Just noticed this brown stain above my living room window. I don’t have a ladder at the moment so can’t reach it to touch it but the wallpaper near it is starting to lift so I think it might be damp. But it’s on the ground floor and there doesn’t appear to be anything else around it or in the room above it. My bathroom is on the floor above too but to the right. Could it be water travelling from the bathroom down or getting in from outside? It hasn’t rained locally since Saturday.
Looks like damage from an ice dam.
Happens when water freezes and blocks water from flowing past, causing it to pool up and deep where it isn’t supposed to.
As others have said, 100% a leak.
I would advise to stand on a chair or stepladder underneath the ceiling and check to see if it is still level. If you see an obvious deformation around the stain, this will be being caused by water pooling on top of the ceiling plasterboard. In which case, once the leak is sorted, you will likely need to drain the pooled water, cut out the damaged section, replace it, then replaster and repaint.
We had exactly the same issue in our last house. It was in a difficult to see spot hidden behind our kitchen cabinets. We only realised the severity of the issue when the ceiling boards gave way and fell on my head.
Lick it
It’s water damage from a leak. Get your roofers over asap.
Damn. Is it likely to be from outside?
Probably. Considering A) It’s an exterior wall, and B) it’s over a window, it’s unlikely there’s any pipe fitting running through there.
Edit: Sounds like the boiler is to blame. Godspeed OP.
This depends on where the Op is. Its not uncommon to have pipes in exterior walls in the south and south west US. If this is a bottom floor and there is a room above it could be from an interior fixture like tub/sink/toilet, if its an attic is probably a roof leak. Its also possible that its a wall or window leak but thats less common than a roof leak.
I’m in the UK. There is a radiator with pipes above the window and a boiler in that same room.
Ah, my boiler is in the room above and there’s pipes that go to the bathroom to the right and a radiator under the window. I’ll contact a plumber in the morning.
It’s worth trying to see if you can get eyeballs on the room immediately above that location. If you have multiple floors windows are usually placed in parallel, one floor above the other. So it may be not a plumbing issue, but a window above could have a leak from the exterior that’s traveling downwards. Or the roof. I’ve seen leaks presenting evidence 20+ feet from the source before. They can take really unexpected routes through a building.
Moving some stuff away from the window in the room above I can see this black dust on the skirting. I haven’t cleaned it for a little while and it doesn’t feel damp but that sure does look like mould to me.The item above is where my fibre internet comes in, it was installed about 2 years ago. I’m just now noticing some brown marks on the wallpaper there.
EDIT: I think those marks next to the fibre inlet might actually be brick dust from when they drilled the hole.
Ha! A buddy of mine was a cable guy for years.
I’ll bet you $5 if it’s not your bathroom then the cause is the fiber installer poked a hole through your exterior wall and didn’t properly seal it.
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Water will move around so it hard to know for sure. If above that is attic then anywhere along the ceiling could be the leak. I had a leak by my chimney that traveled 20ft across the attic, doubled back and then found a drywall seam in the ceiling before leaking through and presenting its self.
Chances are high its a roof leak, but it could be a leak around a wall or window as well, but that is less likely.
Yea I’ve just found a section of seal that’s lifted around my shower in the bathroom to the right so it might be that.
Just to make sure, it is still a good idea to have a contractor over to take a look. Water may have been in the walls for a while before it came out the downstairs ceiling, and if you now have issues with mold or rot, they will be cheaper to resolve the sooner you start trying to resolve them.
You’ll really need to take down the drapes and cut the ceiling drywall away.
Once you do that you’ll be able to see if the water is coming from. It’s pretty hard to know where water is coming from if you don’t do that. Otherwise you’re just going to be making wild guesses.
Also, cutting the dry wall away will allow that wet space to dry so you don’t get mold.
Is there an upstairs above the leak? Likely, it’s from shingles lifting. A roofer would be likely able to find it and mend it until you get your roof replaced. Don’t wait long though.
If it were from the inside, you would need to explain how somebody could have moved his ass that close to your ceiling…
Entirely depends what is on the floor above that spot? Is there a bathroom above it or anything?
There is a bathroom above. Not directly but the shower is slightly to the right and I’ve just found a section of seal around the shower that’s lifted.
My guess is that it’s the bathroom is the source. That said, any good contractor will know that you need to cut the ceiling drywall away to find the exact source and not create a wet space that will grow black mold.
This. I don’t know how to fix that but it’s pretty obvious.
Why is there a giraffe in your house.
Water and maybe allready mold
Thanks all for the advice, it really is greatly appreciated. I was able to get on a chair and just reach to touch the stain and its damp to the touch so its definitely water damage. I’m going to go to bed now and make some phone calls to start getting this sorted in the morning.
How long has it been there?
I’ve just noticed it now but I think the shadow from the curtains might have hidden it for a while.
That was me, sorry.
This is why we don’t invite you to things
I swear it was an accident, I thought it was a fart.
Probably somewhat true.
The full truth? It was a shart.
I almost made it to their bathroom. It was just to the right.
No your other right!
Looks like rust left by water damage from a leaky pipe.
Doesn’t even have to be rust, wallpaper glue turns that colour when it gets wet. My grandma’s farmhouse still has a few small patches like these in some rooms. The old tile roof had tiny leaks in the 60’s, they fixed the roof but never had time to start tearing the room ceilings open while running the farm.
We had the patchy room ceilings checked for microbial damage and moisture ~20 years ago by a pro and they were all clean.
That is definitely water damage. Something directly above it is leaking.
That’s zeus taking a shit on your house
Also the house I live in is kinda like that, whenever the shower is running, water would just leak, hasn’t been fixed in 5 years. Oh well, not my house, not my problem.
