leaking wall and ceiling in 3 areas. help...

[bbabythai]

I have 2 small leaking issues on the same wall located on the 4th floor of our 40 year old building. 

 

Basically the 1st photo shows the first area of leakage. A few days ago a worker was inside the ceiling area and when he decided to go back into the room via the man hole (service hole) he put his foot through the plaster board (gyprock) attached to the wall where the arrow is. I wasnt around when the plaster worker came to fix it and installed the new aluminium frame and put new plaster board. But I think he might have used a drill to attach the frame into that wall. Basically the day after he re-did the man hole it rained heavily and water started to run down the wall to the floor. Before putting all that silicon there I could not see any water at all in that area at the top of the man hole (near the new aluminium frame). It was only when standing on the floor and looking up that I could see water running down from the new ceiling/ plaster. 

 

The 2nd leak is depicted in the 2nd photo occurs where my hand is pointing. Ages ago the electrician might have used a drill to install a small round clip so that the plastic tube would stick to the wall. Its never leaked before but now it seems to be coming from that precise area. 

 

Both of these leaks are very close to each other but different problems ( I think). I dont understand because I can only assume that the wall is of normal thickness. Its it full of water perhaps due to its age? The other side of that wall is 100% exposed to the elements over the years. 

 

Would you agree that the best thing its to pay someone to get up there on the outside and paint it all and use silicon?

 

___________________________

The 3rd and 4th photos show a small area where the water is leaking through the insulation bats which obviously sit under the aluminium roof. A week ago I tried to use silicon in that gap where it sags down. But it didnt work. 

 

Again, is the only solution to climb above there and silicon on top with a waterproof silicon?

 

Thanks for any advice...

[worgeordie]

It's virtually impossible to fix all leaks,in some of

these rains we have been having,it also depends

if the wind is blowing at the same time,and in what

direction,those leaks are very minor,and i bet they

dont leak every time it rains.

 

If you want to fix those leaks you need to fix them from

the outside,not inside,I told you before about rolls of Butyl

rubber,about 10 meters x 15 cm wide,and sticky on one side

only 120 thb,at least at shop i buy from.good luck

regards worgeordie

[Kwasaki]

If you cannot fix yourself ask around for someone who knows how to remedy leak problems. 

They should start from looking closely at the roof. 

If you have a flat roof then a complete renewal of coverage is probably required. 

If you have a tiled roof then they can be easily fixed as can your aluminium roof. 

If you was in Sukhothai I could help as I have many here supervising Thai workers.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by Kwasaki

[Pedrogaz]

I think buildings are not built to last 40 years. My own house is 12 years old and there are a lot of issues need fixing....fortunately not leaks....but the standards of the build is poor...and I used an English guy to build the house.

[chilly07]

You need to track them from  outside and block the point of entry - impossible to track from  inside You seem to have a monopitched sheet roof with some translucent sheets. With tropical downpours you should expect some leakage. Gunging  with silicone from inside will never work 

[aussiandrew]

Good luck fixing ceiling/roof leaks in Thailand its can be a real headache.

[sandyf]

You are wasting your time with silicone sealant. The best bet is a 2 part epoxy putty, that will adhere and harden on a wet surface.

I have repaired many leaks on concrete water tanks that have been full of water, that is a bit like doing it from the inside. It would buy you time but as said really need to locate and repair on the outside as the water will only try and find somewhere else to leak out.

[Grusa]

Water in Thailand does not follow the same rules of physics as in farangland. It is well known to local chans that it can run uphill, which is why drains are often laid that way, and Bangkok - indeed the whole Chaophraya basin - floods. 

It does however follow, religiously, Murphys' various laws,

https://www-sop.inria.fr/acacia/fabien/murphy.html

several of which apply to your situation.

 

Get a new roof, or move.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Grusa

[bbabythai]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

2 part epoxy putty

hi. thanks for your opinion on that. Do you have a photo of a thai brand?

 

thanks

[4MyEgo]

On 9/20/2020 at 4:07 PM, bbabythai said:

I have 2 small leaking issues on the same wall located on the 4th floor of our 40 year old building. 

I'm assuming when you say the 4th floor of your 40 year old building, it belongs to you and your not in a unit on the 4th floor with others in the building.

 

Question: Is the 4th floor the top floor, e.g. just under the flat roof in photo number 1 ?

 

Photo 2: yes appears to be showing a leak from that area you mentioned, however water travels and when it hits a point of obstruction, it will drop, so it could be coming from somewhere else along that pvc.

 

Photo 3: appears to be normal to me, e.g. metal roof has a leak, well water does travel and I have an undercover area of about 8 metres x 10 metres or 80 square metres and water does make its way through to some areas where the tiles are on the ground and we mop it up when the rain stops, i.e. if we are going to use that outside area, but the water usually dries up before we head out to use that area anyway.

 

Photo: 4 this appears to be the flat roof area above your ceiling, perhaps a good membrane based paint should be used on that area so that water doesn't penetrate any ceiling areas below which means the water will just sit there until it dries. 

 

Hope that is of some use for you. I recently fixed a leak in two rooms side by side, leak was hard to detect, but sent the wife into the roof space with a very powerful light and made her stand there to find the leak, I would get up there but ????.....anyway I told her to look on the rafter when she couldn't see where it was coming from, nothing, then I told her to look on the insulation batts in a particular area that I pointed too, there is water on the batt she said, good, look up I said and she said the timber (rafter) was wet, so I was on the money, then I went onto the roof pinpointing which tiles it was coming from and saw a couple of those long tiles split from age, so I had two rows of 4 replaced, problem solved.

 

You can never spend enough time investigating leaks to find the source, but it has to be raining.

 

 

[The Theory]

A metal sheet roof leaks are from screw holes most of times since the rubber gaskets get dry and crack. There is no way that you can fix it from under the roof, unlike cement roof sheets that holes are accessible from under the roof. Metal roof repair has to be done from the top and all screws must be covered by special flexible glue or high quality silicone. 
Leaks from walls: usually happens by water penetration from the top of the wall, however painting or sealing (By clear coat) the exterior walls would be great. Applying any seal to the top of the walls on roof area is a bit tricky since the steel roof holders sitting on walls (#2 photo). 

[Don Chance]

9 hours ago, aussiandrew said:

Good luck fixing ceiling/roof leaks in Thailand its can be a real headache.

A lot of building don't even have roofs. They have flat roofs that aren't water proofed. Or they have a little yamaca roof and the water runs down the front of the building. It seems roofs aren't something Thai's believe in much more.

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, The Theory said:

Metal roof repair has to be done from the top and all screws must be covered by special flexible glue or high quality silicone. 

You can use the aluminium foil tape that has a bitumen layer cut into small squares over the fixings.

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, bbabythai said:

hi. thanks for your opinion on that. Do you have a photo of a thai brand?

 

thanks

Hope it's clear enough.

[The Theory]

12 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You can use the aluminium foil tape that has a bitumen layer cut into small squares over the fixings.

It is a good idea, but it depends on who is going to do the job. If the job not done well then water will get under the patch. Silicone + patch over will be perfect. 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, The Theory said:

It is a good idea, but it depends on who is going to do the job. If the job not done well then water will get under the patch. Silicone + patch over will be perfect. 

I think you probably haven’t used the bitumen+foil, it’s simple to use, of course it’s done on a sunny day virtually impossible (unless you cut the patch too small) to not get them stuck down all the way round, it takes about 5 minutes demonstrating for anyone to be competent.

 

As the bitumen sticks to the roof metal adding a glop of silicone is introducing a totally unnecessary step which can easily lead to the failure you are trying to avoid, few things bond to silicone long term.

 

The repair I had done to our roof is still sound 10 years after being applied.

 

The water can’t pool round the patches as the are on the peaks not valleys.

[bbabythai]

20 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I think you probably haven’t used the bitumen+foil, it’s simple to use, of course it’s done on a sunny day virtually impossible (unless you cut the patch too small) to not get them stuck down all the way round, it takes about 5 minutes demonstrating for anyone to be competent.

 

As the bitumen sticks to the roof metal adding a glop of silicone is introducing a totally unnecessary step which can easily lead to the failure you are trying to avoid, few things bond to silicone long term.

 

The repair I had done to our roof is still sound 10 years after being applied.

 

The water can’t pool round the patches as the are on the peaks not valleys.

Thanks for your opinion on this. I used the butyl tape on that hole where the screw was in the wall on the inside. I noticed today that there is no leaking and thus it really does work. 

 

Are you saying that for the leak on the top of the aluminium roof that I would not have to use any silicon... only butyl tape?  thanks

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, bbabythai said:

Thanks for your opinion on this. I used the butyl tape on that hole where the screw was in the wall on the inside. I noticed today that there is no leaking and thus it really does work. 

 

Are you saying that for the leak on the top of the aluminium roof that I would not have to use any silicon... only butyl tape?  thanks

It depends on exactly where the leaks are. In my case some/many screws were leaking where they went through the peaks of the roofing sheets. I cut the tape into squares and put those over every fastener, I did not stretch the tape it was slightly loose over the screws but pressed well down all round. Mine was done on a sunny day to ensure that the bitumen was soft enough.

 

You would have to use larger sections if you use silicone as nothing sticks well to it. Since the tape forms a cover for the screws I see no point in using silicone as getting that water tight over the screw won’t be simple and you must let it completely cure before trying to cover it.

 

AFIR it took a couple of hours for 2 people to do a couple of hundred screws, one cutting the tape the other fixing it.

 

be sure you are getting bitumen backed aluminium tape. You keep talking about a butyl tape and that’s rubber. It’s available in silver or brown.

http://www.corrosionresistanttape.com/sale-11230122-waterproof-aluminium-bitumen-flashing-tape-aluminum-foil-backing-35kv-insulation.html