Hi

Recently had a new gas water heater installed . THe old one was fine, but very old.
The guy opened up all faucets when installing.After he left , my bathroom faucet would not shut off at all ( hot or cold) and was a trickle. He came back, said faucet is old, coincidence . Of course, that's foolish but I had it replaced by a friend . Many problems with leaky shutoff but solved.

Now there is a water mark on my living room wall that may be from a chimeny/roof issue but as crazy as it sounds , I wonder if it might be due to the hot water heater replacement.
All my plumbing is pretty old and my cellar is very finished off . I hear a pinging /drip sound right past the water heater and in the panelled wall on the first floor there is the water marks . I am having my roofer ( 2 year old roof) come to check for flashing issues, etc. But I can hear a drip behind that wall in living room and there is absolutely no snow or water on my roof . Could be the chimney , I guess, but am wondering since his draining all the pipes might have caused a leak in an overhead pipe to the main?? Does this make any sense ? I see no water evidence at all in my finished cellar or in the second floor above the water mark .

What kind of pipes in your home? How old are the pipes? Can you get the plumber to come back on a 'call back' for free to see if he caused the leak?

It was not a plumber but a home improvement person recommended to me .

The house is 60 yrs. Old and some of the pipes look that old - some are copper and look perhaps 40 yrs old , some original - galavanized .

The faucet in the bathroom definitely was broken as a result of his installation ,though not his "fault" I suppose because of age of plumbing? That faucet , when I turned it on after he left, would no longer shut off and was just a trickle -there was air in the pipes and it had to be replaced . He did come over and shut off the shutoff valves under sink which leaked after he left and had to be replaced.

I cannot fathom why pipes would be above the fireplace wall ( on 1st floor where damage is ) since there is no reason to have plumbed that area . By the location, it seems logical that it is the chimney but I cannot fathom why there would be a dripping sound since there is no snow /water on roof now . Does it make sense that water might have collected under the shingles or gone down into the cap and is hitting a spot into between those two ducts ? I hear a pinging sound on my ductwork .

The roof is 2 years old and new flashing was installed at that time . The mortar looks bad in some spots although they were paid to repoint chimney.

Does it make any sense to you that it might be a pipe ? I can't locate a pipe that goes up-only across to the main, but as I said area is finished off - why would someone have water pipes that went into a second flr. Bedroom or living room - not near bath or kitchen??

Thanks for reading and your reply .

The galvanized pipes are going to have to be replaced soon, they will be a continuing problem. Get at least 10, yes I said 10 estimates on a repipe. Ask questions and listem much and take notes. These estimates should be free.
As for the pipes above the fireplace. That may simply be the path from point a to point be to get to the other bathroom/s.

Thanks, Doug - yes, I am sure the galvanized pipes WILL be a problem if they are not already. Prob. Long overdue anyway but I know they will cost a pretty penny so people put things off until there are problems.

Anyway , it is raining now and I hear pinging on ductwork in my cellar on either side of where the fireplace is located ( the far side of that FP wall is where the water stain is) .
So, I think the prob. Most likely IS the chimney . There is no water in the firebox and no visible water in the cellar - just that annoying pinging on ductowork.

The odd part to me is that there are no water marks on the wall directly above the affected wall ( bedroom ) . As far as I can ascertain, there are NO water pipes in those walls - makes no sense for them to be there with the potential of leaks as they are not adjacent to the bathroom or kitchen , etc.

Now , it seems to be a matter of dealing with the roofer who installed the roof and flashing and was to repoint chimney - otherwise , it will be a mason that is in order .

Thanks so much for your help.

Is the hot water tank vented into the chimney?

It's not always done, but a gas fired appliance vented through a chimney should be sleeved.

The carbon monoxide off-gassed from natural gas combustion is highly acidic, and will erode both the brick and the mortar over time.

As for the dripping sound -- I'm guessing it's condensation dripping down the vent for the hot water tank.

Yes, the hot water heater is vented into the chimney - the furnace is directly next to it and there is another vent that goes nearby - both are in the cement wall that leads to the fireplace ( chimney?) .

The person who installed the water heater did not touch that vent as far as I know - I know he did not replace it anyway -it is the same one that was always there .

Ok,your theory makes a lot of sense to me since there was a dripping sound when there was no snow or rain on the roof . I know there are no water pipes in that living room wall that has the water mark and there are no pipes in the bedroom above it - there are no water spots on the wall / ceiling on the second floor .

So, my next question is : How did this condensation occur all of a suddden when I did not have this problem before and how can it be fixed ? I am guessing you will say to install a sleeve (?) ( not sure what that is ) , but if one was never there , how did this problem develop with the installation of the new water heater??

The other option seems to be that water has collected under the shingles / flashing or in the chimney ( although none is visible) and is dripping through the wall . Does that sound like a viable option?

I obviously have no clue at all about plumbing , ductwork , etc. - I hate to have chimney work done and find that was not the issue at all .

Thanks a lot for your time and sharing your expertise .

Follow-u

Ok, I have had the roofers here three times - the attic is completely dry - no wet insulation, etc. They are stymied as to the cause but suspect a possible hiddne pipe , at least one of them does .

I checked the vent for the hot water heater - it is beyond where the dripping sounds are .

As I said , the affected wall is in the living room, in the middle of the house , right past where the firebox ends .
The wall above it is a bedroom - you can hear the drip there , but there is no water mark at all !

The bathroom ( only have 1 and it is second floor ) and kitchen and washtubs are all in a line on the far outside of the house .

I am thinking they MAY have plumbed the house so that the pipes are in the middle of the house near the main and then go through the living room and bedroom and make a turn into the bathroom - seems like a bit of a stretch though but things are so closed up , it is impossible to tell. You can see pipes that go to the hot water heater and then it disappears into concrete where the ceiling is finished off with wood tiles and there is a built-in bar there . Beyond the bar , on another wall , you can see the main ( hiddne under a cabinet and that is snakes to the left and then disappears . We have torn down part of the ceiling tiles and still cannot see where it goes.

IF the pipes did go upstairs , does it make any sense at all , that if there was a bathroom leak , that there would be no water at all showing on any level until it hit that living room ( center of the house ) wall??
It sounds as if there is water dripping on the ductwork - at times, you can hear it on a lot of the ductwork - they are all labeled as different rooms .
We cannot tell if pipes go above this ductwork -

Any advice appreciated!!

Someone at work suggested that I shut off the main and if the drip stops , it is a pipe SOMEWHERE >

Are you on a slab [concrete floor] or crawlspace [area under home] ? Is the any water showing up outside or in the crawlspace? Is the water meter showing movement? If you turn the water off for 5 minutes and turn it back on, does the meter move?
Also, sometimes a pipe secured tightly will squeek against wood as the temperature rises is the pipe. Is there any water showing up?

Doug,

It is a full finished cellar with a concrete floor .
It is overly finished-that is part of the prob. VERY hard to tell where the pipes go - the cold water pipes that are visible just disappear into concrete ! There is a bar built around that area . The affected wall has a heat register ( gas forced air ) and I was told by the roofers that it was a structural wall . They did not think it would be likely that there would be pipes there , but who can tell for sure .

NO water is visible at all - just the water mark on 1st flr only - no water mark on ceiling , just panelled wall and no mark on floor above it .

Are you saying that I should shut the main off for 5 minutes and then check the meter ?

doug238- if you turn the water off for 5 minutes and turn it back on, does the meter move?
chercat- Are you saying that I should shut the main off for 5 minutes and then check the meter ?
doug238- yes