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After the final installation and handover of our stunning new bathroom, we could finally relax, safe in the knowledge that all our bathroom issues were behind us. Or so we thought...
Just two days later we were presented with yet another headache.
What a drip
To all intents, it was a quiet Saturday morning, getting ready for hockey and sorting breakfast. That was until we spotted a small spot of water on the floor, followed by a splash, and then another. We looked up to find water slowly dripping through the light fitting in the kitchen. As you can imagine, we were pretty horrified as the drip slowly gathered pace and we raced to grab a saucepan to contain the watery mess.
Time to call Phil!
Thankfully, our bathroom fitter Phil is a close family friend (even after this whole episode) and lives just a few doors away. He was round in a jiffy but was left scratching his head as to why water was leaking.
Up came the carefully placed lino, out came the toilet (as Phil expertly undid all the nuts and fixings and up came the floorboards. Upon inspection, it was immediately obvious where the leak was coming from due to wetness all around the pipework.
Despite having carefully checked all the pipework, he found that one of the pipes between the water inlet and the toilet had a pinhole leak. This tiny little hole was all it took to send water dripping through the ceiling. Whether this had been the cause of the original leak, we weren't sure. Perhaps the work in the bathroom had dislodged the pipe and weakened the hole to the point it had now burst.
Phil changed the pipe, installed everything back the way it was and with a huge sigh of relief, we thought that was that.
A nice romantic evening?
So, onto Valentine's Day evening, C and I were looking forward to a nice peaceful, romantic meal in front of the telly. As I went to check on the food preparation, I was aghast to find water dripping through the ceiling yet again.
Our hearts sank and it was time to call upon Phil once more, who was joined quickly by my father-in-law.
Everything was pulled out again. Lino up, toilet out, bath panel off. But this time we were stumped. There were no telltale signs of wetness. The area that had leaked in the morning, had, by now, dried out. There was no damp beneath the bath. Even, getting an arm right under the floorboard, and checking directly above the light fitting, there were no signs of a leak. We were flummoxed.
A bright idea
So for around 45 minutes we checked everything we could, scratched our heads multiple times and puzzled it all out. After going back into the kitchen it was then that I hit upon the reason for the dripping.
I looked up at the light fixture. This had quite a deep shape to it, almost like the hull of a ship. What if this wasn't a new leak, but the same water from earlier in the day?
We unscrewed the light fitting, placed a bucket beneath it and carefully tilted it downwards. A torrent of water cascaded out of it. It appeared that the light fixture had been collecting water from all the previous leaks, and something (perhaps even just a bang on the floor upstairs) had dislodged it.
Finally, we all drew a big sigh of relief. Phil fitted everything neatly back the way it was and we were left to enjoy the rest of Valentine's Day.
Touch wood, since that day we have had no issues with leaks. After allowing a week for the light fitting to dry out, it was finally fitted back and ready for use. We painted over the stains and cracks in the ceiling and you would hardly tell we ever had a problem.
The bathroom is spot on and is certainly a place to relax and unwind - with no thoughts of leaks on our mind!
