How do I tell whether this is a plumber or a roofer?

Ask when it drips. If it only happens while it is raining, or starts shortly after rain begins and stops within a day of it ending, that is the roof and you want a roofer. If it happens when somebody upstairs showers, flushes or does laundry, and rain makes no difference, that is plumbing and we can help. If it does both, you may have two problems, which is less unusual than it sounds.

It is directly under the aircon. What then?

Then it is almost certainly the condensate line, and that is an aircon technician rather than a plumber. Every split unit drains the water it pulls out of the air through a small pipe, and that pipe blocks with slime or works loose at the join. It is the most common ceiling drip in a Filipino house and not one of the guides on page one mentions it, because they are all written for houses with ducted heating.

The ceiling is bulging. Is that dangerous?

Yes, and it is worth acting on before anyone arrives. A sagging ceiling board is holding a considerable weight of water and it lets go all at once. Keep people out from under it, and once you have stopped the water, pierce it at the LOWEST point of the bulge with something long, standing to one side, with a pail underneath. A controlled hole is far better than the whole sheet coming down.

Can I just paint over the stain once it stops?

Not until it is dry and not until you know why it stopped. A stain that dries out and returns is telling you the leak is intermittent, which usually means rain or an upstairs fixture used occasionally. Painting a wet board seals moisture in and the stain comes back through, so the paint is the last step and never the first.

Water coming through the ceiling, and who to actually ring

One question sorts most of these, and for a good number of them the answer is not a plumber. Here is the question and what each answer means.

Call 0920 960 0596 Leak detection

The question: does it drip with the rain, or with the taps?

Watch it for a day and note when the water comes. Rain and nothing else means the roof. Somebody showering or flushing upstairs, with rain making no difference, means plumbing. Under an aircon unit means neither.

Almost every guide you will find for this is American, and it shows. Servpro's list of causes opens with ICE DAM BUILDUP, then cracked chimneys and improperly installed skylights. None of that can happen here, and none of it mentions the thing that causes most ceiling drips in a Filipino house.

What each answer means

It only drips when it rains

The roof, and that is a roofer rather than a plumber. Look at the gutters and the downspouts first, because a blocked one overflows back under the roofing sheets and presents exactly like a hole.

Who to ring: A roofer

It drips when somebody upstairs uses water

Plumbing, and this one is ours. A supply line in the ceiling void, a waste pipe joint, the seal under an upstairs toilet, or failed waterproofing under an upstairs shower floor.

Who to ring: Us

It is under or near an aircon unit

The condensate line, which blocks with slime or comes loose at the joint. The most common ceiling drip in a house here, and not a plumbing pipe at all.

Who to ring: An aircon technician

It drips constantly, rain or shine, with nothing running

A supply line under pressure, which is the one that does real damage fastest because it never stops. Close the main and ring somebody tonight.

Who to ring: Us, urgently

It is under the roof tank or its overflow pipe

A tank overflowing because its float valve is not shutting off, or an overflow pipe discharging into the ceiling instead of outside. Both are plumbing.

Who to ring: Us

Before anybody arrives

Move what is under it and put a pail down. A plastic sheet over furniture beats moving it twice.
If the water is anywhere near a light fitting, a fan or an outlet, switch that circuit off at the breaker. Water and a ceiling rose is the part of this that hurts people.
If it is plumbing rather than rain, close the main and stop refilling. That alone usually stops the drip.
If the ceiling is bulging, pierce it at the lowest point of the bulge with something long, standing to one side, with a pail underneath. A controlled hole beats the whole sheet letting go.

The same four steps, in order, with the rest of what to do in the first five minutes, are on the emergency card.

What we can and cannot do here

We trace and repair leaks in supply lines, waste pipes, upstairs fixtures and roof tanks, which covers the plumbing half of the list above.

We do not repair roofs and we do not work on aircon condensate lines. If your answer to the question was rain, ring a roofer. If the drip is under an aircon, ring an aircon technician. Telling you that now is cheaper for you than a visit that ends with us saying it at your house.

Questions about a leaking ceiling

How do I tell whether this is a plumber or a roofer?: Ask when it drips. If it only happens while it is raining, or starts shortly after rain begins and stops within a day of it ending, that is the roof and you want a roofer. If it happens when somebody upstairs showers, flushes or does laundry, and rain makes no difference, that is plumbing and we can help. If it does both, you may have two problems, which is less unusual than it sounds.
It is directly under the aircon. What then?: Then it is almost certainly the condensate line, and that is an aircon technician rather than a plumber. Every split unit drains the water it pulls out of the air through a small pipe, and that pipe blocks with slime or works loose at the join. It is the most common ceiling drip in a Filipino house and not one of the guides on page one mentions it, because they are all written for houses with ducted heating.
The ceiling is bulging. Is that dangerous?: Yes, and it is worth acting on before anyone arrives. A sagging ceiling board is holding a considerable weight of water and it lets go all at once. Keep people out from under it, and once you have stopped the water, pierce it at the LOWEST point of the bulge with something long, standing to one side, with a pail underneath. A controlled hole is far better than the whole sheet coming down.
Can I just paint over the stain once it stops?: Not until it is dry and not until you know why it stopped. A stain that dries out and returns is telling you the leak is intermittent, which usually means rain or an upstairs fixture used occasionally. Painting a wet board seals moisture in and the stain comes back through, so the paint is the last step and never the first.

Constant drip with nothing running?

That is a pressurised line and it does damage fastest. Close the main and ring us tonight.

Emergency line open 24/7 Booked jobs Mon to Sun, 8AM to 8PM

Call 0920 960 0596 Send the problem instead