Leak in Kitchen Ceiling – Causes & How to Fix the Leak

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How Do I Find A Leak In My Kitchen Ceiling

A leak in your kitchen ceiling can most commonly be diagnosed with a simple visual inspection.

You’ll be looking at some of the following as a starting point:

• Bubbled paint on ceiling (not good, but manageable)
• Dark or tinted water spot (bad)
• Sagging drywall (very bad)

*Another indicator would be a mold or mildew odor that radiates around your kitchen.

More than likely you will smell this odor before you will have any visible signs of water damage.

Most Common Causes Of Kitchen Ceiling Leaks

1.Spill Above Damaged Area

Spills happen. Gravity is a heartless force that pulls everything down with it.

Depending what kind of flooring you have above your kitchen, it can be relatively simple to identify if a spill is your culprit.

It is possible for the damage to have occured hours or even days after the spill so it could have dried up and disappeared by the time you realize you have a problem.

If the spill isn’t easily visible, here’s another quick trick you can use:

Take measurements from your closest walls to the damage to get a rough estimate of the location, then transfer the measurements to the floor above.

If you don’t see anything visible or if it is dried up you may need to remove the carpet or flooring.

Before you go cutting up your floors, let’s make sure this isn’t a different issue like a supply leak that we can diagnose without destruction.

2.Loose Supply Line Or Burst Pipe in Ceiling

In multi-story dwellings contractors will run supply lines between the floors, and the lines, like anything else, are subject to defects and can cause leaks.

This can come from faulty fittings, loose threads or lack of teflon sealant.

Either way, if your supply lines are leaking it will show consistent growth of the problemed area.

There are a couple of ways to go about diagnosing and locating a supply line leak that can be causing leaks from kitchen ceilings.

How to Diagnose this?

• Use Water Pressure Test

Tools needed: Pen and paper for recording

To do this, turn off all water faucets around the house (if there’s a faucet or toilet that leaks between flushes, turn off the direct supply to those appliances to create a pressurized system).

Find your water meter and record the “1-cubic-foot” dial reading, if in two hours the dial has moved at all, you have a leak in your supply system.

• Visual Inspection Of Leak 

Once diagnosed that the supply line is leaking, cut an adequate hole in the damaged area of drywall to locate the exact portion of leaking pipe.

Look with your flashlight for areas of the pipe that are wet or show moisture.

One trick to find the exact place, if it is difficult to locate visually, is to lay toilet paper around your pipes and floor joists.

The toilet paper will quickly soak up moisture and reveal the leak.

Once located, turn off your water supply to that area, if applicable, and check the area around the leak.

Options to Fix The Leak

Are there pipe fittings close to the leak? The fitting could be loose and may only need to be snugged up with a wrench.

Do the pipes look to be in good shape? (Older houses can have dated or corroded pipes that crack and cause leaks).

If they look rusted or corroded, a licensed professional should be your next call.

There are some companies that will come out and do an inspection and give you a quote for free!

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Water Damage From Leaking Kitchen Ceiling?

Call 844-994-1288 for a Risk Free estimate from a Licensed Water Damage Restoration Specialist in your area.

We Can Help Fix The Cause of the leak & Repair any Water Damage

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If Your Kitchen Ceiling Is Below A Bathroom

1. Leaking Drain

Drains are a multi part assembly and can be subject to errors and defects, like anything else.

A simple leak test of any drain above the leak area can be performed to determine if this is the cause of your ceiling’s leaking.

Use Colored Water Drain Leak Test (est. time: 30 seconds):

Go to the suspected drain and close it. Turn on the water and slightly fill the area -only enough to cover the drain as you only want to diagnose the leak, not flood your first floor!

Add a small amount of food coloring to the water so that you’ll be able to differentiate it from your ceiling paint (Any water damaged drywall will have to be replaced anyways so the color won’t be permanent and won’t be affected if the drain holds the water).

The water should stay in the area around the drain, if it disappears that means your drain has some sort of leak.

If the damaged area has a tint of the chosen color from your test then you’ve tracked down your problem. Easy peasy!

Fixing the Leaking Drain

Tools Needed to fix leaking drain that can cause your kitchen ceiling to leak:

• Drain key or drain dumbbell
• Flathead screwdriver
• Wrench
• Lght buffing pad
• Plumbers putty

Fixing a leaking bath drain can seem daunting but it is actually fairly simple and can be done with a few basic tools you can find at your local hardware store!

Keep in mind, it is always safer to call a licensed professional for your plumbing needs! But, if you’re still interested in fixing it yourself, you’ll want to begin by removing your drain plug.

If it’s a mechanical plug you may need to remove the set screw below the plug with a screwdriver to disassemble further.

Once the plug is removed you’ll need to remove the drain flange, this is where the drain key or dumbbell comes in (these tools are designed specifically to minimize damage to your drains or tub during removal and installation).

Insert the key and twist counter clockwise until the drain flange is completely unthreaded from the drain pipe.

Gently scrape off old putty and lightly buff the area around the drain to remove existing putty and any nicks and scratches that could cause leaks in the future.

Apply an adequate amount of plumber’s putty to the underside of the new drain flange to ensure a proper seal.

Hand thread new drain flange into threaded pipe for a few turns, to avoid cross threading.

Tighten the flange down with your drain key or dumbbell until it is very snug.

Clean off the excess plumber’s putty from your tub floor and drain and save it for another day!

2. Missing Caulk

Showers and tubs are often sealed around their edges with a silicone caulking to keep the water that reaches the edge, in the basin.

Over time, it can become dry and crack, allowing water from your shower to leak out and end up leaking from your kitchen ceiling (this occurs even faster with hard water).

The most common areas for this to happen are around faucets and areas where water often saturates the caulking.

How to Diagnose?

A colored water test can also be used for this.

Look along the edges of your tub or shower, that is above the ceiling damage, where it meets the walls.

You will be looking for cracking or discolored sealant. If you can’t see any cracks easily, a way to find their location is to pour a small amount of colored water around the caulking.

The colored water will sit in the cracks while the rest washes into the tub or leaks out to the damaged area .

Any water damaged drywall will have to be replaced anyways so the color won’t be permanent and won’t be affected if the seal is good.

If the damaged area has a tint of the chosen color from your test then you’ve tracked down your problem. Easy peasy!

How to Fix Missing Caulk

Tools Needed:

• Knife
• Buffing pad
• New caulk

First, strip the outdated caulking by cutting or scraping out the old bead.

Use your buffing pad to clean the area where the old caulking used to lie (to ensure there isn’t any remaining silicone or any nicks or scratches that could cause future leaks).

Lay a new bead of silicone around the newly buffed area, making sure the caulk touches both the basin and the wall.

After it dries, test again with the same food coloring technique but check to make sure it doesn’t seep past the bead and into the walls.

If it washes into the basin and down into the drain, congratulations! You’ve fixed your leaky tub caulking.

If Your Kitchen Ceiling Leaks When It Rains

The most common cause of leaking ceiling in kitchen when it rains will be a Leak from a damaged roof above your kitchen.

While rain is great for drifting into a deep sleep, it can be catastrophic if your roof has any defects that allow it to seep into your walls and ceilings.

These defects could have happened during an overnight storm or over time since the roof was finished or redone.

Luckily, we’ve found that it’s leaking before it got too bad (we hope) and now we can assess and fix the issue.

Inspecting:

Some holes or areas of leaks can be visible from the ground but oftentimes it will require a closer look. You will be looking for any visible signs that could cause a leak like missing shingles or a hole in the roof.

If there is not an immediately visible hole or shingle defect that proves leakage, on a dry day, use a hose and spray down the roof above the area of the leak.

If the ceiling leak in kitchen persists after saturation, you can assume there is an invisible breach in your roof.

Fixing The Roof Leak:

Depending on the kind of leaks and how extensive the damage to your roof, it is always a good idea to call a professional and licensed roofing inspector.

Some companies will come and diagnose your roof for free and have years of knowledge and experience to help you get this taken care of quickly and painlessly.

When To Call A Professional

If you can’t see an obvious cause of the leak and are not sure how to fix your leaking kitchen ceiling – Doing it yourself can open a can of worms that may require further, expensive, repairs.

This is why it’s always a good idea to contact a professional service if you can’t easily fix your leaking kitchen ceiling or don’t have the immediate skill set or experience.

We have Water Damage Restoration Technicians that can help Find the Source of the Leak in your Ceiling & Restore any Water Damage Caused.

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