Bathroom Leak Strata or Owner?

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by funkychickendancer, 22nd Dec, 2021.

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  1. funkychickendancer

    funkychickendancer Well-Known Member

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    There is a leak in the ceiling in a ground floor unit and my unit is on top. I have had a plumber come and look who hasn't found any leaks and says it may just be because the bathroom is old.

    The strata manager is claiming its my issue and wants me to do a full bathroom rip up and waterproof. I was of the belief that leaks etc outside the walls of the unit are a strata issue. What is the right thing to do here?
     
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  2. Beano

    Beano Well-Known Member

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    It is most likely a leak to the ground floor is from unit especially If the bathroom is old (like ten plus years).
    The body corporate will ask you to sort out your bathroom.
    This has happened to me.
    Ten years and it probably is due for a full refurbishment.
    Can you not use the bathroom for a week and see if the below unit still leaks ?
    If it does still leak then it could be the building services.
     
  3. Michael Mitchell

    Michael Mitchell Well-Known Member

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    If it were me, I would push back on everything and make strata pay up front for all costs etc, then try and claw back any legitimate ones from you.

    Classic is pipes in false ceiling of the unit below that may service your lot but are not IN your lot, who do they belong to? You, the lot below they're actually in, or, "common property....." :)
     
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    I couldn't possibly hold on for that long. :rolleyes:
     
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  5. thunderstrike888

    thunderstrike888 Well-Known Member

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    If the plumber has said there is no leaks from your bathroom I wont be fixing anything.

    Why on earth would you fix something that is not broken? Tell the strata manager to go get stuffed. If they can prove its coming from your unit you will gladly reseal the bathroom or whatever (Why on earth you'd need to rip up everything is beyond me. That is words coming from someone who has no idea).

    A complete bath/shower reseal is only like $500-$600 bucks and it will solve all leaks on the walls or floor of the shower. If its in the pipes the plumber can pinpoint where exactly the leak is and you'll only need to make a hole at that place and re-tile or re-gyprock. If the plumbing is leaking on common property its the strata that needs to fix it.
     
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  6. Beano

    Beano Well-Known Member

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  7. datto

    datto Well-Known Member

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    Don’t use the bathroom for 2 weeks. Don’t shower in that time. Use outside toilet. Arrange a 1 hour locked door meeting with the strata manager. I guarantee he’ll leave you alone after that.
     
  8. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    What does the Plumber mean by "the bathroom might just be old". Is it leaking or not? Someone needs to access from the unit below and cut a hole in the roof where the leak is.
     
  9. jaydee

    jaydee Well-Known Member

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    I have had the same issue on at least 2 occasions where an identical bathroom on the floor above leaked into the ceiling space in my IP bathroom. An enormous inconvenience to tenants.

    There is no way a plumber can identify the leak from the upper bathroom, however, it can be obvious from the bathroom below.

    The first time it happened in my apartment it required ceiling replacement under strata insurance. As part of the ceiling repair I had a small square manhole installed that allowed me to inspect the cavity between concrete slab and ceiling.

    When the same thing happened again a few years later it was easy to demonstrate the problem using photos of the leaking pipe penetration.

    The solution in the second case was a recaulking of the silicon around the bath wall interface in the upstairs bathroom.

    As an added measure, I installed a plastic drip pan in the ceiling space with a small hose that is fed just thru the gyprock ceiling and not noticeable. If the leak ever happens again it will collect in the drip pan and drip thru the hose into the bath and avoid damaging the ceiling as well as being a telltale that the upstairs bathroom needs sorting again!

    Strata Companies in multi-storey buildings have many such instances due to poor initial workmanship or poor owner maintenance. It is a real PITA to sort out and prove where the fault is.
     
  10. thunderstrike888

    thunderstrike888 Well-Known Member

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    I've also recently experienced this but why cant your plumber use coloured dye? It was very very very easy to identify which apartment was causing a leak by using different coloured dye for each apartment.

    Blue, Pink, Yellow, Green and see which colour appears in the below apartment? This is what many plumbers have done and should be doing to find leaks. They have all the tools to find leaks - its not like a leak within a multi-storey apartment is a new thing. Been happening for decades and decades.
     
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  11. jaydee

    jaydee Well-Known Member

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    If the leak is from the waste then the dye might work, but if the leak was from shower water running down the wall and via the grout or silicon interface(s) where would the plumber add the dye?

    This could lead to another false claim that there is no leak because plumber had a bias as to where the leak originated.
     
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  12. thunderstrike888

    thunderstrike888 Well-Known Member

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    From talking to several plumbers they can insert dye anywhere. Just say your shower mixer tap was leaking back into the walls they can test that easily. They can test that the shower walls or floor is leaking as well by spraying water with the dye already solved in it to mimic when a person would take a shower normally.

    That's what several plumbers have told me they do all the time to find leaks and which apartment is leaking. Otherwise its impossible.

    Showers and bathroom walls and floors will leak over time. Its normal as it ages. A reseal will fix that for a good long time especially with the latest epoxy methods they use it can last another 10+ years easily. Complete reseal should cost around $500-$600 from the larger companies and independent guys will do it for $400+. Its only 1/2 days work.
     
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  13. jaydee

    jaydee Well-Known Member

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    TS888

    I agree in principle with your statements, but reality is somewhat different. Even the logistics of arranging an inspection of both apartments by the same "experienced" plumber is a nightmare!

    Firstly, strata manager to arrange contact details (privacy act blah blah blah), secondly Owners of both apartments and thirdly tenants of both apartments if rented allowing inspection to happen. The owner of the problem apartment will never admit fault or cost and even gaining access can be a huge issue.

    In my case, I had my plumber check the leak from my apartment and then inspect the bathroom in the apartment above with the owner present. Even though the silicon around the bathroom was extremely poor the owner of the apartment swore black and blue that it was not leaking etc etc...

    However, to solve the problem I asked the owner if my plumber could reseal his bath at my cost. The owner agreed.

    My plumber did the job but was in disbelief that I was prepared to pay the extra cost of getting it sorted for the benefit of my tenants.

    It may have cost me an extra $100 or so (as my plumber was already onsite), but the pain of trying to have the upstairs owner sort it out would have been a nightmare.

    I think I once advised Never Buy an Apartment!!!
     
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  14. funkychickendancer

    funkychickendancer Well-Known Member

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    Wow, thanks for all your help guys :)

    It's good knowing that it is a big of a contentious issue and I don't just need to automatically get a full reno. I think I will get another plumber and see what the unit owner downstairs says.
     
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  15. Ajax

    Ajax Well-Known Member

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    I had this happen to me at least 3 times during a 7 year period of owning a unit in Auburn. Middle level unit of a block of 6 (two on each floor). Bathroom in unit above leaked. Body corporate would pay for the repaired ceiling each time but refused to pay for painting the internal area of the ceiling (the new plasterboard). I repainted the ceiling each time. Many older units (this was a 1970's unit) didn't ensure thorough waterproofing of bathrooms (I've heard the building code at the time was not strict enough).
     
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