My bathroom appears to be leaking into the ceiling of the apartment below me. The tub/bathroom appears to be very old (at least 30+ years) and the maintence person and myself cannot figure out the leak. At one point, we noticed water dripping down from the sides of the tub wall so we installed a new curtain which stopped the dripping but not the leak. We've tried caulking around all the edges of the tub and tried re-grouting the floor, however, the leak persisted. The tile floor appears damp in the corners by the tub wall and also near the toilet. From what I'm told, the leak is actually dripping from the ceiling and they have a bucket to catch the drips. Any suggestions to try and remedy the leak? Should the tile be chiseled out or the ceiling taken down from the apartment below?

Thanks,
Nick

Hi Nicz... start at basics... does toilet move at all? Put hands on toilet and try to rock/jiggle, etc... if moves then time to replace the wax gasket under that toilet.. I bet.

Next... remove the shower valve face plate or the handles around the tub/shower handles... if old.. may be hard to do... but if possible stick to it and see if you can see anything happening behind the wall from there... Do n ot forget to operate handles/valve while observing... have good flashlight ready.

Then, really check out shutoffs... packing nuts at the handles. Also, check between toilet bowl and toilet tank... flush and feel around between with dry toilet paper... tey these things.. or if you did try these things.. get back to us with answer. Thank you.

If you've followed the advice given by Massplumber, opened the access panel and found no leaks around the trap then I would focus my attention on the tile grout. Tile grout will shrink over the years allowing water to run down the wall and through the floor onto the ceiling. Next time you shower notice where the stream hits the tile. That's where I'd start looking. Caulk the tile grout where the stream hits and the water bounces off your body. Good luck, Tom