My house is about 30 years old, moved in 13 years ago. The bathtub and toilet have overflowed a few times in two of the upstairs bathrooms. The water flows throughout the ceiling and even inside some of the double paned windows on the first floor. This has occurred since we moved in. Any amount of water that hits the floor (near the tubs) flows straight downstairs. One of the stains is roughly the size and shape of the bathtub directly above it. I'm scared the ceiling will fall or the tub will break through whatever is supporting it. Any suggestions? What would repair consist of? What is the average cost of repair?

We want it fixed by June 9th, so we're anxious.:(

If you are at all handy this isn't a big deal. Cut out a section of the ceiling that is stained, and look up between the joists to see if there is any rot up there. If the overflow has only occurred once or twice over the years, it is doubtful that there would be an structural difficulties. Poke around into the joists and subfloor above with a screwdriver to see if any of the wood is soft and rotted. If it seems OK, then put up a new piece of sheetrock, spackle, prime and paint. This is a good weekend project, total cost maybe $75 in material. If you are not capable of doing this yourself, you can probably find a handyman who can do this work - I am guessing here but it will probably cost you in the neighborhood of $200 or so. However, if there are structural issues in the floor, you could find yourself having to replace the bathroom floor - cost would then be dependent on factors such as the area of the bathroom floor to be replaced, choice of tile or marble, etc.

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Originally Posted by ebaines

If you are at all handy this isn't a big deal. Cut out a section of the ceiling that is stained, and look up between the joists to see if there is any rot up there. If the overflow has only occurred once or twice over the years, it is doubtful that there would be an structural difficulties. Poke around into the joists and subfloor above with a screwdriver to see if any of the wood is soft and rotted. If it seems OK, then put up a new piece of sheetrock, spackle, prime and paint. This is a good weekend project, total cost maybe $75 in material. If you are not capable of doing this yourself, you can probably find a handyman who can do this work - I am guessing here but it will probably cost you in the neighborhood of $200 or so. However, if there are structural issues in the floor, you could find yourself having to replace the bathroom floor - cost would then be dependent on factors such as the area of the bathroom floor to be replaced, choice of tile or marble, etc.

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Thanks, so much. I think I could do it, but I've never tried, so I'll leave it to the experts.
I have a feeling that there is rot, etc... because the staining directly under the tub has turned brown and spread. I think that water has been sitting there for a long time because nearly a gallon of water flowed out even though less than a gallon spilled over.