check for inspection covers to the piping shaft.

Then check your incoming water system

Get all to fill vessels with water , take the meter reading and get all not to use traps or toilets for some time. Take another reading.

You could also close the supply valve, drain piping (onto the lawn) and inspect the leak, But the leak may be far from the landing and would not show that soon.

I think it comes from the hotwater tanks ceiling vents at times. or from the bathtub drains .It may need to be cleaned out because of roots backing up the flow at the main line by the manhole.

i had a problem,or should i say my down stares neighbor did. The trap for the condensation line from my air conditioners "A" coil clogged. The water was dripping down the inside of my unit with no signs of water on my floor. He had water dripping from his ceiling. Also I have seen on more than 1 occasion the wax seal under the toilet failed allowing fluid to escape when flushed,with no sign of fluid around the base,just fluid coming threw the ceiling below.

All good suggestions!

What it boils down to is that YOU have to put your investigators hat on and find out where the visible signs are first and trace those back to the origin. WATER ALWAYS LEAVES A TRAIL! You can do this if you follow the clues to the mystery. Logic is your best friend here. Water always leaves a trail, no matter how faint and it always runs down hill. Post your clues that you find. I have found cr4 is full of sleuths.

Good luck and dont wait on some agency to point it out for you, you will have other issues by that time!

I fully agree that "WATER ALWAYS LEAVES A TRAIL! You can do this if you follow the clues to the mystery"

One excellent and most reliable non toxic method to unravel the source of leak is to use salt called Fluorescein Sodium, a water-soluble tracer dye added to rainwater in environmental testing simulations to aid in locating and analyzing any water leaks. Illuminated under ultra violet light it provides a strikingly vivid image of the seepage points.

The salt is commonly available with lab chemical suppliers.

Mr.Rao: Most Indians use cheap acid to clean toilets, which is not correct. They must use "strong base" like caustic soda or soap powder to clean toilets. Because of using acid, concrete and joints will get loose and leakages occurs. It is same in my apartment at MBNR. I socked to find that the wall itself is corroded and tiles in my bathroom are holding with th support of white cement.

If the seepage is from the gap between concrete and pipe connection , then the pipe setting needs to be done properly and the gap sealed by suitable sealants. If the leakage is from the roof ,may be bitumen cloth will serve your purpose. But if there are some prominent crack in the concrete structure special epoxy based anchoring adhesive ( made in USA) will be required to seal the gap . This adhesive will not only seal the gap but increase the strength of the concrete structure too .More details will be needed for further action .

If you can get the on-scale as-built plan of the building just to find out exactly where are the locations of the utility lines such water, storm drainage, sewerage system. Some philosophy-maniac would say " No water, no leaks". During the summer time of course there is no rain, yet water leaks occurs somewhere else, in most cases these leaks are from pipe joints. If the pipe been installed in the building are G.I.'s then due to the long-time used the rust builds up basically at joints ( couplings, elbows, reducers, etc.), then since the building is too old and the conrete walls bonding is getting poor/loose where the pipes were concealed, then possiblity for the water pipe to vibrate due to water pressure/hammering and since the joints are deteriorated due to rust, small amount of water leaks will occur at the loose joints and if not pay attention then leaks will become stronger and water will find the way out. Similarly with PVC pipes if not properly installed with right application of PVC cement/solvent plus poor quality installation performance. Most cases happened here in Middle east since it seldom rains in a year, the water leaks occured in pipes joints such as water lines, sewage line and storm drainage... and especially during renovation works where the foreman or supervisor has no as-built building plan on hand , the workers/laborers (electrician, plumbers carpenters, etc) just dig the wholes on the walls and floors here and there or somewhere else without knowing they hit one of the existing water lines upstairs and downstairs...it's a HEADACHE to occupants/tenants who has no clue how the building is being built. In addition the water proofing system at roof deck area and toilets area if old probably it is already deterioted too, sometimes smart satelites technician/installer drilled/bore the wholes for expansion bolts at roof slab for sat.dish support tearing down the water proofing membrane and left without sealing off.

Please check for any small holes in the concealed water pipes within wall of the building. Recently in one of the hospitals here in Oman we have noticed water marks on the floor.It was due to the water seepage from the concealed copper pipes within the wall. Hole is so small and the leakages developed slowly and leaft traces on the floor.

This is biggest problem here in India.Many of us get our houses internally nicely painted with expensive paints but within few years due to leakages paints and other decoration gets spoiled due to water leakages. These water leakages can be from toilets, bathrooms, from terraces, leaking old pipes or bad quality of construction of the buildings. Many companies offer water proofing services but they give guarantee of 3-4 years. After this period problem still remains.

Many builders do not bother about this long term problem and are in hurry to finish the project. We need some kind of quality control on the construction of the new building so that new tenants at least do not suffer the similar problem.

i wonder if your home owners insurance would do anything about it. safety,health hazard,etc. or may be able to point u in the rite direction. Also check the rubber seal around the roof vents. mine leak,only notice it when we get 5" of snow or more. 1 more think to fix.

Dear All,

I thank all for responding immediately citing the plausible reasons as well as where the investigations can be carried out.I appreciate if they can give the address of the agencies for the rectfication of the seepages.

Regards,

PS Rao